Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom

 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

Yesterday, we read that as they led Jesus away to Golgotha for crucifixion, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.  And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him.  But Jesus, turning to them, 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.    The word translated as Calvary (from Latin) is literally "the skull" in Greek.  My study bible says that being crucified between two criminals shows Christ''s complete identity with fallen humanity.  It also fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 53:9-12.

Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."  And they divided His garments and cast lots.  My study bible suggests that Jesus' intercession here isn't only for those immediately responsible for crucifixion -- such as the soldiers present -- but for all of humanity:  a people who have no insight into the profound mystery of God's salvation.  Jesus speaks these words with divine authority.  Their sin would have been forgiven them had they repented.  And, addressing these soldiers directly, we do know that one repented and is considered a saint of the Church (see Luke 23:47).

  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."   In the repeated taunting of Jesus, we read the words "Save Yourself."  My study bible says this is the continuing temptation of Satan to deter Jesus from completing His mission (see also Luke 4:9-13).

And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:  THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.    A note tells us that what was intended as accusation and mockery becomes instead a triumphant symbol that all nations would come under the reign of Jesus the King.

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."   My study bible says that the first of the two criminals wanted to use Jesus in order to avoid responsibility, but the other accepts his sentence and asks only to be remembered.   This latter way, my study bible tells us, is the way to Paradise.  Jesus uses the word, "today," indicating that to be reconciled to Christ is to be in paradise immediately.  The souls of the departed are in the presence of God and experience a foretaste of His glory, say my study bible, before the final resurrection.

What strikes me powerfully in today's reading is the comment by my study bible regarding the confession of the criminal on the cross next to Jesus.  One takes no responsibility for his life, but the one who is pardoned accepts his sentence and asks only to be remembered.  What it says to me is that this is the one who acknowledges the truth of his life, the fullness of the reality of his life, and so he is the one who can have a relationship with Christ.  Over and over again, Christ preaches against our own blindness to ourselves and our lives.  He has warned us about seeing the splinter in another's eye but being blind to the plank in our own.  He has taught us the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee, in which the Pharisee prayed "with himself" while the tax collector admitted to God the sins he had committed; Jesus tells us it is the tax collector who leaves justified, truly reconciled.  What we learn from Christ is something about truth once again:  that the truth is indispensable to our salvation and our hope.  We have no hope of reconciliation and healing without truth, without a clear understanding of our own reality.  Our God isn't a fantasy-world creation, based in false myth.  This is a God of truth; as Jesus has described Himself:  I am the way, the truth, the life.   If we want to be truly healed, justified, reconciled to God, we have to be aware of our own truth and own up to it.  We can't live in fantasies and be reconciled to our God who is the truth.  So let us examine with clear eyes how Jesus calls us to truth even on the Cross.  He remains in His truth, He remains as healer, He remains as Lord.  There is nothing about this scene, no matter how perverse this false "justice" is that is being applied, that takes away from the Lord:  He is healing, He is saving, He is telling the truth, and He is speaking of His Kingdom.  He forgives and continues to try to save, but He never relinquishes His truth nor His identity.  And that is the great lesson to us.  No matter what the situation, we center upon the truth, we don't deviate from reality to please falsehood, petty dictators who would tell us what is what.  He forgives one thief, but the other remains in his sins.  He can be reconciled to all of us, but it is we who bear a responsibility to know our truth, to open our eyes to what is what, not to live with our own delusions.  This is psychological reality:  our arrogance gets us nowhere in healing, our own lies to ourselves, our denial, means we stay in our illness, our disease, our sin.  Let us remember where Christ takes us, and go there with Him.  He is the way and the truth and the life.  His witness is true, His word is our truth.  We need humility to remain in that truth, to be truly healed and saved.