Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A
It’s a good thing Jesus didn’t give me the keys to the kingdom. Lord knows where they would show up.
Anyway, although he wasn’t speaking literally when he handed the keys to Peter, Jesus was using the language of the household, the family. Here’s the keys to the house, he said to Peter. Keep it safe from thieves and marauders. Keep it open for all who seek me. Keep it clean, and let plenty of fresh air and sunshine circulate. And keep the lights on, please. Don’t ever let my Church be a place of darkness.
We live in a time when the lights are, literally, going out in churches all over the world. In places of persecution, like Iraq and Syria, Christians have fled in historic numbers. In 1999, I was with a group of pilgrims who visited a Christian family in Bethlehem whose stone mason business had been operating since―imagine this―the time of Jesus. They had lived in the same neighborhood since the time of Christ. Five years later we returned to visit them. They were gone.
On the other hand, in the prosperous communities of the west, the gospel seems to be losing its power to draw people into church buildings. But here’s the thing: the buildings are not the church. The Church is the living stones. And oh, how we need to be with each other―this experience of quarantine has really brought that out into the light. It’s scary to think that, when this is all over, it may have become too convenient to just stay home on Sunday. On the contrary, we pray that this experience may draw more and more people back. It is, after all, the Eucharist that builds the kingdom whose keys will never be lost.
In what ways are you helping to “keep the lights on” in your parish?