Week 2. ‘Today you will be with me in paradise’.

 Week 2. ‘Today you will be with me in paradise’.

[Luke 23.43]

 

Jesus’s is an outward focused life. He is there for others from the very beginning, caring for them, telling them about the God who created them, and who loves them. It should come as no surprise then that at the end his first two words from the cross ‘Father forgive them’ and now ‘Today you will be with me in paradise’ offer his listeners some comfort, if only they would listen! His words on this occasion are for the penitent on the cross but they resonate with us also as we share in that promise of our presence in the presence of God.

 

What is paradise? When we imagine the afterlife we use the language of Heaven, but the theologian Paula Gooder has called this into question as in the Revelation of St John we read that we will be in the presence of God, in the New Creation. (The old Heaven and Earth having passed away, and the dwelling place of God being in the midst of his people.) Paradise then is not Heavenly mystery but our world made perfect, where the presence of God is not shrouded by the effects of sin. If we want a vision of the afterlife then we only need to look around us to see its shadow in the world we know.

 

I actually find this a hopeful vision. When we imagine heaven we too often picture clouds, white robes and harps all of which sounds rather tame and boring. A perfected creation where we are in the eternal presence of God has far more scope for joy and imagination. This must have been a wonderful promise for the penitent, the promise of being free from suffering and harm (it is likely that he was either a bandit, a rebel or an escaped slave as crucifixion was reserved for these categories of criminal), and given a new liberty. And to be with Jesus, eternally in God’s presence – what a promise indeed!

 

Note on the image.

The image I have chosen is one I have taken myself from the Mardyke Valley between South Ockendon and Aveley. In the image we see the beauty of creation juxtaposed with humanity’s capacity for destruction in the Mardyke Interchange. In the midst of the business of the interchange there is  a place for peace and nature, a place for animals, birds and plants.

 

For reflection & Action

Take a moment to consider the world around you from a new perspective. Try to put aside the signs of human sinfulness (e.g. pollution and the grind of the M25/ A13) and see the world around you as blessed by Gpd’s presence. If you can try and get out into the countryside (Belhus Woods and Davey Down are good places to go), as is the walk along the Mardyke Valley most easily accessed from Davy Down, though strong shoes or boots are to be recommended.