C, The Last Sunday of the Church Year Proper 29 - Luke 23:33-43 "Jesus Remember Me"

Luke 23:33–43 (ESV)  And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.  And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.  And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”  The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine  and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”  There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”  One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”  But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?  And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”  And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

At the place called the Skull, or in Aramaic, Golgotha, everything in creation came to a head.  The Head of our faith, the Head of the body of Christendom, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, finished everything and brought a new beginning through his resurrection.

Here, life dealt with death, holiness overcame evil, hidden love was uncovered, true love was unhidden.  The Son of God was revealed and lifted up on the cross having been concealed in the flesh of humanity.  

Saint Paul uses the word “preeminent” in his creedal statement to the Colossians.  We hear of Jesus, “He is the head of the body, the church.  He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” (Colossians 1:18 ESV)

In Greek, preeminent is “protos”.  Jesus is the first, the prototype, the one through whom all receive their identity and image. 

First, we receive our identity as human flesh.  Like Adam we are terrified by our sin, suffering, dying and death.  

Then, we get our identity as human flesh, forgiven by Jesus Christ, born in the flesh of Adam, but not prone to sin as are we.  

You do well to live with this remembrance as Jesus Christ, the Preeminent First One, remembers you!  

Speaking of remembrance, cemeteries are often referred to as remembrance parks.  On seeing or visiting a cemetery, what are you reminded of?  

When you look at the grave of a loved one, what do you remember?  Do you see their descent into the ground and remember loss?  Or do you look past the grave and funeral, seeing crosses that mark most graves and remember the resurrection?

When you remember, does the Prototype, the Risen Head of the church come to mind, welling up peace, purpose, and pleasure within?  Does the Head, fill you with delight and hope?

For those who do not believe in Jesus Christ, cemeteries are places of death, loss, and inconsolable grief and hopelessness.  The cemetery, for those who do not believe, is a place of remembering “what was – but is no more”.  In despair one might hopelessly think, “God did not save Jesus from death, nor has he saved this person in the grave.”

On the other hand, those who believe in Jesus Christ, cemeteries are places of sadness too!  But it is a sadness being overcome with hope and joy.  The graves of those who have died believing in Jesus Christ, have been made holy by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

We remember this of those who have died in faith and now rest from the troubles we still endure.  We remember Jesus’ death.  We also welcome our rest in the grave, glorious resurrection, a perfected creation, and worship face to face before Jesus Christ.  In cemetery remembrance gardens we look forward to, and remember Jesus’ promised garden of, paradise.

We also remember the Head of the Church has crushed the head of the evil one at the place of the Skull, Golgotha, and through death brings life. 

St Paul encourages the Colossians to remember in the Holy Spirit that our Heavenly Father, “has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13 ESV).  

So too, we are called to remember the work of God, by the Holy Spirit.  We are continually being transferred from kingdoms of darkness and hopelessness to his kingdom of light and eternal love.

However, in our weakness, we humans struggle with the reality of death.  The human spirit wants to avoid death.  The Old Adam does not want to trust what he cannot see and experience for himself.  He wants to continue taking and re-taking control.  He wants to double back on himself, like a deceptive fox, avoiding the revealing light and love of God’s work of forgiveness and love.

Like the first thief on the cross, your Old Adam, our sinful human spirit, wants the Son of God to sin by saving himself from death and then free us from impending suffering and death as well.  But cheating death like this, like criminals on the run, we would always have one eye over our shoulders knowing we cannot hide from God.  Death will return to enslave if Jesus didn’t die to pay our debt.

Like the other thief, we do well to remember our sin and guilt.  To know that God cannot be mocked, or shamed, into dismissing our sin.  If he did, he would no longer be God, my sin would desecrate his holiness, my debt would go unpaid, and knowledge of eternal destruction would make living seem like being on death row.

This thief knew his debt would bring him to his death.  Unlike the other criminal, he knew a last expenditure of power taunting Jesus to save himself from death, would not save Jesus, him, or the other criminal from death.

Something in this second criminal, made him believe that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, the King of the Jews, and that through death, Jesus would overcome death.  

Did he hear the blasphemous taunts of the soldiers, Jews, and other criminal and believe the truth hidden in their taunts?  Did he read the inscription above Jesus that he was the King of the Jews?  Did he hear Jesus’ word somewhere else in his ministry before the crucifixion? 

We don’t know!  But we do know, he remembered his sin, he remembered Jesus had done nothing wrong, and he also looked forward in hope to Jesus coming into his kingdom!

In faith and hope he said, “‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’  And he [Jesus] said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.’”

What a wonderful promise!  Today you will finish up with me, out of pain and suffering, past death in paradise!  Jesus then gave up his spirit and died on the cross.  Death was finished, full atonement was made, all righteousness was fulfilled.

Earlier before Jesus died, he said, “For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” (Luke 23:31 ESV)

But when he was crucified and as they cast lots to divide his garments, “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’” (Luke 23:34a ESV)

Today the wood is very dry.  There seems to be not much greenness in the cross, devoid of power, little hope is seen in the future of the church; dissolution and death of denominations within Christendom looks real.

We might want to cry out to God in disbelief, “If Jesus is the Son of God, let him save us and our church!”

But Jesus has saved the church, he is saving the church, and he will save those who are his church.  Those who are his church remember their sin, know Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Chosen One, to die in payment for sin.  

The wood of the cross has long dried.  But the power of the cross is still green.   Like Aaron’s staff in Moses’ hand covered in blossoms, Jesus’ death still oozes resurrection life.   

Jesus Christ is the evergreen verdant “Tree of Life” in the centre of Paradise.  The Holy Spirit wills you with the sword of God’s word to remember and trust in Jesus, to death, and through death.  He wills you to hope in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  He is the Head of your salvation, the Chosen one!  He is the King of kings, and Lord of Lords!

Know and remember that God is with you through death.  That to death and through death, we believe, therefore confess, “Jesus Christ, Son of God, remember me.”  Amen. 

C, Resurrection of our Lord, Easter Sunday - 1 Corinthians 15:22–26 "Nailed to Jesus"

1 Corinthians 15:22–26 (ESV) For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.  But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.  Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.  For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.  The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

The proclamation of Jesus Christ does one of two things!  It causes belief or it causes unbelief!  For the person who believes, knows they are a sinner and freely accepts what Jesus does for them. 

But one who doesn’t believe, rejects his work, for whatever reason, and continues on being his enemy.

The criminals crucified on the cross paint a good picture of humanity and their acceptance or rejection of Jesus.  Jesus as friend or foe!

In the gospels there seems to be a discrepancy over how the two criminals treat Jesus.  In Matthew and Mark’s Gospel accounts, both the criminals revile Jesus, along with everyone else.  These two accounts demonstrate Jesus’ complete humiliation, but in Luke we hear differently. 

Luke’s Gospel says, “One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!’  But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?  And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.’  And he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’  And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.’” (Luke 23:39–43 ESV)

Modern day scholarship, focusing on exact detail, might assume one view to be wrong.  However, the criminals and Jesus hung there for a period of time.  I would expect if I was hanging on a cross, I would say and do anything to get off it and be relieved of pain.  So too the criminals hanging there, hearing the jeers of those standing around making fun would have railed at him too!  Not in disbelief that he would not save himself though!  But they railed him to save himself in the hope they too would be rescued.  But they are not rescued, and nor does Jesus save himself.

Both men crucified beside Jesus are both criminals.  Both are there because they were caught in their crime.  Both do not want to die but live.  But both know they will die.

It’s at this point I get a picture in my head, of the Industry Superannuation advertisement, where one puts their future in the advertised super and holds their hands in that diamond box shape as they ascend up an escalator.  The picture represents their superannuation profits rising faster than the other who doesn’t use the advertised super.

In the same way, the one criminal, who has been invested only in himself, has a lucid moment, and scalds the other crucified criminal still reviling Jesus.  Instead of holding up a shape of a diamond box, he holds up Jesus and puts his death into Jesus hands.  Perhaps instead of making a diamond box with his hands,  in his heart he makes the shape of his Saviour’s cross and says, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  From little things big things grow, so the jingle in the advert goes.  So, from a glimmer of faith, Jesus causes big things to happen to the guilty criminal, saying, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Imagine here today, that we are there that first Sunday Easter morning.  We see the crosses now empty on Calvary.  The tomb is empty, it’s the first day of the week.  Jesus has died, Jesus has risen.  But what of the two criminals?  How did their investments pay off?

They both now exist outside of time.  One experienced Jesus as he descended into and passed through hell on the Sabbath, knowing forever and smarting that he missed having a Saviour by “that much”.

The other criminal has ascended hand in hand, with his Saviour, the firstfruits of heaven, with Abel, the first human to die, and with everyone since, who trusts in God’s Saviour.

Are you there with them at the ascension?  Or have you seen the backside of Jesus, as he has departed hell forever, and you now live in eternal separation from God?  The itches of pleasure you placed your trust in, now eternally nailed to you as festering forever sores, but still itching without relief.

The two criminals on the cross are a perfect picture for humanity.  Like the criminals we are all eternally guilty as enemies.  Like the criminals we will have our guilt nailed out for all to see as God sees it now.  Like the criminals we can do absolutely nothing to remove the guilt of our sins and the guilt from its reality.  But like the one criminal we can appeal to one who can save us.

This criminal came to know he was nailed beside a king.  He was nailed up beside the King of Kings, the King of Heaven.  He reviled this king yet still entered the Paradise of Heaven.  He was a sinner but was saved by a Saviour.  He turned to Jesus, from being a foe, to being a friend.  He now worships God in heaven for his salvation! 

But in heaven, there is only one who still bears the scars of the cross, and everyone worships him, our Lord and Saviour, who bears these healed wounds.  The criminal no longer bears the scars of his nails, that is, his sin, since he now glorifies God with a risen and glorified body.

You too will have all your scars of sin removed forever.  Like the criminal, you will have the blood of the Lamb wash you clean, and you will enter paradise to worship God the Father, Jesus Christ, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, in all their oneness and glory.

But for now, as we wait in time, you remain nailed on your cross!  So, carry your cross, and like the guilty criminal, look to Jesus on his cross.  Like the criminal, you too are guilty, like the criminal you too will die, but like the criminal you too will receive the sentence of eternal life.  You are in Paradise with him today! 

O the sweet joy this sentence gives, to know my Redeemer lives on this day of sweet, sweet, resurrection victory.  Amen.