Each of us who is baptized,
whether we remember it or not,
was marked with the sign of the cross,
just as we saw our catechumens, Chad and Sarah,
marked with the cross at the beginning of Mass.
Each of us who is baptized,
whether we remember it or not,
has received this sign of his love
and been called to know and follow him.
Each of us who is baptized,
whether we remember it or not,
bears the mark of Christ our king,
to whose service our lives have been pledged.
whether we remember it or not,
was marked with the sign of the cross,
just as we saw our catechumens, Chad and Sarah,
marked with the cross at the beginning of Mass.
Each of us who is baptized,
whether we remember it or not,
has received this sign of his love
and been called to know and follow him.
Each of us who is baptized,
whether we remember it or not,
bears the mark of Christ our king,
to whose service our lives have been pledged.
The cross, if you think about it,
is a strange sign for a king.
When the Romans placed the words
“This is the King of the Jews”
above the head of Jesus
as he hung on the cross,
they saw themselves engaged
in a clever act of irony, inviting derision—
as if to say, “Get a load of this guy.
He thought he was all that,
but see what the power of Rome can do
to this so-called king.”
For crucifixion was intended
not only to be physically excruciating
but to be socially discrediting
and psychologically humiliating.
is a strange sign for a king.
When the Romans placed the words
“This is the King of the Jews”
above the head of Jesus
as he hung on the cross,
they saw themselves engaged
in a clever act of irony, inviting derision—
as if to say, “Get a load of this guy.
He thought he was all that,
but see what the power of Rome can do
to this so-called king.”
For crucifixion was intended
not only to be physically excruciating
but to be socially discrediting
and psychologically humiliating.
And the bystanders were happy to oblige:
the Jewish leaders sneered;
the Roman soldiers jeered;
and even one of the criminals
crucified alongside him
mockingly asked Jesus to save him.
Where is your kingdom of God now,
you pitiful, weak, carpenter from Nazareth?
the Jewish leaders sneered;
the Roman soldiers jeered;
and even one of the criminals
crucified alongside him
mockingly asked Jesus to save him.
Where is your kingdom of God now,
you pitiful, weak, carpenter from Nazareth?
But the other criminal crucified with Jesus
did not join in the sneering and jeering and mocking.
He saw something different.
Where is God’s Kingdom now?
The good thief sees it
hanging beside him on the cross.
With eyes opened by the gift of faith,
the good thief sees in the man of sorrows
“the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation,”
the one who is “before all things,”
and in whom “all things hold together.”
He sees in the agony of Jesus
the king who is “making peace
by the blood of his cross.”
What his killers meant for mockery
the good thief sees as the revelation
of Christ’s Kingdom of love and mercy.
did not join in the sneering and jeering and mocking.
He saw something different.
Where is God’s Kingdom now?
The good thief sees it
hanging beside him on the cross.
With eyes opened by the gift of faith,
the good thief sees in the man of sorrows
“the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation,”
the one who is “before all things,”
and in whom “all things hold together.”
He sees in the agony of Jesus
the king who is “making peace
by the blood of his cross.”
What his killers meant for mockery
the good thief sees as the revelation
of Christ’s Kingdom of love and mercy.
But the cross also reveals God’s judgment
upon the kingdoms of this world,
unveiling the cruelty of the power of Rome,
casting light upon the darkness
of human hearts that delight in suffering
and in the destruction of their enemies.
We see revealed and judged
the counter-kingdoms of this world,
in which false peace is maintained
through terror and torture.
In the death of Jesus, light of the world,
we see the working of the darkness
from which he comes to deliver us.
upon the kingdoms of this world,
unveiling the cruelty of the power of Rome,
casting light upon the darkness
of human hearts that delight in suffering
and in the destruction of their enemies.
We see revealed and judged
the counter-kingdoms of this world,
in which false peace is maintained
through terror and torture.
In the death of Jesus, light of the world,
we see the working of the darkness
from which he comes to deliver us.
Seeing all this, the good thief asks sincerely
what the other thief asked mockingly:
Jesus, save me.
He does not ask to be spared his fate;
he does not ask to be taken from the cross;
he asks instead, “remember me
when you come into your kingdom.”
Death is closing in upon me,
but I believe that you are light itself
in the midst of darkness,
life in the midst of death.
Death seeks to dissolve me
but in you all things hold together.
And if you remember me,
if you hold me in your heart,
then I will live eternally in you.
I have shared in your cross;
let me share your resurrection.
what the other thief asked mockingly:
Jesus, save me.
He does not ask to be spared his fate;
he does not ask to be taken from the cross;
he asks instead, “remember me
when you come into your kingdom.”
Death is closing in upon me,
but I believe that you are light itself
in the midst of darkness,
life in the midst of death.
Death seeks to dissolve me
but in you all things hold together.
And if you remember me,
if you hold me in your heart,
then I will live eternally in you.
I have shared in your cross;
let me share your resurrection.
Remember me in your kingdom of life.
This should be our prayer as well—
we who have been marked with his cross,
the sign of his kingdom of love and mercy.
Perhaps we received this sign as an adult,
perhaps we received it as a tiny child
and have no memory of that day.
But whether or not we remember is unimportant.
What is important is that he remembers us
and that he journeys with us
as we have sought to know him and follow him,
as we have journeyed through a world
of false peace and cruelty.
He remembers us
not because we deserve it,
but because he is love and light and life.
This should be our prayer as well—
we who have been marked with his cross,
the sign of his kingdom of love and mercy.
Perhaps we received this sign as an adult,
perhaps we received it as a tiny child
and have no memory of that day.
But whether or not we remember is unimportant.
What is important is that he remembers us
and that he journeys with us
as we have sought to know him and follow him,
as we have journeyed through a world
of false peace and cruelty.
He remembers us
not because we deserve it,
but because he is love and light and life.
At every Mass, we good thieves ask
to be remembered in Christ’s kingdom,
praying in our Eucharistic Prayer:
“Remember, Lord, your Church,
spread throughout the world…
Remember…all who have died in your mercy.”
Jesus, remember them,
remember us,
hold us together in your heart
so that we might belong
to your kingdom of mercy
and share in the inheritance
of your saints in light.
O Christ our king, who mark us
with the sign of your love,
grant us your peace
and have mercy on us all.
