Re-membering Paradise

This Sunday, the first Sunday in Lent,  we will be reading the story of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as recorded in the gospel of Luke.  Specifically, we will be considering the two thieves being crucified with Jesus -- the one on his right and the one on his left.  The one thief is as bitter and upset as anyone might be under the circumstances -- he derides Jesus, echoing the cries of the crowd, "If you are the son of God save yourself and us!  The second thief make a curious turn -- he tells the other thief -- "we deserve this, he doesn't" and then he turns to Jesus, "Remember me when you come into your kingdom."  Jesus responds to this, "Today, you are with me in Paradise."  I find this a very interesting conversation, happening at a very unexpected time.  

What strikes me most deeply is that the second thief remembered Paradise. He remembered that life is greater than it often seems.  For those thieves the situation could not have been more dire: death was hours away.  Yet, one thief saw into eternity, tasted directly the grace of God. His response to Jesus was "remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus responded to him with the obvious:  "Today you are with me in Paradise."  This is the basic fact of our lives: that no matter how we feel, whatever may be happening to us, we can open our hearts and minds to eternity. Tasting eternity we realize that Paul was right when he said in Romans, "nothing can separate us from the love of God." 

As we move into Lent we are asked to become aware of our lives.  Sometimes that means that we touch deeply the pain that life brings, the grief that is a part of our human experience.  In this we are reminded that no matter our experience we have an option to feeling sorry for ourselves: we can remember Paradise, remember that at root our deepest lives are defined by the Faith, Hope and Love that we experience in Christ.  

Wishing you a Blessed Lent, 

David