This ‘O
Antiphon’ that the Church sings this evening at the Magnificat, has its roots
like all the other Antiphons in sacred scripture, in this case in Isaiah
chapter 22 and in Luke chapter I.
Our Lord is
addressed as Key of David – Jesus is Son of David through his foster father, St
Joseph, who was of the house of David.
David was the most beloved and important King in Israel’s history – “a
man after the Lord’s own heart” as it says in the Acts of the Apostles. So Jesus in his human ancestry is truly one
of us as he is truly Son of God in his divine nature “conceived in the womb of
the Virgin Mary by the Holy spirit. (Mt Ch 1)
A key is an
indispensable instrument for opening and closing a door, so it is a very
appropriate symbol with which to address our awaited Saviour. The Babe of
Bethlehem, whom we await, did not die because he was born but He was born in
order to die – the Crib and the Cross are closely associated. By His obedience in suffering His Passion, death
and Resurrection, Jesus opened the gates of heaven for the whole human race
which our first parents had closed by their disobedience. There is a lovely Icon called ‘the harrowing
of hell’ where Jesus on Holy Saturday is seen in His descent into hell and
taking both Adam and Eve by the hand
raised them up to come with Him into His Father’s House and all their posterity
after them.
After that
liberation is there any prison, darkness or death from which Jesus cannot free
us? Yet we need another key – the key of faith which we receive at our Baptism
to help us lay hold of the blessings Jesus is offering. We join Bartimaeus, the blind man, at the side
of the road, who, when he heard that Jesus, the Nazarene, was passing by, cried
out: ‘Jesus, Son of David have pity on
me (cf Lk Ch 18). We do it, not only in
our own name but in the name of all who are captive in any way, in darkness and
the shadow of death. May we too, hear
Jesus’ response: “Receive your sight, your faith has saved you.”
.JPG)
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