Feast of Christ the King
(Sunday 20th November 2016)
Our faith allows us to place our lives in God’s hands – Luke 23:35-43
This Sunday’s Gospel presents us with two very different ways of looking at faith.
The first thief asked that Jesus save him. His relationship with Jesus was that of an escape artist. This idea of faith sees it as a way of getting out of trouble, using one’s relationship with God as a kind of comfort zone. It sees prayer as doing a deal, but not fundamentally changing or challenging ones’ way of life. The first thief knew exactly what he wanted Jesus to do; he wanted Jesus to dance to his tune. This is not faith but manipulation.
Let us look at how differently the second criminal teaches us to approach our faith. Firstly he acknowledges that he is a sinner and that he deserves the punishment he is receiving. He is not telling Jesus what to do; he is approaching the throne of mercy in all humility and trusting in the Lord.
A fellow Dominican, Fr. Timothy Radcliffe OP, says that the description of the second criminal as the “Good thief” is a good description of the man for he knows how to get hold of what is not his. “He pulls off the most amazing coup in history. He gets Paradise without paying for it. As we all do.”
For whatever reason, this man sees beyond the man Jesus dying next to him and sees into the mystery of God. I wonder had he heard Jesus during his ministry speak about the kingdom. We will probably never know what allows the man to show such trust in Jesus. Here we see a man professing his faith properly. Our faith is the gift which allows us to go beyond our immediate preoccupations and to place our lives in God’s hands. Seeing things as Jesus sees them. “Faith knows that God has drawn close to us, that Christ has been given to us as a great gift which inwardly transforms us, dwells within us and thus bestows on us the light that illumines the origin and the end of life”. – (Pope Francis)
Fr. John Harris O.P.