December 20, 2025
O come, O Key of David, come
and open wide our heavenly home.
Make safe for us the heavenward road
and bar the way to death’s abode.
Imagine trusting someone with a key to your home, your family, your finances, a key to everything you value in this world. And then imagine that same person breaking your trust, destroying your home, turning your family out on the streets, stealing your resources, and insuring that you are locked out of all that belongs to you, leaving you hopeless and destitute.
Now imagine the multitudes of people who have sung the O Antiphons over fifteen-hundred years in the darkness of kings and rulers who have done just that, abusing their authority and trust. Imagine those hopeful, faithful people naming the Christ (or Light, or Love, or Universe, as you prefer) the “Key of David,” something that symbolizes complete and utter authority over which doors are locked against them and which are opened. What were they hoping for? We don’t have to look very far to imagine. And so we, too, sing . . .
This Key of David is mentioned in only two scripture passages: Isaiah 22:22 and Revelation 3:7. From Isaiah: “I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.” Isaiah prophesies a future owner of this powerful key that in his time implied total rule over David’s household, over the royal court and the king’s treasury, and the right of access to the king himself. It symbolized complete authority and in the wrong hands threatened destruction.
The author of Revelation writes: “These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.“ These words, intended for Jesus Christ, describe his complete authority to administer both the spiritual and material affairs of the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately, they’ve been used to control people—as despots do—by threatening that those who do not obey will be “locked out” of salvation and any of the graces of Christ. Keys in the wrong hands can cause destruction.
Now imagine trusting someone with the key to your home, your family, your finances, a key to everything you value in this world. This particular person safeguards your possessions, your family, and you. This particular person doesn’t lock out anyone but opens wide the door to love, to grace, to inclusion, to forgiveness, to mercy and compassion while locking the door against hate, abuse, greed, and terror. The key this person holds becomes a “light to reveal God to all the nations” (Luke 2: 32), not just a select few. He holds the Key of Love. I imagine those age-old throngs anticipating and praising this kind of key-holder, and I join them in praying, “O Come, O Key of David, Come.”
O Key of David and scepter of Israel, what you open no one else can close again; what you close no one can open. O come to lead the captives from prison; free those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. Give hope to those in dark lands and bring joy to those who weep. Help us unlock our own hearts and reach out to others with love and compassion. Grant us in this season of gift-giving the gift of openness of heart and then embolden us to practice it.
Blessings to you ~ Rosemary
Photo credit: Tatlan, Pixabay
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xtpJ4Q_Q-4
Spirit Reflections 