if what's loosed on earth will be loosed up on high...

it's a hell of a heaven we must go to when we die

Matthew 16:13-20

Prayer: Lord, may the words of my lips and the meditations of all our hearts proclaim your son, Jesus, as your anointed one, the messiah.

Keys, these simple tools are quite common. I imagine most of you have a ring of them in your pocket or purse. Keys are just one of the many mundane props in the play of our day to day life.

Keys are ordinary, except, of course, when they’re not…

Today I will give these keys back.

No longer will I need to use them to unlock my office. No longer will I find myself strolling upstairs to talk to Pastor Carol. No longer will I find myself taking a quite lunch in the Emmaus Lounge taking in that amazing skyline. No longer.

Today I turn in these keys.

These keys. These keys that have become mundane and ordinary. These keys have become so humdrum I have forgotten when I rushed here to get ready for a theology pub, a men’s breakfast or the Children’s Christmas Pageant. Yet today these keys that have become ordinary, suddenly blossom with meaning.

And really, despite of, or maybe because of their commonplace role in our lives, keys really are quite significant. Can you remember your first car keys, the first time you drove yourself to visit a friend? Or perhaps your first apartment keys are more significant to you. Remember the first time you unlocked the door to your own house? Or, maybe you remember the first time you handed keys to your daughter or son so they could learn to drive.

Yes, despite the routine of using keys day in and day out, keys really are quite noteworthy. Keys give you access to new places, new opportunities and new people.

Places, opportunities and people I must now leave…

In today’s gospel Jesus gives the church the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Today, after the confession that Jesus is the anointed one, Jesus tells the disciples that with such a confession the gates of heaven are open.

Imagine how absurd that must have sounded!

Leaders of Rome and leaders of the church had all rejected Jesus. This messiah, this Jesus, was hardly acting messianic. In fact, Jesus’ community inhabited such a marginal place in that society, Jesus concludes by ordering the disciples to keep quiet. Keep quiet lest the claims about Jesus as the son of God, the messiah spread and bring more persecution to Jesus’ followers.

In that place, for Jesus’ followers, it must have appeared that the gates of Hades had not only been opened, but were triumphing.

Armed with nothing more than a confession, Jesus proclaims that now his followers have the keys to the kingdom. With nothing more than a confession, Jesus’ followers are told that they are given the keys to the reign of God.

Despite any opposition, even in the face of it, Jesus’ followers are given the keys to God’s reign. The gates of Hades will not prevail against God’s reign, Jesus says. Yes, there may be opposition, yes there may be death, but these forces will not succeed.

God’s dominion, the reign of peace and justice, will not be quieted, it will not be stopped. In the face of rejection from civic and church leaders, and with nothing more than a confession, Jesus proclaims that followers, followers such and you and I, have the keys to God’s reign.

And these keys, like our first car keys, first house keys, grant us access to new places, opportunities and people. These keys to God’s empire make us into God’s alternative community in the world.

God’s alternative community; a community that confesses a simple man such as Jesus is God’s anointed one, God’s child. As God’s alternative community we find ourselves encountering new places and people. As God’s alternative community we find ourselves with the keys to manifest God’s reign. Where death may appear to hold sway, we are called to be God’s alternative, life-giving, presence in the world.

We are blessed to be God’s alternative community. Blessed to provide school supplies to children in need, blessed to house the homeless, blessed to work for laws the address the root causes of poverty and hunger, blessed to feed the hungry, we are blessed to cultivate a strip of land with flowers, food and beauty.

As we walk through our ordinary days unlocking ordinary doors, we suddenly find ourselves confronted with a question. YOU, who do you say that I am? Without even thinking we blurt out, “you, Jesus, are the one God has chosen, you are God’s child.”

And just as suddenly we find ourselves with the keys to God’s reign. And with these keys you bless the world by being a part God’s alternative life-giving presence. You find yourself supporting a congregation that calls seminary students for a year of training.

With these keys, you have given an intern for the past nine years, and soon Kari will make ten, keys to your community. In the giving of these keys you have blessed these interns, you bless the ELCA, you bless this community with the intern’s presence, and you have blessed me; thank you.

God has given you the keys to God’s reign and you have blessed nine, soon to be ten, interns. Thank heavens. I mean that, thank heavens. Lately I keep relating this story back; through the seminary process I have seen how candidates have been scarred.

Throughout the process of working to become ordained to serve God’s people, something happens, and a candidate picks up some baggage and takes that with them through the process of becoming ordained.

I must say I have been so blessed to be protected from being treated poorly. I owe many thanks to you for that. You allowed me to try new things, to preach in different ways, to try my hand at teaching adults, to work with your children. And all the while, all the while, you were open and supported me.

Indeed there were times when a class session I led didn’t go well. Yes, there were bumps in the Faith, Family and Finances event. And let’s be honest, we all know some of my sermons weren’t that good. Yet you supported me. You cared for me. You loved me. And you didn’t do this based on my merits, either.

You did this because Jesus has given you keys to God’s reign, and you have blessed me by inviting me into this reign. And participating in, living with you all, has transformed me. It has given me hope.

You’re sharing of the keys Jesus has blessed you with, has given me the confidence to do something different and study in Washington D.C. next year. You’re sharing of these keys has given me the courage to talk about stewardship. You’re sharing of these keys has reminded me that, for as quiet as the church can be at times, it is also one of the last places the vulnerable are considered first.

Ultimately, you’re sharing of these keys with me, has given me keys to continue my pursuit of ordination. And although I give back these keys today, you have given me another set of keys that I will take with me into paths as yet untrodden, to perils as yet unknown. You have given me keys that open a future that is blossoming with promises and healing. Thank you.

And not just me, either. You have blessed Matt, I know that from Facebook posts of his I’ve seen. You will also, no doubt, bless Kari.

And you also bless the United States. Take a look at the intern map out there.

You’ve shaped interns during our education, and you’ve sent us out to continue your mission. Throughout the United States pastors, pastors you have helped raise up, are loosing God’s reign in places like California, Washington D.C., Wisconsin and the like.

You have given us all keys. And today I turn them in, so you may give them to another, so that you may give them to Kari.

It is hard for me to turn them in, honestly. I love you all. I remember the first time I dreamt of you, I remember waking up and thinking I am a part of this place, these people.

I remember gardening with many of you, sharing concerns with you, hugs, laughs and prayers. And prayers. Thank you.

And, although this internship does come to an end, something between us has been opened. The keys to the kingdom have been inserted, turned and God’s reign came bursting forth. Nothing will stop this flow, either. As Jesus said, the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

Nothing will stop this bursting forth of God’s reign. And, as hard as it is, I find the bursting forth of God’s reign rushing me to D.C., just as Kari finds herself rushed here. We have taken these keys Jesus has given us, and we have opened doors and walked into new places and met new people.

I thank God every day that I was blessed to walk into you community if even for a little while.

Thank you for taking those keys and opening the gate. Thank you. God bless you all. Amen.