I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

This is one of those gospel readings that ties in directly with an old testament prophet (Isaiah 22:19-23). So, we will start by examining what we can learn about this passage from Isaiah. Isaiah introduces us to the role of the “steward” or “master of the house”, in the davidic kingdom. Scholars teach us that the steward litterally wore the keys to the kingdom on his shoulder. He controlled access to the king and no one had more power in the kingdom except the king. The steward with the keys would open and shut all of the things of the kingdom. Litterally the doors of the kingdom, but also the laws, and edicts that were levied on the kingdom. And very importantly, this postition in the kingdom, was a continuous position. It was not a role that was ever left unfilled. After it was established by the king, the position did not die with the holder of that role. It must always be filled after the death or disposition of the previous steward. Lastly, we know that the role of steward was a priestly role. The steward wore a girdle, which is a priestly garment, and carried the title “father”, and was always a son of the line of the Levites. So there is good reason to believe that this position was not only a political role but also a priestly one.

Now we move forward to Jesus. We are told that this reading takes place at Caesarea Philippi, why is this location important? This geographical region has several really important features. First it is the Source or Headwaters of the Jordan river, the same river that Jesus was baptised in. Second, It is a ruin of a pegan roman temple devoted to the worship of the god Pan. Pan was the god of fertility, nature, and the wild. These are all things that Satan loves, and Jesus wants to put under his feet. So it is very fitting that Jesus chooses this place to establish His kingdom. It will be the place that the baptismal waters will both literally and symbolically flow from, the place where the pagan worship of sex and nature lies in ruins, and His new church will rise above it both literally and physically. And it is on this foundation that Jesus is establishing His new church and placing Peter at the head of it.

Further it is important here to add a little more background… it is pious tradition (among the jews) that the old temple destroyed by the Babylonians, and then later rebuilt by Herod the Great was not only the center of Jewish worship, but it was also believed to be a location that contained the “Foundation Stone.” This spot is believe to be the place where all creation began, and the thus the center of the known universe. The Stone also capped off a great cavern called the “well of souls.” This cavern was thought to be the opening to hades (aka gahena). Pagans would sacrifice animals by throwing them down into that hole in order to appease their gods. This is the spot that God chose to build His temple, and this is the spot where Solomon built the “holy of holies” (where the ark of the covenant resided behind the veil). It was built here at the junction between the entrance to hell, and the place where the lord Himself would reside in the ark of the covenant. This stone marked the center of the known world, and also the junction between heaven and hell.

With all that background established, We now turn to Jesus, the new King of the line of David. The succession of Davidic kings was broken many years before this moment, by foreign kings conquering Israel and destroying the temple. But the line of David was not ever broken. The sons of David persisted, but did so in secret. If the Romans knew that they existed, they would have wiped them out, as they would not tolerate any challenge to their authority. And so it is in this moment that Jesus is reestablishing the long lost Davidic kingdom and taking his rightful place as the King. And every Davidic king needs a steward, who can bear the keys to the kingdom, and “open and shut” while the king is away. That steward is Peter. In the Catholic church we teach that the position of the steward is the pope, and Peter here is ordained as the first pope…, who will watch over the kingdom while the king was away, and whatever he binds and looses, would have the authority and imprimatur of the king. And as we learned from Isaiah, it is clearly also not a role that dies with the holder of the keys, it is a perpetual role that must always be filled until the king returns, and thus we have the long line of bishops and popes that have always held this role even until today.

And so it is in this moment that Jesus is establishing His new church. But it is not a temple in a fixed location. That temple would be destroyed in 70AD, and would never be rebuilt. Jesus is establishing his church in the whole world, among all of the faithful, and He is placing His steward, the Pope, at the center of it, as the new foundation stone. The pope will be the sentinel that guards the opening to hell, and he will be the guide that leads the faithful to heaven. This is what Jesus’ commission to bind and loose actually means. Just as the role of the ancient steward was to “open and shut,” by making the laws and edicts of the land that would carry the authority of the King. Jesus uses the terms of “binding and loosing” because these are technical terms in the jewish world that related to the deciding of matters of halakhah (literally translates: “how one behaves”), and with regard to the application of divine law. This teaching of Jesus literally means that when our popes make law on the matters of faith and morals, that their edicts will have the affect of actually being the law in heaven with the authority of God. But not everything that a Pope says or does has this authority, and many popes have been very wicked over the years. But Jesus promises that the holy spirit will protect the church from ever promulgating heresy as law.

And this is why it is so important that the church has an ultimate leader, and why we cant simply go straight to God? The evil one is constantly injecting himself and corrupting and destroying everything. Consider this example, imagine a church with two great leaders, both highly respected, both admired for their wisdom and understanding, but at some point find themselves at odds with each other over a teaching or a doctrine. The argument may be over interpretation, or pride, or actively being caused by the temptation of the devil. What are they to do, how do they reconcile this difference? In the protestant church they split, and create two new churches. To the end that now we have over a 100 denominations, and 100,000 non-denominational churches across the world all with different variations of doctrine. In the catholic church, however, the dispute is taken to the priest, and then the bishop and in some cases all the way to the pope, and eventually a final decision is made. And in the case of our two leaders, you either agree with the pope, and stay in the church, or you disagree, and are excommunicated from it until you can see the error of your ways. But excommunication is not a permanent status, it litterally means “outside of the church,” and the goal is always reunification, and reconcilliation, not division (that is the realm of the evil one). And that is why there is still one Catholic church 2000 years later.

Finally, we should discuss Jesus’ question to His disciples. He asks who do the people say that the son of man is? As with all questions Jesus asks, you should ask your self this question. it is a powerful examination of conscience. But there is also another really important reason for this question. Jesus starts by asking about what others say, they respond Elijah or a prophet, Jesus does not like this answer, so He asks His disciples who they say that He is. Peter fills the silence and says that He is the son of the living God. The jewish people were all waiting for the return of Elijah, and the subsequent return of God, so Jesus did not want them to think that He was just another prophet in a long line of prophets. He wanted them to understand very clearly that John the baptist was the return of Elijah, and that Jesus was the one that Elijah would prepare the way for…. That is God! A wise teacher, or a prophet is the only thing that Jesus  could not be. Jesus claimed to be God, and He literally proved it in the resurrection, so if He was not God, that would make Him either a liar or lunatic. But if He claims to be God, and then subsequently proves it with miracles and by returning from the dead in His resurrection, then that means He actually is God. That is an important thing for these men to know, even if they will not fully understand it until after His death and resurrection.

And in the end, this is the most important part of this reading…, “Who do you say that I am?”, that is a question for all people then and now, because the answer to that question will determine your eternity. Think about it, ponder it…, the answer to it, is everything!

Oh, lord, grant me the wisdom and understanding to humbly accept the teachings of the church and your vicars in this world. Amen.