Uplift: This Startled Me

I came across this passage in the run up to Easter and it startled me, even though I had read the story many times before. The story is in Luke 23. The setting is Golgotha. 

“Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.  When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”  And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?  We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”  

Two men suffer on either side of Jesus. One recognizes Jesus as the Messiah, the other mocks him. Both are in the same moment, at the same place, in the same circumstance, but what each “sees” is radically different. Now that speaks volumes in itself, but what strikes me is how this brand-new believer, who by his own admission has lived a less than exemplary life, is transitioned, in a divine instant, from condemnation in this world to an invitation to dwell with God in paradise. By faith alone. Through Jesus. Note that Jesus does not weigh the good and the bad of this man’s past before offering him paradise. These words, from our church bulletin just this past Sunday, illuminate it beautifully: “So friends, no matter the baggage that we bring, know that you are already seen, loved and invited by God to be part of something big and beautiful. This is the good news of the gospel: we are loved by God and called to be a part of the work that God is doing. Thanks be to God! Amen.”  

The song pairing is a quick take on a chant from an ancient monastic community in France, that takes its words from this Scripture.  “Jesus Remember Me.” 

Until next time, stay safe, be brave and keep walking toward the light.