Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise

There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." And they divided His garments and cast lots. And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God." The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, and saying, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself." And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us." But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong." Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."

- Luke 23:32-43

In yesterday's reading, we read about Simon, from Cyrene, who was chosen to carry Jesus' cross. His children, Rufus and Alexander, will become instrumental in the early church. But there is also a multitude, including many women, who lament what is happening to Jesus -- and it is to these women He turns. He said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!' Then they will begin 'to say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!"' For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?"

There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. As prophesied, Jesus is "numbered among the transgressors." Calvary is the English word for the Latin version of the original Greek here -- which means "Skull." My study bible notes that it was so called possibly because the shape of the hill resembled a skull or because it was a place of death.

Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." My study bible says that this is a "remarkable prayer, showing the boundless mercy of the crucified Jesus. They do not know what they do means they -- both leaders and executioners -- have no insight into the profound mystery that they are crucifying the Lord of glory." St. Paul writes (in 1 Corinthians): "We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." For myself, I am not certain as to the responsibility which Jesus assigns to the religious leaders who have not sought earnestly to do as they knew to do, and to seek who He was (and to whom He has repeatedly offered His scathing criticism and condemnation) -- but I do feel for certain that those who are truly without knowledge, especially His Roman executioners, are extended this prayer. At any rate, in terms of the boundless reality of the salvation He offers, all of these are unaware. The prayer itself speaks of the boundless mercy that awaits anyone upon repentance!

And they divided His garments and cast lots. And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God." The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, and saying, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself." And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. I think the character of the mockery is important to note: how often do we find this in life as a substitute for an honest evaluation when someone is accused in any sense? The component of bullying here is important too. Mockery and ridicule have accompanied all of Jesus' steps as He has been put before rulers such as Herod and Pilate, and while He was held before He appeared at the Council. It says something, in my opinion, about our need to check our own behavior when we go along with a crowd under any circumstances: we really might not know what we are doing. Respect for the possibility of innocence must be checked when we adopt this attitude, and also for a proper system of justice. This is indicative of ignorance and the need to deride another human being; it is the enjoyment of the suffering and humiliation of others: in this case, of the One who offers boundless salvation of which they are ignorant. My study bible says, "The people are merely onlookers. The sinister rulers and their sympathizers, who pushed for Jesus' Crucifixion, jeer Him. It is unlikely the general public would actually insult one of their own as he was being crucified by the Romans."

Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us." But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong." The complexity of this scene is interesting: Jesus has just extended a prayer for forgiveness -- but clearly, we are reminded, everyone knows this is an innocent man who has not committed a crime worthy of crucifixion. He has done nothing wrong. Does this mean that deliberate injustice is excusable? No, it speaks of the understanding of the mystery of Jesus' true nature and also of the repentance of this criminal, who knows he stands before God as he faces death. That place of humility makes his repentance, and his honest clear sight, possible.

Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." My study bible points out that this repentant criminal is the first person to enter Paradise with Christ! This is reported only in Luke, and is a clear demonstration of the mercy of Christ which has already been expressed in His prayer. The clear expression of repentance and acceptance teaches us so much about this mercy -- my study bible says that it "demonstrates the unmerited grace of God toward penitent sinners, a magnificent expression of the heart of the gospel." And so it is -- and it is another validation of the importance of truth, and of justice, and their central place to the heart of the Gospel message. Repentance isn't possible without truth, and the humility of its acceptance.

Let us, then, think about this repentant criminal, and think about what it means to be truly honest in our heart of hearts. I think it may be impossible to truly be in that place of humility without understanding that we stand before God, who sees into our hearts. This is not because of a sense of guilt or punishment, far from it -- but rather because we stand before the God who is love - and truth, and mercy and justice. St. John writes: "Perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18) and perhaps in that is the great insight into this repentant criminal. He has heard the prayer of Christ for forgiveness, and so perhaps has tasted something of His love. And that is where we start when we repent and come before God to change. We stand before love and truth. What keeps us from both is the "fear of torment" of which St. John also writes -- which has nothing to do with our Lord and everything to do with what imprisons us and keeps us from the liberation of salvation. It is, on the contrary, the "father of lies" that binds us in slavery to the fear of truth -- and ignorance of the real love of God. Jesus' words are the assurance of His love.