O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel; qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit: veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
O Key of David and Sceptre of the house of Israel, Who opens what no man may shut; who shuts what man may not open. Come, and bring forth from our prisons we captives who sit darkness and in the shadow of death.
Come and set us free.
The days are shorter, the darkness brings an especial chill. Christmas is almost upon us. What will you bring to the cave in Bethlehem? What closed part of yourself will you lay before the King in surrender? An old resentment that is injuring you more than the other? A sense of superiority that hides a fear of fraudulence?
It is better to surrender than to have anything wrested from us. Christ Jesus can do it in a heartbeat, take from you all of your certainties and replace them with His own Reality. But surrender is always better than compulsion. Surrender leads to a denuding of self that brings detachment, and wisdom; compulsion is often rueful and confused.
What lock are you carrying today — rusting and creaking, and slowing you down — that may be opened by this divine Key?
And today we celebrate...