“Today you will be with me in Paradise”
What comfort these words must have given the thief hanging on the cross beside Jesus that day on Calvary. We aren’t told if he saw Jesus as the Messiah, we only know he did not believe Jesus was guilty and he asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus came into his Kingdom.
Was it with shame that the thief remembered the words of the Prophet Ezekiel when speaking on Yahweh’s behalf he said to the people of Israel “I will forgive all that they have done”, and they shall be my people and I will be their God.
When we talk of Paradise we think of Heaven, and we may ask ourselves is Heaven a place or a state of consciousness? Either way it portrays in our minds a positive image and one that we hold close to our hearts as a place of reunion with loved ones who have gone before.
I recall reading about the difficulty missionaries had in convincing early humans, sometimes referred to as pagans, of the importance of accepting Christ as their Saviour. The conversion to Christianity was greatly impeded by the idea that when these individuals died they would no longer have hunting and drinking orgies with their loved ones who had died but not been converted. Even today we can find people who would rebel if they thought that singing and choral music was all they had to look forward to in heaven. Like faith which is intangible and difficult to explain, our sense of eternity is equally unfathomable and so we cling to the promises we have been given as disciples of Christ.
“Today you will be with me in Paradise”
In preparation for my talk I decided to read Pilgrim’s Progress. This novel, written by John Bunyon is one of my favourite classics. The author wrote his book while in prison waiting for his life to come to an end. It was to be a guide on how we should live in the world all the while keeping our eyes on the prize of Eternal Life. Many of you will be familiar with the story of the man called Christian who senses the doom that is to come and sets out to find the Celestial City. In his dream he is weighed down by all the troubles that life has thrown at him. Along the way he meets fellow travelers who have the same goal but are lacking in faith. Their attempts to discourage Christian and get him to turn back are not successful. After many hurdles that come close to destroying and discouraging Christian from continuing his journey the most harrowing being the “Valley of the Shadow of Death” where only prayer and the certainty that “the Prince whom he serves is merciful and ready to forgive” is he, then able to continue on.
John Bunyon warns his readers that the road will be long, and the trials will be difficult but in the end if they believe in Christ and make the right choices they to will arrive at their destination.
Although this story was more about the journey and less about the location to which Christian was travelling it caused me to think about my own journey. These thoughts were close to home. I remembered vividly the Covid Pandemic and what a tragic time it was particularly for seniors in care homes. Many passed away, alone and separated from their loved ones who would have been able to comfort and assure them of God’s redeeming love.
Like many older people, I too was isolated for nearly a year with only updates of the number of fatalities and repetitive advice on how to stay safe as it was presented to me each day on T.V. Tired after a while of hearing the negative feedback, I decided I would read the Bible which I did every day until I had read it from cover to cover. It was at this time that I realized I was reading not only the story of Creation but also the story of Mankind and how from the beginning we have been conscious of our Creator and been encouraged to live in a world with other people who are sometimes quite different from ourselves. I learned we were given a choice to make decisions both right and wrong, and in the learning process we made mistakes, we suffered, and we regressed but most of the time we moved onwards. It was not always easy for us to understand that we are our brother’s keeper. We are still learning this lesson today. We learned from the Prophets that God has chosen us not because we love Him, but because he loves us. God’s gift of Grace is freely given. We need only to accept the invitation if we want to be his chosen people.
“Today you will be with me in Paradise”
Birth, Life, Death, as it was in the beginning, is a fate common to all life forms. This is not the same life cycle we find in the church today. The lectionary includes scripture that we find in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. We live the life story of Our Saviour over and over. We speak again today of the resurrection even though Advent is so close at hand and we await anxiously to celebrate a time of hope love, joy, and peace that will begin a new cycle with the birth of a baby. First though, in the resurrection of Jesus, we are given the opportunity to believe that Christ is the Son of God
This is our own story and how we learn to be faithful followers knowing full well that we will meet death one day and when we do because love never dies we too will hear those words
“Today you will be with me in Paradise”
In closing come let us say the 23rd Psalm together.
PSALM 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His names sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
I will fear no evil; For you are with me;
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me;
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Amen