Today is All Souls Day. It marks this month with remembrance for all who have died. A passage clearly on my heart is Luke’s account of Jesus’ final moment. Luke said:

Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:39-43, NAB).

A dying man asked another dying man for eternal life. The man who stole the property of others, dared to ask the poor and naked man for his kingdom. The Penitent offered the most meaningful prayer he had offered his whole life, to the Great High Priest. 

There is a natural human longing in all of us to be remembered. We want to be remembered for our achievements, value system, cherished morals, and contribution to society. Is this enough? 

The beauty of this moment on the cross is not that the thief desired remembrance. The beauty of this moment is that he surrendered to God’s mercy. He was being drawn to the heart of his Creator, who was undergoing the same agonizing death. 

God infused this thief in three ways. The thief rebuked the other criminal for his sin. He held himself accountable for his crime and prayed the most important prayer of his life. 

Do we pattern our lives after the Good Thief?
Do we rebuke the unjust sins of the world and confess our crimes committed to God? 
Above all, do we ask Jesus to fulfill that deepest longing to be remembered? To be remembered by Jesus in his kingdom is the most important prayer we can ever utter. 

At the Cross of Our Lord, we behold the enfleshed love that moves the suns and stars. We gaze on Love. This Love assures us that we are not lost in the billions of cosmos God holds in his hands. To be remembered is to be grafted into God’s life. We are etched into God’s incarnate memory. In this remembrance people will know that we are with Jesus. We will be certain we abide with Jesus. Our salvation is won through our utter human longing to be remembered. 

A well known meditative song for your contemplation: