The Key of Trust

by Fr. Jason Laguerta

There are two significant characters in our readings today that is worth paying close attention to. In the First Reading, we heard about the story of Eliakim and Shebna. Shebna is the master of the house or the key official in the palace of the king, who abused his power. According to tradition, he built his own very opulent and expensive mausoleum. And when the king learned about this act of corruption, he lost trust in him and removed him as steward.

Eliakim, then, took Shebna’s place, receiving the sash, robe, authority, and the keys to the palace, becoming the master of the house entrusted with access to every room in the king’s palace. This is how powerful a masker keeper of the king is – he is not the king, but he holds the keys to all the doors and has access to every room in the palace!

This is same picture that Jesus gave us in the Gospel through His conversation with Peter when He said to him, “.. and I say to you, you are Peter (meaning: rock). You are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church. The gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it, and I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

There is this clear connection between our readings. In the Old Testament, Eliakim was given the keys to the palace of the king, and to Peter was given the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Both of them were entrusted with this great responsibility of holding the master key for both the palace and the Kingdom. Similarly, we, too, are given this same privilege. Not just to Peter or the successor of Peter, who is the Pope, but all of us, we are also entrusted with the keys, the power.

In other words, God has opened for us the Kingdom of Heaven. He opened the Palace of the King; He opened the house of God for all of us. All of us have been given keys; the question is whether we will be like Shebna, who was entrusted with responsibility and authority but squandered the duties and obligations placed in his care.

In human terms, the key symbolizes trust, confidence, and access. When someone gives you a key, it means they trust you, and because you have been entrusted with that key, you have the authority to enter, leave, return, and even close the door, and because there is access, there will be closeness and intimacy. Naturally, you will not entrust the keys to your enemies, to a thief; you will only hand them over to someone you truly trust. And this is the symbolism of the keys the Lord gave to Peter – “Peter, I am entrusting you with the mission of bringing people closer to Me.” Peter was given the keys to open the doors of the Church, the sacraments, and the faith, so that all people may enter and deepen their relationship with God.

In the same way, all of us have been given keys, and as the key is a symbol of trust, when someone entrusts you with a key, it means they trust you with responsibility and authority. God gave that trust to Peter, to Eliakim, and to all of us, so let us not squander that trust for self-interest and self-gain, for to waste what has been entrusted to us is a betrayal of trust.

So, today, we reflect on the keys that we are entrusted. Maybe not the literal key, but the trust given to us by our parents, our siblings, our employers, and through the responsibilities entrusted to us is like a key placed in our hands. For we are given a key, not to abuse the house, but because someone trusts that we will care for it and do no harm within it.

As priests, we are entrusted with the keys of the parish and the tabernacle because the Bishop trusts us to care for the spiritual needs of God's people. In one way or another, all of us have been given keys because we have been given trust and responsibility. All of us have been given the keys to the Kingdom, the keys to God's grace, His love, His heart, and His home. The real question now is, not whether you have been given a key, but whether you are trustworthy enough to honor that trust, for it is possible to be entrusted with a key and yet waste, abuse, or squander the trust that comes with it.

Thus, let us keep these keys well and faithfully live out the responsibility, accountability, and obligations entrusted to us for our families and for the Church.

Transcribe by Agnes Riel