On Calvary, among the three condemned to the same torture, Luke places his last parable of mercy. It bursts out of a man’s soul, indeed of a thug, one who, in his helplessness, as a man nailed to death, squeezes out from his crucifixion pain, the honey of compassion for his fellow neighbor, who happens to be the Christ.
With courage, he defends him and would like to protect him from the scorn of others with his last breath: don’t you see that he is in the same plight as we are? Words that are like a revelation to us: even in the most twisted life dwells a crumb of goodness; no life, no man is without an ounce of light.
It took one minute for him to defend Jesus; one minute of goodness tasted like heaven.
In the face of death, a communion stronger than heartbreak at Calvary, a most human and sublime moment: God and man each lean on the other. And the thief who offered compassion now receives compassion: remember me when you are in your kingdom.
Jesus will not only remember but will take him away with him. Like a shepherd who carries the lost sheep on his shoulders, the safest place to return home.
“Remember me,” the sinner prays, “you will be with me,” love replies.
