MEDITATION TIPS — Passion Sunday,
April 13, 2025
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42)
In today’s Gospel, of the two criminals crucified with Jesus, the one who entrusted his hope in Jesus at the end of his life and spoke these words, and for whom Jesus promised salvation, saying, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (23:43), is traditionally called Dismas. On the other hand, the criminal who reviled Jesus, saying, “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” (23:39), is traditionally called Gestas.
Dismas, having been directly promised heaven by Jesus, that is, directly canonized by Jesus, has his name listed in the Church’s roll of saints. What about Gestas? Did he go to hell because he reviled Jesus at the end? “Dismas was saved by one word. Gestas went to hell by one word.” If this were the case, none of us could live with peace of mind. We would have to live timidly, constantly in fear. I believe that Dismas and Gestas represent two aspects of the same individual that each of us possesses. Depending on the circumstances, we too may, like Gestas, face suffering and curse God and our fate, and at other times, like Dismas, reconsider and ask God for forgiveness. We repeat this cycle day after day.
In fact, in the four Gospels that recount Jesus’ Passion, the last words of Jesus on the cross are different in each. Matthew and Mark end with words of despair, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34), Luke ends with words of trust, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46), and John ends with words of completion, “It is finished” (John 19:30). These are how Jesus’ disciples, each with the eyes of their own faith, depicted Jesus on the cross, and it is not a matter of which is right and which is wrong.
Life has its ups and downs, and at times we may despair of life, saying, “God, why have you forsaken me?” and then reconsider and trust in God’s guidance, saying, “Into your hands I commit my spirit.” We repeat this, but ultimately, we should accept all of life’s sorrows and joys as good and want to cry out, “It is finished.” Here are the words of the educator and philosopher Shinzo Mori:
“It seems that a person’s true potential will not emerge unless they are somehow obstructed. This is the same principle as hydroelectric power.” “A life that goes exactly as planned tends to be flat and monotonous. Rather, a life that finds a new and deeper compensation while encountering the sadness of broken plans can be said to be a truly profound life. In fact, when we experience the shattering of our greatest expectations, it is in the depths of such sorrow that we encounter a deep and new light.” “True strength cannot be gained without truths grasped through the scars of life, received freely and wholly.” These are words that evoke the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus.
(Contribution by Father Yutaka Akabae)