Which Criminal Am I?

"When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified 

him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left."

(Luke 23: 33)

          Which criminal am I?  That's the question I'll be meditating on this afternoon as I listen to the presentation of the Seven Last Words and participate in the Liturgy of the Passion of the Lord.  Am I the criminal who reviled Jesus and challenged him to save himself and them from the cross?  Or am I the criminal who acknowledged Jesus' innocence and his own guilt, asking Jesus to remember him when he comes into his Kingdom?

          I'm sure I'm a little of both.  So I challenge myself today to reflect upon the times when I've tried to make God in my own image, when I've made demands on God and have failed to take responsibility for my own actions.  Perhaps by reflecting on those time, I'll address them and try to live a better life.  But I'll also challenge myself to acknowledge the good that I've done, the times that I've appreciated the enormity of the sacrifice of the innocent Lamb.  Jesus never asked us to beat ourselves up over our failures.  He asks us to acknowledge them, to seek forgiveness where necessary and to receive the gift of God's great mercy joyfully.  If we do this, we will hear Christ's words spoken from the cross:

"Amen I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

(Luke 23: 43)