Today, is the last reading of the old year, next week the new cycle begins again, with the hope and anticipation of the birth of the Christ child. But today, it ends with Jesus on the cross. I’m always grateful that each year the lectionary ends with a glance at the crucifixion giving time to ponder death without rushing to the glory of resurrection.
Today’s text is Jesus on the cross having a conversation with the two criminals crucified on either side of him (Luke 23.33-43). There are a lot of themes within this short passage that I could have pondered — forgiveness, mocking those who are vulnerable, standing by and watching — but what really stood out to me, and where I’m going to pause today was the last comment, “… today you will be with me in Paradise.” (43)
If you read my blogs, you will know that I always resist the common interpretation and try to push below the layers to unpack the text. So, I am going to resist the commonly held view that paradise equals heaven when you die. I think when paradise is explored it carries a far richer meaning than simply a post-mortem destination.
The Greek word paradeisos does not originally mean heaven. It comes from the old Persian pairidaeza which has a variety of meanings, a walled garden, an orchard, a royal park or a sanctuary of life. A great composite meaning which evokes a lovely picture; a place with abundance of water, trees, fruit, animals, where sovereigns walked with guests and most importantly where all life is valued and safe.
So, for those around the cross hearing this conversation their thoughts would be of Eden restored, a place where God was in communion with humanity, where life was in harmony — a new beginning.
This understanding of communion and belonging, dignity affirmed and relationship with God restored fits with the ethos of Luke’s gospel. Luke’s themes often include inclusion and restoration of the marginalized. I think it continues with this text, for the thief who asked to be remembered communion and belonging was instantly restored, not a future event. It is worth noting Luke’s use of the word “today “in this phrase. Luke uses “today” throughout the gospel giving a sense of immediacy. “Today” signals that it is not deferred but that God’s life is breaking into the present. “Today” says to the thief that right now, even in the moment of suffering and ending you are included in God’s restoring life.
Of course, meaning of words do change and develop over the years. The understanding of them widens, it is easy to see that even by looking at words in our culture. In what is known as the Second Temple period (516 BCE-50 CE) there was a deepening of the idea of paradise. Mainly though the rise of the idea of a resurrection of the dead in Jewish thought expressed in scriptures and other writings (ex. Daniel 12.2). By the time of the conversation with the criminals paradise would also include ideas of a realm for the dead, Abraham’s bosom (Luke 16 imagery) but retaining the idea of a garden awaiting renewal and a place of divine presence. So, to hear the words of Jesus that this is “today” would have been mind-blowing, maybe life-changing to those listening to the conversation (or reading it later).
I think it is worth emphasizing that the text shows that paradise is also accessible in suffering, that divine presence is there at the ending of life and that life continues even when it is failing.
So, I find encouragement in reading paradise in this way. It is not focusing on escaping from the world. Paradise evokes the earth flourishing and humanity in harmony with God and creation. I find it quite a powerful picture and the text fits so well with the themes of the recent retreat, the Celtic understanding of continuity, the ancestors, those who die are not absent but gathered into ongoing flow of life and are being held in God’s living presence.
