Posted on 11/21/2016 7:34:49 AM PST by Salvation
It is good and necessary to ponder more of the Gospel of yesterday’s Solemnity of Christ the King. It remains a profound teaching that Christ was crucified between two thieves. Why?
St. Thomas Aquinas proposes three answers to the question. Let’s consider them, with particular emphasis on the third.
I. To Identify with Fallen Sinners – St Thomas said, As Christ became accursed of the cross for us, so for our salvation He was crucified as a guilty one among the guilty (Comm. xxxiii in Matth.) (Summa Theologica III, Q 46, Art. 11).
In other words, Jesus bore our guilt and our shame, though He Himself was sinless (see 1 Peter 2:24 and Isaiah 53:4). He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth (Is 53:9). And thus Christ took up and endured the punishments we deserved.
We are all sinners and thieves. How are we thieves? One who takes what belongs to another is a thief, but so also is one a thief who uses what he received from another in a way contrary to his will. In this way we are all thieves, for we have used the things of God in ways contrary to what He wants.
Consider our bodies, which belong to God (see 1 Cor 6:19-20). How often do we use them in ways contrary to what God, the true owner of our bodies, wants? We often use our bodies to sin. We use the gift of speech to speak words of malice and deceit rather than those of truth and encouragement. We allow our eyes to look upon things that violate what God would have us see. We use our ears to listen to gossip, hatred, and impurity. Using our bodies in ways that oppose what the true owner wants is a form of theft.
So we are all thieves. And yet Christ, who never stole and never sinned, is willing to be seen and counted among us! The book of Hebrews says that He is not ashamed to call us brethren. Yes, He is identified with sinners and thieves like us.
II. To Image the Final Separation – Jesus indicates that there is a great separation between those on his right (the sheep) and those on his left (the goats) on the Day of Judgment (see Matt 25:41ff). St. Thomas said,
… [A]s Pope Leo observes (Serm. iv de Passione): “Two thieves were crucified, one on His right hand and one on His left, to set forth by the very appearance of the gibbet that separation of all men which shall be made in His hour of judgment.” And Augustine on John 7:36: “The very cross, if thou mark it well, was a judgment-seat: for the judge being set in the midst, the one who believed was delivered, the other who mocked Him was condemned. Already He has signified what He shall do to the quick and the dead; some He will set on His right, others on His left hand.” … because of the cleavage between believers and unbelievers, the multitude is divided into right and left, those on the right being saved by the justification of faith (Summa Theologica III, Q 46, Art. 11).
Thus this moment indicates or pictures the final judgment, when Christ, seated on His throne as Judge of the World and Lord of all, will have some to His right and others to His left. Some will be the sheep and others the goats; some will be the wise virgins and others the foolish ones. Those on His right will hear, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matt 25:34). Those on his left will hear, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt 25:41).
III. To Insist on Freeing Suffering – Christ insisted that true disciples would be distinguished by their willingness to carry the cross. Though God originally offered paradise, Adam and Eve’s (our) rejection of it and insistence upon living in Paradise Lost, means that the Lord must insist upon the cross (suffering) as the only remedy for our salvation. St. Thomas wrote,
Bede says on Mark 15:27: “The thieves crucified with our Lord denote those who, believing in and confessing Christ, either endure the conflict of martyrdom or keep the institutes of stricter observance. But those who do [this] for the sake of everlasting glory are denoted by the faith of the thief on the right; while others who do so for the sake of human applause copy the mind and behavior of the one on the left.” (Summa Theologica III, Q 46, Art. 11).
Yes, to follow Christ involves suffering and rejection. It also involves stricter observance, which postpones certain passing pleasures in order to inherit lasting ones, which rejects apparent goods in order to receive true goods. Some are willing to endure this, while others are not.
The good thief accepted that he was suffering as he deserved, asking only to suffer with Christ. He accepted the cross and was willing to be identified with the true Christ—crucified Christ. He was willing to endure this as the way to paradise.
The bad thief wanted to be taken down. He wanted nothing to do with the cross. He thought as human beings do, not as God demanded. Like the scoffers beneath the cross, he demanded that the Messiah come down rather than endure it, that the Messiah eliminate the cross rather than insist upon it. In so doing, the bad thief sought human applause rather than God’s approval. And so the bad thief suffered in vain.
Jesus said, Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me (Matt 10:38). Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Matt 16:24). St. Paul said, … we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:23-25). He also lamented, For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things (Phil 3:18-19).
The men on either side of the Lord are both thieves, but the similarity ends there. The one is not bad merely because he reviled Christ, but also because he refused the cross and the Messiah who embraced it. The other is good not only because he did not revile Christ, but also because he accepted his cross and was willing to suffer alongside Him. Christ’s cross (and his own sliver of it) was his spes unica (only hope), and he was willing to endure it.
The question for you is this: Which thief are you?
Many people today will have nothing to do with the cross, insisting that the Messiah would demand no such thing. Among them are many so-called Catholics. They scoff at the notion that God wants them to be anything but happy and content. Speak to them of any difficult thing such as turning away from sin or doing what is unpopular, and they will insist, “God wants me to be happy, doesn’t He?”
The latest “anti-cross” trend is physician-assisted suicide; it is a rejection of the cross. Yet those who support it insist on calling it “death with dignity” and/or the “right to die.” Among them, sadly, are many Christians, who should know better. They seem to think that suffering of this sort is meaningless.
Suffering is not meaningless. It brings wisdom, humility, perspective, strength, and trust. It reminds us of the passing quality of this world and prepares us to meet God.
To many, the cross must go; it shall not be. It is not far from the cry of the bad thief and the scoffers at the foot of the cross: “If you are the Messiah, come down from that cross!” But He will not be the messiah we expect. He does not seek human applause. He will be the true Messiah. Only the true Messiah can save us.
Which thief are you? Are you the one who accepts the cross and is willing to die outside the gate with Christ, or are you the one who insists that the cross must go?
Which one are you?
and johns gospel wasnt written for years yet, how was anyone supposed to know and again, no one could read....what was going on in those years between the time of His crucificixion and waiting for john to write the gospel???
were all the people doomed since there was no written word that they couldnt read anyway????
Be careful, or you’ll shoot down all Catholic dogma by destroying the words of the scripture YOU want to use.
funny, i recall a follower of jesus by the name of judas iscariot....worked for jesus in his ministry for a short while.....probably even called him lord as well.....again, you also skipped out on faith alone scripture alone, and all other scripture THAT WASNT WRITTEN YET....
not a chance, were it not for His One Holy Catholic and Apostolic church, there would be no bible.....
What I am saying, and what you are trying to confuse, is that the Gospels do not have a sinner petitioning Mary for their Salvation or for Mary to act as an intercessor between the sinner and Christ for their salvation, but instead always ask Christ for their forgiveness.
This is what the Apostles taught, that there is no other name under heaven that can save us, and that there is only one mediator, Jesus Christ.
If you think praying to Mary helps you in any way, that’s your prerogative. Just don’t make it a requirement on us who ask Jesus directly for intercession.
As for me, I say, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” and “Lord, remember me.”
Saying a sinner’s prayer doesn’t save you. Being regenerated by the Holy Spirit is the only way. Until then we are dead and blind to our sinful nature. A dead person doesn’t know he’s dead and therefore can’t do anything about it him/herself.
no other is required, but how does it hurt to ask His mother to intercede on our behalf...
the wedding at canaan showed some influence there.
Which apostle pastors your church ?
The Bible is like an Easter Egg hunt. There are eggs right out in the open that even a child can understand, yet there are eggs hidden where you have to have the desire to pursue the highest egg count in the end to understand. Most of us pick up the eggs meant for the 5 year old and say, "This is too easy" and move on to other pursuits, never understanding that God has told you so much more if you choose to pursue them. Remember the verses "Knock and it will be opened to you" or "Seek and you will find". The holy Spirit is you teacher and will open your understanding as you seek God.
If you have a reference Bible like mine, you can go to Isa 52-53 and see a whole slew of stars next to the prophetic verses and Jesus fulfilled each and every one. To NOT do so would mean He is a pretender and NOT the Messiah. Jesus was prophesied hundreds of years before His appearance and then appeared and fulfilled each and every prophesy. This way you can have complete confidence that the Bible is true and that Jesus is the Truth, the Way, and The Life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him. Ask a Muslim how many prophesies of Mohammed have come about?
Now that SHOULD strengthen everyone's faith that the Bible is True and accurate in all things, but ask 5 people their opinion of Scripture and you will see varying opinions, from complete disbelief, to absolute Truth. I have come to the faith that the Bible is absolute truth, breathed into man, by the Holy Spirit as it says in Scripture, BTW. The trouble comes when we stop the reading of the Bible and even more so, studying the Bible, as of course we all know it's myths and fables according to the world. I'm old enough to remember praying in school and actually having classes in public school in Bible study. Even atheists knew the Bible but just didn't believe. Today, ask a teen who Noah was, or Jonah, or David and even who Jesus is, and many cannot even recall what they did. We have kids today that never heard of Jesus, let alone the Antichrist.
I'm flabbergasted many times that people know almost nothing about Scripture when it's the most printed book in world history and almost everyone has access of some sort to the Bible. For me it's almost as if blind men are walking across a highway without a dog or a stick and expecting to get where they want to go without even asking directions. People place their entire eternal destination on wives tales and rumors from atheists and liars. God gave us His complete story and we somehow don't want to even read it, let alone speak of it.
Google "Blair Wingo, Allow me to reintroduce the Christ" and listen or read her poetry. In this poem she pretty much speaks on this very subject. An idol is something we have "carved out" in our minds that becomes our "god." Today's gods bare little resemblance to the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. It's all there in the Bible if we just would read it and absorb what God is telling His people.
Great one!
Love the interesting links too.
Interesting links!
One thief was saved so that no man might despair.
Only one thief was saved so that no man might presume.
Great quote!
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