The Two Criminals Crucified with Jesus

Dismas – the Good thief

Reflection by Fr. Rick Shaw, Historian, Author, Biography of Bishop John Dubois, former Prison Chaplin

Their names are not in the Gospel. We have given a name to one of them – Dismas – which translates into 'Thief, ' we added to it 'The good... '.  We have left the other unnamed. This man mocks Jesus. Dismas scolds his partner in crime, saying, “Don't you fear God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we have received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” Then, one of very few individuals in the Gospels to address Jesus by His personal name petitions, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  Jesus tells him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Like the many people who add the name 'Dismas' to the 'good criminal', we tend to add to the Gospel account that the second man did not go into paradise. Each Lent, a rural church I pass frequently on the way to the prisons I serve, puts up three life-size wood crosses on its lawn, a sign put on each of the outer two crosses, one asserting, “I was saved”, the other saying, “I was not”.

This is a judgment that we are not to make. We are forbidden by Christ to do so when we are tempted to decide the guilt of others. We are playing God when we do.

Sometimes, when walking through a jail's 'intake tier', a newly arrived inmate will jump up from his cot and say something like, “I'm so glad to see a chaplain come by”, beginning a narration of why he shouldn't be where he is. Long experience warns me, “Don't jump to assume I'm getting a neutral telling of his story.”   Further down the tier another inmate, sitting elbows on his knees, looks at me when I introduce myself, turns his head away and mutters tonelessly, “I don't need anything you're selling.” 

I tend to think, “We're going to get along well. He's not trying to play me.”

Perhaps Dismas was a con artist to the end, seeing in Jesus one more person to play at this last ditch moment of his life. Perhaps the other, silently dying inmate on the third cross, was abandoned by his parents as a child, raised himself on the streets, and had never in his life been told by anyone, “I love you for being you”, and who died thinking, “I'm not asking for anything from anybody”.

When all three died, we believe that 'Dismas' awakened in Paradise face to face with Jesus. I believe that the abandoned, abused child awakened to see Jesus and 'Dismas' with him in this new place called Paradise, Jesus saying to him, “I love you for who you are, and when I prayed 'Father, forgive them, they don't know what they are doing,’ I was praying for everyone and you were nearest to me when I did so.”

The forgiveness that Jesus assures us is what we awaken ourselves to during this season of Penance and forgiveness. And we must never, in our hearts, exclude anyone from it.

Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God

Reflection by Linda Beeler, 2^nd Grade Teacher at Sacred Heart School, Middle School Faith Formation teacher at Sacred Heart Church.

When I think about you, I think of words like humble, gentle, compassionate, immaculate, and obedient, yet determined.  In your humility and gentleness, as a young girl living in Nazareth, you likely went about your daily chores doing simple tasks such as taking care of the house and the animals, preparing meals, doing laundry, and going to the market.  How stunned you must have been on the day a beautiful, heavenly angel appeared before you to present God’s plan for the world through the birth of His son.  Immaculate Mary, ever virgin, you were about to become the Mother of the Word Incarnate, the Ark of the New Covenant.  You may have wondered, “How am I worthy to bear and raise the Son of God?” and “Will I have the acceptance of Joseph and my parents?  Will any of them believe me?”  You were so brave for a young girl without experience in the world or a frame of reference in how to deal with challenges such as this one!  Your fiat lead you and Joseph in a ministry that required you to lean entirely upon the Holy Spirit, living each day strictly on a need-to-know basis.  
Together, you and Joseph quietly raised your son to live in, but not of, this world.  As parents, did you wonder if you made the right decisions in Jesus’ upbringing?  I wonder about your prayer life as the Jewish parents of a man who was to bring the fulfillment of Judaism?  Did you have even the slightest inkling of what was to come out of all this?  Maybe, maybe not.

How did you know the hour had arrived for Jesus to begin his divine work while at the weddin feast at Cana? There must have been earlier instances when a miraculous intervention would have benefitted people. Why now? Why this particular feast or public gathering? Why this young couple? 

These are the kinds of questions we in the twenty-first century continue to ask.  Why me? Why now? How do I live and go on? Who will help me?  How do I provide for my family? The Book of John tells us how you quietly guided your son into his ministry as the Son of God, when you directed the servants to “do whatever He tells you.”  God’s plan always works for the greater good. Instead of questioning the angel, your immediate response serves as an example for humanity of unwavering faith in God, and to be open to the divine Word.  When we begin to fret, feel unsettled, worried, reluctant, or distrust, let us remember your fiat, to open our hearts to hearing the Holy Spirit, and to “do whatever He tells you.”

Longinus – soldier who pierced the side of Jesus
Reflection by Matt Ingold, cofounder of Metanoia Catholic, parishioner Sacred Heart Church
 
 
I watch.
This one is different from the others.
Others wail and scream and curse,
But not this one.
 
My curiosity overtakes me.
I draw in closer.
I can hear his breathing.
I hear his final breath.
 
The earth shook
As if it too took its final breath.
It wailed in agony,
And shook in fury.
 
I step back,
His mother is next to me.
She laments,
The women are wailing.
 
My lance is in my hand.
The order comes,
Finish the job.
My eyes meet his mother’s.
 
They pierce my soul,
As I pierce his side,
She swoons.
My lance, too, pierces her heart.
 
Then eruption!
A new birth,
Blood and water cover me.
I am a new creation.
 
I am a new creation.
 

Joseph of Arimathea
Reflection by Fr. Paul Catena, pastor, Our Lady Queen of the Apostles, Frankfort & Church of the Annunciation, Ilion
 
Although Joseph of Arimathea is only mentioned once in each of the four Gospels, he is nevertheless a central figure in the life and death of Jesus Christ. The fact that he is only mentioned once reminds us that even those who work in relative obscurity for the sake of the kingdom can still make a significant impact. Each of us who has been baptized can make an impact, if we but allow Jesus to work in and through us, just like he did in Joseph.
 
Joseph was a “distinguished member of the council” (Mk 15:43), also known as the Sanhedrin, i.e. the group of Jewish religious leaders responsible for resolving issues of the Law. Although the Sanhedrin as a group were opposed to Jesus and his teachings, Joseph “had not consented to their plan of action” (Lk 23:51), i.e. to crucify Jesus. The reason he did not consent was because he was one of Jesus’ disciples, although “secretly” because of his “fear of the Jews” (Jn 19:38). This must have been very difficult for him, just as it is for any of us who take a stand for what is true and good. Doing so often requires swimming against the stream, but that is the cost associated with being a disciple of Jesus Christ.
 
Joseph might be considered what we call today a “seeker,” i.e. someone who is seeking a relationship with God, but has not yet fully committed himself or herself to faith in Jesus Christ and his Church. I say this because we are told that he “was awaiting the kingdom of God” (Mk 15:43). In other words, he was awaiting the redemption of Israel and thought that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. This begs the question. For those of us today who have been given the fullness of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ, what more do we need? In other words, we know who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. All we have to do is follow him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength.
 
Joseph is best known for providing his own tomb to bury Jesus after he had been taken down from the cross. The Gospel reports that he “courageously went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus” (Mk 15:43). This certainly was a courageous move since it came with great risk to himself and his reputation. During this holy season of Lent, and in these perilous times in the Church and in the world, may we learn from the example of Joseph of Arimathea and not be afraid to stand up for what is true and good, i.e. our faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who came to give us life and give it abundantly!