Mission Monthly – June 2001
“As painful as it was to be abandoned by men at the threshold of death, it would be still more painful to be abandoned by God.”
On the conversion of the Wise Thief, St. John Maximovich
It is beautiful how the story of the wise thief crucified with Jesus has taken such a central role in the spiritual and liturgical life of the Church. Maybe even greater than the example of God’s mercy is the story of a soul completely converted when all hope seemed far beyond the realm of possibility.
The crimes of this thief far exceeded the simple act of stealing. His was a life of violence. His crimes were not only about the violence done to others but also about the violence done in consequence to his own soul. His eyes were blinded. His heart was hardened. His hands were raised not for the purpose of serving God but for the sole purpose of serving himself in attacking the unsuspecting, the unprotected, the weak. One could conclude that if it were not for the circumstance that this unenviable example of a man found himself in, his life would have forever remained void of meaning and worse yet, his death empty of life!
Understanding and explaining conversion, a total change from one thing to something completely different, is a difficult task. It would be difficult enough to explain the conversion of a person unlike the obvious jaded character of this thief. It is much more difficult to explain the conversion of one so seemingly empty of goodness and conscience. However, the story of the wise thief challenges us to remember that things are not always as they seem. St. John Maximovich concluded that “even though the thief’s whole life had been one of theft and crime, evidently his conscience had not [completely] died, and in the depths of his heart something good remained.”
It is evident that fallen man is often tempted to see life from a position of helplessness. Recall the old lyric, “Kay sur-a, sur-a; whatever will be, will be.” This fatalistic image denies hope and ultimately man’s responsibility in the unfolding of one’s choices and events. This crippling view steals man’s ability to understand free-will and the fact that we do have the choice “to follow the thing that good is.” It takes a lot to overthrow a man’s conscience. I would argue, knowing that we are created in God’s image, that we are given by grace a conscience which cannot be destroyed. It can be severely damaged or deeply suppressed but that which is eternal cannot be destroyed.
St. John explains further, “Gazing upon the One hanging on the Cross [the thief awoke as it were from a deep sleep and] he saw as in a mirror his moral downfall. All the good concealed within him was awakened and surfaced. He came to the realization of his sins, he understood that it was his own fault that had brought him to this bitter end; he had no one to blame… and a warm feeling of faith was kindled in his heart.” Finally, naked and dying, the thief put aside all pretense of his life and, with clarity of vision and conviction of Truth, sought the one thing he knew he should have sought his entire life. “Remember me, O Lord, when you come into your kingdom.” Only now, at the threshold of eternity, did he begin to understand the vanity of earthly glory and, putting aside his own pride and vanity, sought the salvation of his soul.
What will it take to keep a man deeply and completely converted to Christ? For the thief it was a naked, lonely and deserved death [see Luke 23:41]. For us who have received the Light of Christ and who have been commanded to abandon all pretense, pride and vanity, may it be so! To the wise thief a promise was made and fulfilled, “Today you will be with Me in paradise.” He was the first and we are to follow, if we can only follow the example of a soul completely converted to God.