O Key of David
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December 20, 2019O Key of David, scepter of the house of Israel, what you open none can shut, and what you shut, none can open: come! Bring the prisoner out of his dungeon where he sits in darkness and the shadow of death!
O Clavis
Even in the darkness where I sit
And huddle in the midst of misery
I can remember freedom, but forget
That every lock must answer to a key,
That each dark clasp, sharp and intricate,
Must find a counter-clasp to meet its guard,
Particular, exact and intimate,
The clutch and catch that meshes with its ward.
I cry out for the key I threw away
That turned and over turned with certain touch
And with the lovely lifting of a latch
Opened my darkness to the light of day.
O come again, come quickly, set me free
Cut to the quick to fit, the master key.
Poem: Malcolm Guite; Image: Adam Boulter
Jesus is the key to each of our hearts, for in him all things were made; all things were created through him and for him. Let us first know ourselves captive, caught within limited space, and so cry out for liberation, for the One who can set us free. Let us know ourselves made to be unlocked, opened at the touch of a wounded hand, by him who comes to make us whole. Let us know ourselves a perfect match for our Maker – particular, exact and intimate – and savor also the mystery of the Master key that fits every lock. May we sense within our darkness the clink of freedom’s key, its tender turning: “Open to me, my sister, my friend, my dove, my perfect one!” (Sg 5:2), and so go forth unbound to open other doors.
