Catechism Link
CCC 551-553: The Keys of the Kingdom
CCC 880-887: Foundations of unity: the college of bishops with its head, the successor of Peter
CCC Cross Reference:
Ps 138 304; Ps 138:2 214
Mt 16-18 1969; Mt 16:16-23 440; Mt 16:16 424, 442; Mt 16:17 153, 442; Mt 16:18-19 881; Mt 16:18 424, 442, 552, 586, 869; Mt 16:19 553, 1444
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Reading 1
Is 22:19-23
Thus says the Lord to Shebna, master of the palace:
“I will thrust you from your office
and pull you down from your station.
On that day I will summon my servant
Eliakim, son of Hilkiah;
I will clothe him with your robe,
and gird him with your sash,
and give over to him your authority.
He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and to the house of Judah.
I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim’s shoulder;
when he opens, no one shall shut
when he shuts, no one shall open.
I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot,
to be a place of honor for his family.”
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8
R. (8bc) Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple.
R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.
I will give thanks to your name,
because of your kindness and your truth:
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.
The Lord is exalted, yet the lowly he sees,
and the proud he knows from afar.
Your kindness, O Lord, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.
Reading II
Rom 11:33-36
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord
or who has been his counselor?
Or who has given the Lord anything
that he may be repaid?
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be glory forever. Amen.
Gospel
Mt 16:13-20
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and
he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
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.”
Then he strictly ordered his disciples
to tell no one that he was the Christ.
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Isaiah 22:19 – 23
I dismiss you from your office,
I remove you from your post,
and the same day I call on my servant
Eliakim son of Hilkiah.
I invest him with your robe,
gird him with your sash,
entrust him with your authority;
and he shall be a father
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem
and to the House of Judah.
I place the key of the House of David
on his shoulder;
should he open, no one shall close,
should he close, no one shall open.
I drive him like a peg
into a firm place;
he will become a throne of glory
for his father’s house.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 137(138):1-3,6,8
Your love, O Lord, is eternal: discard not the work of your hands.
I thank you, Lord, with all my heart:
you have heard the words of my mouth.
In the presence of the angels I will bless you.
I will adore before your holy temple.
Your love, O Lord, is eternal: discard not the work of your hands.
I thank you for your faithfulness and love,
which excel all we ever knew of you.
On the day I called, you answered;
you increased the strength of my soul.
Your love, O Lord, is eternal: discard not the work of your hands.
The Lord is high yet he looks on the lowly
and the haughty he knows from afar.
Your love, O Lord, is eternal,
discard not the work of your hands.
Your love, O Lord, is eternal: discard not the work of your hands.
Second reading Romans 11:33 – 36
How rich are the depths of God – how deep his wisdom and knowledge – and how impossible to penetrate his motives or understand his methods! Who could ever know the mind of the Lord? Who could ever be his counsellor? Who could ever give him anything or lend him anything? All that exists comes from him; all is by him and for him. To him be glory for ever! Amen.
Gospel Matthew 16:13 – 20
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said, ‘the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’ Then he gave the disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
From: Isaiah 22:19-23
Oracle concerning Shebna
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[19] I will thrust you from your office, and you will be cast down from your station. [20] In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, [21] and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your girdle on him, and will commit your authority to his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. [22] And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. [23] And I will fasten him like a peg in a sure place, and he will be come a throne of honour to his father’s house.
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Commentary:
22:15-25. Shebna had a high position in the royal court, and he is mentioned in other passages (36:3, 11, 22; 37:2; and 2 Kings 18:26, 37; 19:2). He may have been a foreigner who, after occupying a senior position in Hezekiah’s palace, was replaced by Eliakim. Isaiah reproaches Shebna for being ostentatious (v. 16) and he tells him he will be dismissed from office (vv. 17-19. 25). His successor, Eliakim, son of Hilkiah (vv. 20-24), will be the official who, during the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem, heads a royal embassy charged with negotiating peace (cf. 2 Kings 18:18-19:2).
Irrespective of the historical context in which the oracle was spoken, the words of v. 22 find significant resonance in the New Testament. The first part of the verse is reminiscent of what Jesus says to Peter when giving him the “keys of the kingdom” (Mt 16:19). In this connexion it is no harm to remember that the king’s high steward, as his representative, opened and closed the official court business of the day. The text of the second part of this same verse is applied in the book of Revelation to the Messiah, “the holy one, the true, who has the key of David” (Rev 3:7), because Jesus, the Messiah, as the new David opens the doors of heaven. The Church’s liturgy, in the famous “O” antiphons prior to Christmas, extols Christ, giving him this messianic title: “Key of David and sceptre of the house of Israel, you, who reign over the whole world, come and free those who wait for you in darkness” (Divine Office, Antiphon at Vespers, 20 December).
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From: Romans 11:33-36
The Conversion of the Jews (Continuation)
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[33] 0 the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
[34] "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?"
[35] "Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?"
[36] For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for ever. Amen.
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Commentary:
33-36. God's admirable goodness, to both Jews and Gentiles, permitting them to disobey and then talking pity on them in their wretchedness, causes the Apostle to pour out his heart in words reminiscent of the Book of Isaiah: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (55:8-9). The designs of divine Providence may disconcert us, may be difficult to understand; but if we remember how great God is--he is beyond our comprehension--and how God's power and faithfulness overcome any obstacle man may place in God's way we will realize that the very things which seem to frustrate his plans actually serve to forward them.
The correct attitude of man to the designs of God is one of humility. This will lead him to realize that the mysteries of God, which are intrinsically clear, seem obscure to us, simply because our mind's capacity is limited. Therefore, as Fray Luis de Granada reminds us, we must avoid saying that "something cannot be because we cannot understand it [...], for what is more in conformity with reason than to think in the highest way of him who is the All-High and to attribute to him the highest and best nature that our mind can conceive? [...] So it is that our failure to understand the sublimity of this mystery has a trace and scent of something divine, because, as we said, God being infinite must necessarily be beyond our comprehension" ("Introduccion Al Simbolo De La Fe", part IV).
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From: Matthew 16:13-20
Peter's Profession of Faith and His Primacy
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[13] Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of Man is?" [14] And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." [15] He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" [16] Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." [17] And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in Heaven. [18] And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. [19] I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven."[20] Then He strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that He was the Christ.
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Commentary:
13-20. In this passage St. Peter is promised primacy over the whole Church, a primacy which Jesus will confer on him after His Resurrection, as we learn in the Gospel of St. John (cf. John 21:15-18). This supreme authority is given to Peter for the benefit of the Church. Because the Church has to last until the end of time, this authority will be passed on to Peter's successors down through history. The Bishop of Rome, the Pope, is the successor of Peter.
The solemn Magisterium of the Church, in the First Vatican Council, defined the doctrine of the primacy of Peter and his successors in these terms: "We teach and declare, therefore, according to the testimony of the Gospel that the primacy of jurisdiction over the whole Church was immediately and directly promised to and conferred upon the blessed Apostle Peter by Christ the Lord. For to Simon, Christ had said, 'You shall be called Cephas' (John 1:42). Then, after Simon had acknowledged Christ with the confession, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God' (Matthew 16:16), it was to Simon alone that the solemn words were spoken by the Lord: 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in Heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the powers of Hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and what you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven' (Matthew 16:17-19). And after His Resurrection, Jesus conferred upon Simon Peter alone the jurisdiction of supreme shepherd and ruler over His whole fold with the words, 'Feed My lambs....Feed My sheep' (John 21: 15-17) [...]
"Now, what Christ the Lord, Supreme Shepherd and watchful guardian of the flock, established in the person of the blessed Apostle Peter for the perpetual safety and everlasting good of the Church must, by the will of the same, endure without interruption in the Church which was founded on the rock and which will remain firm until the end of the world. Indeed, 'no one doubts, in fact it is obvious to all ages, that the holy and most blessed Peter, Prince and head of the Apostles, the pillar of faith, and the foundation of the Catholic Church, received the keys of the kingdom from our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior and the Redeemer of the human race; and even to this time and forever he lives,' and governs, 'and exercises judgment in his successors' (cf. Council of Ephesus), the bishops of the holy Roman See, which he established and consecrated with his blood. Therefore, whoever succeeds Peter in this Chair holds Peter's primacy over the whole Church according to the plan of Christ Himself [...]. For this reason, 'because of its greater sovereignty,' it was always 'necessary for every church, that is, the faithful who are everywhere, to be in agreement' with the same Roman Church [...]
"We think it extremely necessary to assert solemnly the prerogative which the only-begotten Son of God deigned to join to the highest pastoral office. "And so, faithfully keeping to the tradition received from the beginning of the Christian faith, for the glory of God our Savior, for the exaltation of the Catholic religion, and for the salvation of Christian peoples, We, with the approval of the sacred council, teach and define that it is a divinely revealed dogma: that the Roman Pontiff, when he speaks "ex cathedra", that is, when, acting in the office of shepherd and teacher of all Christians, he defines, by virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the universal Church, possesses through the divine assistance promised to him in the person of St. Peter, the infallibility with which the divine Redeemer willed His Church to be endowed in defining doctrine concerning faith or morals; and that such definitions of the Roman Pontiff are therefore irreformable because of their nature, but not because of the agreement of the Church.
"(Canon) But if anyone presume to contradict this our definition (God forbid that he do so): let him be condemned" (Vatican I, "Pastor Aeternus", chaps. 1, 2 and 4).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
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