Who Holds the Keys?

What will you do with the authority God has entrusted to you? It’s a great question to sit with as we listen to this Sunday’s Gospel. Jesus says to Peter: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” Keys are a sign of authority. They give someone access. They entrust someone with responsibility. They say, in effect, “I trust you to look after this.” But what would happen if everyone had the keys?

Imagine a family where everyone could do whatever they wanted. No parents telling children when to go to bed. No one responsible for paying the bills. No one deciding when it’s time to leave for school. Everyone has complete freedom and complete authority! It wouldn’t take long before things became rather chaotic.

Authority, when it is exercised well, isn’t about having power over other people. It is about being entrusted with responsibility for other people. That’s what makes Jesus’ words to Peter so significant. Peter is given the keys and entrusted with responsibility for the community of believers. The first reading this weekend gives us a similar picture: Isaiah describes Eliakim being given the “key of the House of David”. Again, the key is a symbol of authority and responsibility.

Ultimately, the Church understands this authority as continuing through Peter’s successor, Pope Leo, who holds the keys of the Kingdom here on earth. The Pope entrusts responsibility to bishops, bishops entrust responsibility to priests, and priests are called to entrust responsibility to others. And this is something I am seeking to do deliberately here in our parish.

Who are we entrusting with the keys? I want to see more and more lay people taking up genuine responsibility for the life and mission of our parish.

But entrusting someone with a “key” isn’t about finding people who simply want a position. It is about recognising people who demonstrate four qualities using the acronym, FACT:

• Are they Faithful – people who are committed to Jesus, his Church and our parish community.
• Are they Available – people who are willing to make themselves available to serve and take responsibility.
• Are they Contagious – people whose joy, warmth and enthusiasm for the Gospel are infectious and draw others towards Jesus.
• Are they Teachable – people who remain humble, open to formation, willing to listen and ready to grow.

These qualities matter because authority in the Church is ultimately about service. We aren’t given keys so that we can control others. We are given keys so that we can open doors for others to encounter Jesus.

This weekend, we are celebrating 55 First Communions across our parish with children and their families. It is a beautiful reminder that faith is something we receive before we learn to share it. Through the sacraments of initiation, these children are becoming more fully aware of their place within the Body of Christ – and, in time, of the responsibility that comes with belonging.

The Fourth Commandment, “Honour your father and your mother,” also reminds us that learning to receive legitimate authority is part of becoming mature. Before we can exercise authority well, we need to learn how to receive it well. And ultimately, we learn this from Jesus. Jesus has all authority, yet he uses it to serve, love, forgive, heal and give himself for others.

So perhaps the question for each of us this Sunday isn’t just “Who has authority over me?” But also, “What authority has God entrusted to me?” “Who has God placed in my care?” And perhaps even, “Am I ready to receive a key – and use it to open a door for someone else?”.

Peace and blessings – Fr Josh