In the book of Isaiah, 22:15-25, Shelma, the master of the palace, is rebuked by the Lord, and his office is turned over to Eliakim: “I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder; what he opens, no one will shut, what he shuts, no one will open.”
Eliakim is no mere doorkeeper; the key symbolizes the vicarious authority conferred upon him to act in the name of his king.
In the gospel according to Matthew, 16:19, after Peter’s confession of faith, Jesus says to him, “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.”
In the gospel according to John, 20:20, when the resurrected Jesus first appears to the disciples he says to them, “Receive the holy Spirit, Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
St. Augustine, in his sermon quoted in the office of readings for the Solemnity of Peter and Paul (second reading), offers us a challenging interpretation of these gospel texts.
As you are aware, Jesus chose his disciples before his passion and called them apostles; and among these almost everywhere Peter alone deserved to represent the entire Church. And because of that role which he alone had, he merited to hear the words: To you I shall give the keys of the kingdom of heaven. For it was not one man who received the keys, but the entire Church considered as one. . . . For the fact that it was the Church that received the keys of the kingdom of God is clear from what the Lord says elsewhere to all the apostles [disciples]: Receive the Holy Spirit, adding immediately, whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven, and whose sins you retain, they are retained.
This means that all the followers of Jesus have a share in this authority to open and shut, to bind and loose, to forgive and retain, although not all exercise this God-given authority in quite the same way.
For the sake of order in the Christian community, some bear more such authority than others; some have the responsibility of exercising it more generally and publicly.
Does this mean, for example, that in the absence and unavailability of a priest in a parish any lay person can begin to “hear confessions”? No, in fact even a priest must be authorized and empowered to do so; he need ‘faculties” from the bishop or his delegate.
Could a lay person be so authorized and empowered? Our current sacramental theology and canon law does not foresee such a possibility. (However, just because there is no precedent for something doesn’t necessarily mean that it is not possible.)
One thing is sure. every Christian is empowered and obliged to exercise a ministry of mercy.
If my brother or sister offends me and then later regrets and repents what was done and seeks pardon, I have the power to forgive (open, loose) or retain (shut, bind).
If I exercise love and mercy, by forgiving I remove the burden of guilt from my brother or sister, a liberation. If I chose not to forgive, then I retain the offense, and he or she remains burdened by it. What would that say about me as a follower of Jesus?
Remember, among Jesus’ parting words to his followers were: “Love one another as I love you.” (John 15:12)
It wasn’t a recommendation, it was a command!
7 July 2019