O Antiphons 2017 - December 20th - O Clavis David (O Key of David)

The Harrowing of Hell by the Scottish artist Peter Howson

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; you open and no man closes; you close and no man opens.  Come, and deliver from the chains of prison those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.


Todays O Antiphon is O Clavis David (O Key of David). It reminds us that Jesus is the key that opens the gates of heaven to us. Are there doors in your life that you keep locked? Doors in your heart to areas that you wish no-one to see, not even God? Trust in the Key of David, Who wants to free us from all darkness and sin:

Isaiah 22:22: "I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder. When he opens, no one shall shut; when he shuts, no one shall open.  Revelation 3:7: "To the presiding spirit of the church in Philadelphia write this: 'The holy One, the true, who wields David's key, who opens and no one can close, who closes and  no one can open'".  Isaiah 42:6-7: "I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon those who live in darkness".  

The key and sceptre are traditional symbols of kingly power and authority. Christ, the anointed one, is the heir of David and possessor of the kingdom. Jesus himself also made use of this symbol, showing the prophetic relationship of the earthly kingdom of David to the kingdom of God.  All power and authority was given to him after the resurrection, and he entrusted this power to "bind and to loose" to Peter and the ministers of his church.

In the closing petition we look to Jesus to unlock the fetters of sin that  keep us tightly chained.  It is he who frees us from our captivity.  We recall the deliverance proclaimed by the psalmist of old: "they dwelt in darkness and gloom, bondsmen in want and in chains,...and he led them forth from darkness and gloom and broke their bonds asunder" (Psalm 107: 10, 14).

PAYG - ‘God With Us: An Advent Retreat with the O Antiphons’

Reflections from prior years on the O Antiphons:

• iBenedictines - O Clavis David and Our Need of Freedom 2016
• Salt + Light - O Key of David
• Dating God - O Key of David: Unlocking the Chains of Sin
• Blue Eyed Ennis - O Clavis David
• Concordia Theology - O Clavis David
• University of Notre Dame - He stands and knocks: The Key of David