by Fr. Gregory-David Jones, O.S.B.

      The Calvary image that many of us are familiar with is the three crosses, Jesus being at the center and two others, one on each side.  It can be said that this image is a summary of life and final judgment.  We all hope that we can relate to the “Good Thief” who was assured entry into the Kingdom of God, but in our context how does this take place?

     St. Dismas is often referred to as the “Good Thief” because he “stole” his way to heaven by pleading to our Lord for a free “ticket” to heaven despite his criminal past.  The reality is that Dismas’ past was not that important in terms of the eternal reward Jesus promised him.  What mattered most was that unplanned moment in which he was dying on his cross.  One word in his request was the door to understanding the deep theology in the confession of a repentant thief.  He did not request, “Jesus, remember me when you come into the kingdom."  He requested, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."  By acknowledging the Kingdom as belonging to Jesus, and begging entry into that Kingdom, Dismas accepted Jesus not as a free ticket to paradise, but as His Lord and Savior. 

     Our hope is that we are like the “Good Thief”, St. Dismas, not in that we wait until the final moments of our lives to repent of our sins.  That would miss the most valuable point that his life teaches us.  When faced with the sight of Jesus Crucified, Dismas acknowledge his guilt, surrendered himself to the mercy of God and was promised eternal happiness in God’s Kingdom.  Our hope is that like him we use the opportunity that we are given when we look upon the Cross to not let our past failures define who we are.  That opportunity is now!  All we have to do is look upon, or even think of the image of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross and acknowledge his Kingship in every aspect of our lives.

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