The Last Words of Jesus - Part IV
by Thomas Sitio of Jesus (Gene Boehmann)
Meditation on the Second Word
"Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom."
“Amen, I say to you, this day you will be with me in Paradise."
"Amen dico tibi, hodie mecum eris Paradiso."
"You who fear the Lord, praise Him; all you descendants of Jacob, give glory to Him; revere Him, all you descendents of Israel.
For He has not spurned nor disdained the wretched man in his misery, nor did he turn his face away from him, but when he cried out, he heard him.
The lowly shall eat their fill, they who seek the Lord shall praise Him: May your hearts rejoice forever." (Ps 22)
"My kingdom is not of this world." Jn 19:36
"The kingdom of God is within you." Luke 17:21
"Whoever wishes to discover the kingdom – where God reigns with all his riches in His very essence and nature – he must look for it where it is: . . . in the very depth of the soul, where God is infinitely closer to the soul, more inherent, as the soul is to itself." Johannes Tauler
When the thief asked to be remembered he realized that to be remembered by God is to live. To be forgotten by God is to not exist.
The cross is the Tree of Life.
"This is that most worthy Tree that stands in the midst of Paradise." Response from Matins - Exaltation of the Cross (Sept 14)
"On either side of its river grows the tree that gives life . . . and the leaves bring healing to all the nations." Apocalypse 22:2-3
"The chieftains of each tribe brought Moses a rod, twelve rods in all, not counting the rod of Aaron, all of which he laid up in the Lord’s presence, in the tabernacle.
And when he came back the next day he found the rod of Aaron had sprouted; buds formed on it and burst into flower, and as their petals dropped, turned into almonds.
It was taken back into the tabernacle to be kept there in memory of the rebellious Israelites; there must be no more death penalty." Numbers 17:6-11
The cross is the rod, it gives life, there is no more death.
Continued in subsequent Oblate Sharings