The Keys of the Kingdom

Passage: Matthew 16:13-20

There’s a scene in the film Labyrinth in which the protagonist, a teenager named Sarah, has to pass through a heavy, locked gate to proceed on her mission. Her way is barred by a particularly cantankerous guard who insists, “No one may enter without my permission!” He makes a lot of noise, and holds his ground in spite of Sarah’s protestations. Finally, Sarah simply says, “Well, can I have your permission to enter?” He stops. Thinks for a minute. And says, “Well, I don’t see why not.” He opens the gate and lets her through.

In Matthew 16 Jesus suggests that the Kingdom of Heaven is locked. And he tells his disciples that they are the ones who hold the keys. Historically the church has taken Jesus’ words very seriously. We, the reasoning goes, are the gatekeepers of Heaven. We have the power to keep people out, or let them in.
The Catechism argues that we exercise this power in two ways: preaching the Gospel (“opening”) and exercising church discipline (“closing”). This is a tremendous amount of responsibility. And we run the risk of responding to the commission in one of two wrong ways: taking it too seriously; and not taking it seriously enough.

It’s easy for us to minimize the efficacy of our own presentations of the gospel. Especially if we’re not professional preachers or evangelists, we worry that we won’t articulate the good news in a convincing or compelling way. We conclude that we’re better off leaving the job to the experts; we end up neglecting the task entirely. The fact is God can use whatever we offer to change people’s hearts. We don’t even have to start with words. If we are shaped by the joy of belonging to God through Jesus Christ, our own lives will provide an excellent foray into conversations this life-changing relationship.
Alternatively, we can take our job too seriously. Thinking of ourselves as gatekeepers, we may assume our primary responsibility is to keep people out. If so, we’ll focus undo attention on whether those we meet are fitting candidates. Jesus challenges his disciples again and again not to judge others on the basis of what they see. If anything, Jesus encourages his disciples to see in anyone the potential for redemption, and to leave it to God to render a final judgment. God, after all, is the only one who can see into people’s hearts.

As the keepers of the keys, therefore, our job is to look for every opportunity to open the gates. In fact, that which the Catechism identifies as the act of “closing” the gates of Heaven – i.e., church discipline – applies to people who are already “in.” As such, condemning the sins of those outside the church is a waste of time. Our response to “sinners” should be invitation – “Come this way to enter life.” If we’re to be vigilant about sin, we should start with our own. What are the things in my own life that aren’t befitting a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven? What are the sins we’re fostering as a community that are at odds with the charter of God’s Kingdom?
When people come to us wanting to enter, maybe our response should be, “I don’t see why not.” After all, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We were permitted entry, unworthy candidates that we were. Shouldn’t our first priority be to invite others to enter the same open door?