Today - A Day Without End

And 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.” (Luke 23:42-43 ESV) Sometimes endings have a way of becoming a new beginning, particularly the ending of Jesus’ earthly ministry in and through the cross. Today at International Lutheran Church, we come to the end of the church year, and the end of our reading of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem, but also the beginning of something unimaginable - today, a day without end!

Since Luke 9:51, Jesus had set His face resolutely to Jerusalem. Perhaps at the time, many of His disciples saw this as Jesus’ final moment to take on the establishment and create something new – His Kingdom, the kingdom of Heaven on earth. For many and especially the disciples, Jesus was going to Jerusalem to be crowned king of all. But throughout that journey there were hints and descriptions of something entirely different awaiting Jesus in Jerusalem – namely His cross. While the expectation was to usher in the Kingdom – His kingdom with Jesus as King - no one could perceive that this would be His complete and utter rejection. The title “King of the Jews” nailed above His head wasn’t meant to be an acknowledgement of His kingship, but rather as a mocking gesture to defame and ridicule this “Chosen One of God.” Luke tells us how many came to the cross to hurl further insults and slurs. Even one of the criminals dying next to Him joined in their object derision. While the cross is the unimaginable tragic end of the Son of God made flesh, the attention and plea of the other thief turns our ears to hear and eyes to see something entirely different. As this thief considers Jesus’ concern for the weeping women, His prayer of forgiveness for those crucifying Him, and the endless innocent ridicule that Jesus is enduring, this man’s heart is filled with faith.

Note that this change of heart comes in two forms. First, there is a recognition of the just judgement upon his own actions. He owns his own death as the just and righteous outcome for his deeds. This isn’t easy to do. We so often want to find someone else to blame for all our troubles, our own mistakes, and even our blind rage. Just read Genesis 3 and 4 if you are in doubt. Second, the thief sees in Jesus something that we may at times miss – something new, something that goes beyond ourselves and our ability to justify our own actions. He sees a King who in His death is instead ushering in a new and eternal Kingdom that is not ruled by our own efforts but instead is ruled by God’s action to forgive and make alive!  Where there are many who only see the end, the death and destruction of Jesus, this man sees a new beginning. By the miracle of faith, the Holy Spirit inspires this man dying next to Jesus to turn to Him with eyes of faith uttering a simple but profound plea: “Jesus, remember me when you enter into Your Kingdom!”

The response is worth noting and setting to memory. “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43) With these words, Jesus extends to this man and to all the clear and present promise of life today. This is not a promise for some distant future rainy day, but a promise that lifts us now. This end, His End, changes everything. His death, His End, and final breath is new life for us, the forgiveness of our sin, and the gift of eternal life lived both now and on “the Day, that Day, that great and glorious Day” yet to come. This changes our grave from our final moment to our eternal rest and victory. This changes our day, each and every day, to be a new creation and opportunity to live in the promise of His eternal Kingdom that has come and is coming still to us each day as we pray, “Thy Kingdom come.”

While it is true that we wait and live by faith for the promises of God to become fully realized in our lives, it is also true that His promise of forgiveness and complete and eternal acceptance by Him changes the way we live right now. We begin each day and close each day knowing that we are forgiven by God and freed to share that forgiveness with all those who are a part of our lives for better or worse. We can face the challenges and difficulties of living in a broken and sinful world knowing that God is making all things new, even in the midst of this brokenness. We can even give of self to our neighbor and stranger not expecting anything in return knowing that this is part of God’s way of caring for all. As the thief on the cross saw his just end, Jesus declares to him, to us and to all a new beginning: today – a day without end!

While “the end” of the world brings foreboding to most, our lives are now meant to bear witness to the new life that is in Him and the redemption that awaits us all. Just as we see in Jesus’ death our new life, the forgiveness of our sins, and victory over death in His resurrection, so now we also see how God uses the brokenness of our lives, our daily “end,” to bring forth in us His new life in and around us. Like the temple, our daily death to self will not leave one stone upon another, not to simply bring us to the dust, but so that His glorious new life can be brought into our lives and the lives of all those around us. Yes, as all things come apart, and not one thing is left upon another, this is our opportunity to bear witness to all of His grace and love.

Pastor Carl