Chapter 16
Good Monday Morning to this week 16 of 2022
This Easter I am a bit behind with the days and the events. Somehow
I’m still wrestling with Good Friday. I then stumbled over this article
written a year ago in the midst of the pandemic, but relevant to today
as well as we wake to other new and harsh realities.
Written by David Ruis<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Strangely, I\u2019ve been reflecting of late on what must\u2019ve been going through the mind of the convicted felon who hung beside Jesus during the Crucifixion and would later be called the Penitent Thief, known as Saint Dismas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I then stumbled onto a poem about this man written by spoken word artist, Michael Mark, called \u201cJust Hangin\u2019. It begins like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I tell you the truth<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m scared<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Full of fear<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The end is near<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m just hanging here<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I couldn\u2019t shake this image. \u201cJust hanging here.\u201d Stuck. Unable to move. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, this poor bloke\u2019s lot was of his own making, although we do not know his back story at all. Given his rebuke of another criminal who was deriding the crucified Jesus, and his uncanny ability to recognize Jesus\u2019 kingship even though Christ was hanging there too, there must\u2019ve been more than meets the eye going on. He discerns the disdain for Jesus as something to be reprimanded and he also sees Jesus for who he truly was. Though Christ was marred, beaten \u2013 and as foreseen in the stunning, upside down Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 53 – battered beyond human recognition, this future Saint, recognizes a king. The King.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This perception of Jesus seemed to stir something deep within him and he cries out. Unable to do anything about his condition, and most certainly afraid of deaths threshold imminently before him, it seems that now he has hope. One translation captures it this way, \u201cJesus, \u2026 remember me when you finally become king.\u201d Although Dismas has had an epiphany of Christ, he has only gotten it partly right. And, it sounds like a lot of our prayers when we are stuck, whether of our own making or because of things beyond our control. When we\u2019re just hanging there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne day, Jesus \u2013 when you finally get this all sorted out \u2013 don\u2019t forget about me. Would you send back some help? Please don\u2019t forget!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet as NT Wright notes, Jesus\u2019 answer is quite startling. \u201c\u2026 Jesus surprises us, as he surprised the brigand, by his response. He is becoming king, here and now. No more waiting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
His presence – His face – His position – may not be what we expected or imagined a King to look, or be, like. Hanging on a cross? Scandalous at best \u2013 moronic at worst. We may be tempted to think, like the \u2018other brigand\u2019, that Jesus is just as stuck as we are. He won\u2019t rescue us. He can\u2019t even rescue himself. Yet if we can see with eyes of faith, we\u2019ll see not only his kingdom coming, but his kingdom come. Today. Though we may be stuck, yes, on a cross even, for we all have one to bear, we may taste paradise in even this dangling moment for he is with us. The kingdom is within our reach. Though we may be locked down by a relentless virus that has upended so much of our lives in such rapid fashion, Jesus is King. Jesus is present. So, this basileia, the present rule of the reign of Christ, is upon us. Now. Repent. Look again. He has not left us. He has not forsaken us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we are currently pinned down by forces beyond our control, imposed upon us and we feel like we are \u201cjust hanging\u201d, ignore the taunting voices and look to Jesus. See Him hanging on the cross and the love revealed there. It is a sweet balm in even the most hellish of circumstances \u2013 when we are hanging too. We will see paradise. We can taste it now. \u201cTaste and see that He is good.\u201d Today. Let the kingdom come.
Wishing you a good start to this new week!
Philemon <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chapter 16 Good Monday Morning to this week 16 of 2022 This Easter I am a bit behind with the days and the events. Somehow I’m still wrestling with Good Friday. I then stumbled over this article written a year ago in the midst of the pandemic, but relevant to today as well as we … <\/p>\n