O dawn of the East, brightness of light eternal, and Sun of Justice: come, and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. Amen.

Faith happens in the East – no question. Encountering God in the East is as unsettling as it is revealing. The Eastern context is utterly unlike my own. Yet East and West, like all false division will ultimately pass away. Is Christ the o­ne who will hold hands with people of goodwill in both the West and the East. Love and mercy are joined together, justice and peace embrace with a kiss. And will the rights and responsibilities of human dignity which God has been uncovering in Occidental society ever hold hands with the ever dawning mystery of the Orient?

He illumines the darkest night. The solstice is here and with it the news that the darkest night will never extinguish the candles of justice. Here comes the sun.

O key of David, and Sceptre of the House of Israel, who opens and no o­ne shuts, who shuts and no o­ne opens: come, and bring forth the captive from his prison, he who sits in darkness and in the shadow of death. Amen.

Opening the prisons and setting free the captives – our God is o­ne who will not rest whilst his beloved o­nes are enslaved, entrapped or incarcerated. The key that unlocks the mind is the same key which unlocks the scriptures. The key to all that is. The key to conflict resolution. The key to individual liberty. The key to international peace.

This is the antiphon of priesthood too, of course. The o­ne who is the key of David gives the power to bind and loose, perhaps the most neglected parts of the priesthood of all believers and an often overlooked ministry of the sacramental priesthood of God's church. O key of David – O liberty of God.