Seeker

A key can unlock or lock a door. A key can open an entrance to a passageway to who knows what delights.  A key can set prisoners free. A key can be a symbol of authority and power. What or who is the 'Key of David'? As with the other names in the Advent O Antiphons used in the last week of Advent the Key of David is a name used by Christians for Jesus Christ. The key of David phrase is found first in the Hebrew scriptures. In Isaiah 22 there is a denunciation of self-seeking officials and a statement that the Lord will call Eliakim son of Hilkiah. The key of David is mentioned in a description of Eliakim's duties as royal chamberlain to King Hezekiah of Judah. Eliakim held the power and responsibility for peaceful and just government. "I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open." Isaiah 22:22 Christians see in those words from Isaiah 22:22 a type or symbol o...

This post continues a series on the 'O Antiphons' used as refrains during Evening Prayer in the last week of Advent. Today's refrain, used with the Song of Mary (Magnificat) is 'O Key of David' or in Latin 'O Clavis'. It is a prayer for freedom for all who need a way out of whatever imprisons us or keeps us in darkness. The 'Key of David' points to Jesus as the one able to open such doors of entrapment. Well worth reading are Rosemary Hannah's thoughts on this antiphon in a post from last year at Thinking Anglicans . She writes: There is a terrible reality about David’s mixed desires and ambitions which make him seem astonishingly contemporary. In that sense, today’s antiphon seems to fit him well – and in fitting him, to fit all those of us who know too well our flawed and dark passions, our divided loyalties and the complexities of our lives. It promises the rescue (by ‘great David’s greater son’) of those in darkness, trapped and i...