The Seven Last Words Devotion - Good Friday 2020

The Seven Last Words is a devotion commemorating the three hours Christ suffered and died on the cross. This presentation is brought to you prayerfully by Deacon Bill Bauer, Lyn Brokow, Deacon Joe Campbell, Katie Cudworth, Deacon Michael Martini, Deacon Mike Meyer, Deacon Mark van Duynhoven, and Nancy Weidner. The text of my contribution is provided below, if your prefer to read it.

The Second Word:

“I tell you this: Today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

Reading: 

One of the criminals, hanging in crucifixion, jeeringly said to him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” But the other rebuked him, saying: “Haven’t you any fear of God, seeing that you are under the same sentence? And we deserve it; we are paying the penalty for what we have done. But this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus said: “I tell you this: Today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Reflection: 

Ever since I was young, I’ve loved imagining what heaven is like.  My earliest images involved a lot of clouds, winged angels in white robes, and our Trinitarian God appearing as an old man, a young man, and a bird.  As I grew older, the images became more creative.  Heaven looked a lot like OZ – minus the wicked witches: golden roads, horses of many colors, and a spectacular city on a hill in the middle of a poppy field.  At times I’d wonder whether heaven was different for different people.  My grandmother always spoke fondly of her childhood game of sliding off the roof of their barn into a soft, warm manure pile.  Is that what heaven’s like for her?  For me, then, heaven definitely would be Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory: candy canes growing on trees; lollipops sprouting from the ground; and, of course, a chocolate river running through it all. In all of these musings, even the more mature thoughts of my post-middle age, heaven has always been a sign of happiness and hope for me, which is why, I think, I gravitated to this Word so quickly when asked to participate in today’s reflections.

Jesus is mocked three times with the challenge to “Save yourself,” but he doesn’t.  He saves the criminal instead, not from the cross, but with the promise of eternal life with him in Paradise.  “In his own dying hour, Jesus continues his ministry”[1] with a promise that didn’t “come so much from the wood of a cross as from a throne of power.”[2] What could be more hopeful than that?

As I contemplate this word, I’m comforted by two thoughts.  First, Jesus never stops seeking to save the lost.  The man on the cross next to him is a confessed criminal, but Jesus welcomes him to Paradise anyway.  None of us is so far gone that we can’t receive Jesus’ mercy. There’s hope, even for me.

Second, I’m comforted by the thought that I’m invited to enter into Jesus’ Paradise today.  No, I’m not planning on dying anytime soon.  Jesus said, “Today you will be with me in Paradise,” and you’ll recall that he also told us that the Kingdom of God is in our midst (Luke 17: 21).  Before this world we live in was corrupted by sin, it was Paradise. You know, heaven isn’t a place, it’s a way of living.  So when we live as Jesus taught us to live, in union with God through him, loving God and neighbor, we experience his Paradise here and now.  Of course, the difficulties of this life don’t just disappear.  As Saint Augustine said, “To be with Christ in Paradise ‘today’ is to be with him even when he descends into hell.”[3]  Or in Fulton Sheen’s words, “Unless there’s a Good Friday in your life, there can be no Easter Sunday.”  But in any event, good or bad, I know that Jesus is with me, and that’s what makes today Paradise. 

For me, the Second Word isn’t just a nice saying I glean from the Bible to make me feel better. It’s a reality I experience almost every day of my life—when I look for it.

+ I’m with Jesus in Paradise when I appreciate the beauty of our verdant Hunterdon hay fields on long, quiet walks;

+ I’m with Jesus in Paradise when I connect with family and friends to make sure we’re all OK;

+ I’m with Jesus in Paradise when I pray for his help through the worst times in my life, or for his forgiveness when I’m at my worst.

Whether it has a chocolate river or not, I’m with Jesus in Paradise today, because I believe down to the core of my very being, that Jesus is with me always to the end of time.

Prayer:

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus: Remember my sins only to forgive them. Remember my failings only to strengthen me. Remember my sufferings only to help me bear them. I ask with confidence for a place in heaven both for myself and for my loved ones. When I die and stand before you in judgment, may I hear these words of happiness and hope: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” AMEN

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[1] Fred B. Craddock, Luke: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), 274.

[2] Arthur A. Just Jr., Thomas C. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Luke, vol. III (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 437.

[3] Ibid.