And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” St. Luke 23:35-43
In the Name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Sunday by Sunday, as we have followed Saint Luke’s account of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem, we have been coming to this climax. Jesus himself predicted his crucifixion several times to the dismay of his disciples. Saint Luke emphasizes the fulfillment of the Lord’s prediction as the crown of his life and work; we could say, as the crowning and enthronement on Golgotha (aka “The Place of the Skull”) of Jesus as King and the commencement of his reign in the Kingdom of God.
The people watch this strange coronation. As the people watch, the religious leaders, then the Roman soldiers, then one of the two criminals hanging on the cross next to Jesus hurl insults at him. The religious leaders: He saved others, let him save himself. If he is Christ, God’s Chosen, let him come down from the cross. The Roman soldiers: If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself! Finally, the criminal to his side: Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us! The insults are the same: If you are who we hear you are, show us a miracle.
We look at Christ hanging on his cross and we see Psalm 22, the Miserere, take flesh: “My God, my God look upon me; why hast thou forsaken me…I am a worm and no man, a very scorn of men and the outcast of the people.” And yet, precisely at this depth of abandonment and suffering, of God-forsakenness, the Son of God reveals himself, as we heard in today’s epistle, “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell…making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Col 1:11-20)
The miracle was there before them. It was not the sort of wonder anyone expected. A few years later, the persecutor Saul of Tarsus turned Paul the Apostle wrote, “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles; but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (I Cor 1:23ff) Two millennia later the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard sought to bring his reader to see the twofold wonder at work in Christ, an offense to the unbeliever, but for the believer, “oil on the fire” of faith: First, that Almighty God should turn out to be this man. Second, that this man should be none other than Almighty God.
Did the second criminal sense something of this? He had heard the insults, especially from the first criminal, whom he rebukes: “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence; and we indeed justly, getting what we deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” This penitent criminal speaks for every sinner who is honest to God. Then he asks: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he receives the answer, “Truly I say to you [it is a solemn statement], today you will be with me in Paradise.”
So the cross is the throne of Jesus Christ the King. From his throne he executes the justice and judgment of the Kingdom of God. The sign over Jesus, This is the King of the Jews, intended as a warning by Pilate to all who would challenge the Roman Empire, told the truth. It showed the majesty of Christ the King. The Jews since Abraham are God’s chosen people; all God’s elect are Jews in spirit; Jesus of Nazareth is their King. Taking note of the sign nailed on the cross above Jesus’ bowed neck, Saint Ambrose commented, “The government is upon his shoulders. What is this government, if not his eternal power and Godhead?”1 Just as he dies, he opens up Paradise. Paradise evokes the Garden of Eden in Genesis. It had been closed. The entry, ever since the departure of our first parents through their disobedience, was barred by an angel with a flaming sword. Jesus removed the sword. Paradise lost becomes Paradise regained in the end, where the tree of life heals the nations. (Rev. 22:1-3) “When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers.”
The penitent thief leads the way in recognizing Christ the King and his kingdom, the Kingdom of God. Perhaps the condemned man was clear-sighted because he had nothing left to lose. There is something to be said for hitting rock bottom. The mind is wonderfully concentrated, Dr. Samuel Johnson observed, by the knowledge that one is to be hanged in the morning. In any case, there are few distractions from the issue at hand. There are few illusions. Faith in such a case cannot possibly be construed as something to our credit; there is nothing to do but accept the grace of God. Does this mean a deathbed conversion may be partially inspired by fear? Of course! The fear of the Lord, after all, is the beginning of wisdom. Does this mean faith is a crutch for life? Certainly! Have you noticed how, sooner or later, we all become the walking wounded? How else is one to walk except by faith?
In CS Lewis’ The Great Divorce (which is a dream about heaven and hell), the bright, joyous spirit of a formerly condemned and executed murderer, now a saint in heaven, is sent out to heaven’s frontier to speak with the ghost of a newly deceased man, a friend on earth of the now glorious penitent criminal. His assignment is to welcome in the man he knew, but the man is offended by his approach. Here is there exchange:
“Why should I be put below a bloody murderer like you?”
“Who knows whether you will be? Only be happy and come with me.”
“I’m only telling you the sort of chap I am. I’m asking for nothing but my rights.”
“Oh, it’s not as bad as that. I haven’t got my rights, or I should not be here. You will not get yours either. You’ll get something far better. Never fear.”
“I’m not asking for anybody’s bleeding charity.”
“Then do. At once. Ask for the Bleeding Charity. Everything is here for the asking and nothing can be bought.” 2
Today the Evangelist’s intention is that we come to see Christ’s crucifixion as his crowning and enthronement as King, and that in so seeing, we may desire to enter his kingdom. A penitent criminal is put forward as our example. This is no kingdom for the proud. There are no rights, just privileges, all grace and favor. The kingdoms of this world grow old and wear out, even the best of them. Jesus’ Kingdom stands and grows forever. It outlasts the world’s kingdoms, yet it is new every morning. The mystery has to do with the cross. There the King’s arms are stretched out, an open invitation to his kingdom. May we accept the embrace of the crucified Lord, Christ the King, who invites us into his kingdom, in life, in death, and forever.
In the Name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. Amen.
