Sermon, March 19, 2003 (Ash Wednesday), by Rev. Art Wiese
Sermon Text -- Luke 23:39-43
In her little book called „Speaking of Sin,‰ noted preacher Barbara
Brown Taylor tells of her visit to a small, fundamentalist church when she was
16 years old. She says that she went with some of her friends and heard the
subject of sin defined clearly for the first time in her life. „Sin,‰
she says, „was spoken of as rebellion against God.‰ „The youth
minister at the church,‰ she goes on, „warned us about drinking, drugs
and sex outside of marriage. He made sure we knew the Ten Commandments. And
he initiated us into a world in whichİGod tried all kinds of things to save
[humankind],İbut when none of those worked, God finally sent his Son to die
on the cross.„ „Those who believe in him,‰ he concluded, „are
free from sin.‰ Then she goes on, „This story was communicated to
me with such passion for my salvation that I joined the church and was baptized
again by immersion. The church became my safe havenİ It felt so safe to me that
one Sunday night I brought a couple of run-away boys with long hair to church
in hopes of finding them a place to stay. Before the evening was over, we were
all turned out into the night and asked not to come back.‰ And then she
comments, „It was a stunning reversal.‰ The church, she discovered,
was not a safe haven for sinners, but a gathering place for those who felt they
were no longer infected by sin‚s poison. In the judgment of the churchŒs
members, the two runaways and the girl who brought them were not deserving of
being in the company of those who are saved.
As we approach the second of Jesus‚ words from the cross, we are surprised
to find it addressed to a common criminal. „Today you will be with me in
Paradise.‰ It is also a stunning reversal. In a world which teaches that
„you get what you deserve,‰ Jesus words make no sense. In a world
which expects that „crime does not pay,‰ Jesus words contradict such
wisdom. In a world which claims that „the good guys always win,‰ Jesus
words turn everything upside down. Of course, we have to remember that throughout
his ministry Jesus tried to teach his followers that our ways of thinking and
acting are not the same as God‚s ways of thinking and acting. „The
last shall be first,‰ he warns them, „and latecomers will receive
just as much as those who have been struggling their whole lives.‰ These
are not the rules of the world. They are the wisdom of God. The thief of the
cross embodies this contrast. He told the other criminal, „We are getting
what we deserve for our deeds, but this man (referring to Jesus) has done nothing
wrong.‰ He knew that he and his fellow criminal deserved what they were
getting. He knew that they had sinned. He knew that it was right for them to
be condemned, but not Jesus. Jesus was innocent. Jesus was without sin. Jesus
deserved nothing like this. And then the thief goes on to do something truly
astounding. He turns to the innocent one hanging beside him and says, „Jesus,
remember me when you come into your kingdom.‰ It is a statement of belief,
a statement of confidence, a statement of faith -- not from a disciple, not
from a follower, not from a friend, but from a thief!
The fact is that the story of Jesus‚ passion is filled with characters
who do what is unexpected. Disciples fall asleep when they should stay awake.
The learned religious leaders, who should recognize and support God‚s messiah,
turn out to be his enemies. Because of their insistence, a ruthless killer goes
free while a gentle teacher gets killed. And the ones who name him as the messiah
are not his friends or his supporters, but the Romans who are in charge of his
execution. But we have to remember God‚s ways are not our ways. The disciples
hide. The authorities scoff. And a condemned criminal pleads for forgiveness.
Does he deserve it? No, he doesn‚t, not according to the rules of the world.
He deserves his condemnation. He deserves death. But, as the messiah dies, he
tells the criminal, „Today you will be with me in Paradise.‰ Once
again, we are amazed. The last are first! The laborers do all receive the same.
The kingdom is a safe havenİ for sinners! And Jesus shows it in his words to
the thief on the cross.
That is God‚s way, and we can thank God for it. For we, like the thief,
deserve to die. Though we don‚t like to admit it, we are sinners. We do
rebel against God. We often turn away from the path God sets before us. We often
miss the mark of being God‚s faithful people. We sin. And, as St. Paul
puts it, „the wages of sin is death.‰ We deserve nothing less. But
like the thief, we can also repent. We can turn to the one who died on the cross
and plead for our forgiveness. We can look to the innocent one and see in his
suffering and death the promise of pardon for all our wrongs. We can appeal
to the Savior who hangs on the cross and ask that he also remember us when we
come into his kingdom. Through his death and resurrection we will live. The
wages of sin may be death, according to St. Paul, „but the free gift of
God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.‰ We don‚t deserve it.
We can‚t be good enough to earn it. And we‚ll never lift ourselves
out of the poison of sin long enough to merit our salvation. But, it‚s
a gift. It comes to us for free. It is given to us through the death and resurrection
of our Lord, Jesus Christ. And when we say, „Jesus, remember me,‰
we know he will. For even from the cross, he promises that death is not the
final word. He says also to us, „Today, you will be with me in Paradise.‰
Amen.