Thursday, XXI Week of Ordinary Time
(Matthew 24)
All Christians love the story of the so-called good thief. He is the man who hung on a cross at the side of Jesus during Jesus’ own crucifixion. In the twelfth century this man acquired a name, “Dismas,” which means death or sunset. The Gospel According to Luke is the only one of the four which mentions the conversation of “Dismas” with Jesus. Interestingly, Luke never calls him a thief. Rather Luke calls him a “criminal” by which he means a marauder or insurrectionist. It has been speculated that the only valid reason that he may be called a thief is that he stole heaven. Without following Jesus, he is awarded a place at Jesus’ side in Paradise.
We might call Jesus himself the “good thief.” In the gospel parable today Jesus compares himself to a thief coming in the night. He means that he will come at the moment when we least expect him to reward his faithful followers with everlasting life.
We can also think of Jesus as a thief in the sense that he steals our souls from the clutches of sin and death. We are all inclined to excess of created goods. Whether it be food, drink, or sex we want more than is good for us. We also like to think of ourselves as more important than others. Jesus’ example and, more importantly, the grace coming from his death and resurrection have enabled us to overcome these tendencies. If we keep on moving with Jesus’ Spirit, we too will have a place at his side in Paradise.
