My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
” LORD, REMEMBER ME, WHEN THOU COME INTO THY KINGDOM” (Luke 23:43]
These were the contrite words of the repentant criminal and who is the first person to enter Paradise with Christ Who said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you today you will be with Me in Paradise” [Luke 23:43]. This most inspiring detail, reported only in the Gospel of Saint Luke the Evangelist, demonstrates the unmerited grace of God TOWARD PENITENT SINNERS, a magnified expression of the heart of the gospel.. The prayer, “Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom, ” is highlighted in the hymns and worship of the Orthodox Church. Furthermore, we offer this same entreaty at one of the prayers before receiving Holy Communion: “Receive me today, Son of God, as a partaker of Thy Mystical Supper, I will not reveal Thy mystery to Thine adversaries. Nor will I give Thee a kiss as did Judas. But as the thief I confess to Thee, LORD, REMEMBER ME IN THY KINGDOM.”
Let us turn to Saint Theophylact’s commentary for a proper exegesis of this biblical passage. He writes, “How is it then that the other Evangelists say that the two thieves accused Him? As first both thieves did accuse Him, but then one of them, the more discerning of the two, recognized in Jesus’ voice His goodness and Divinity, when He said on behalf of His crucifiers, “Father forgive them.” The voice of Jesus was not only full of compassion, but it also revealed great power. He did not say, “Lord, I beseech Thee, forgive them,” but instead spoke the simple and authoritative words, “Father forgive them.” Therefore, when the former blasphemer recognized by this voice that Jesus was indeed a King, he rebuked the other thief, and said to Jesus, “Remember me in Thy Kingdom.” How does the Lord reply? “Today thou shalt be with Me in paradise.” As a man, He was on the Cross, but as God, He is everywhere, both on the Cross and in paradise, filling all things, and nowhere absent. Some will ask, “How can the Lord say to the thief “Today thou shalt he be with Me in paradise.” … Because His promise is immovable and irrevocable. For the Lord, they explain, often employs this kind of speech when He speaks of things that will be as if they had already occurred. The repentant thief did obtain paradise, but he did not obtain the Kingdom. But he will obtain the Kingdom along with all those whom Paul enumerated. In the meantime he has paradise, which is a place of spiritual rest.”
According to Saint Theophylact of Bulgaria, “for the thief was in paradise, in other words, the kingdom.” The Apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 12:3-4) confesses that , while still in this lifetime, he was ‘swept up to paradise and heard unspoken words, which are inappropriate for man to repeat.” In Revelation we read: “To the victor, I shall give him to eat of the tree of life, which is in paradise of my God” (2:7). And Arethas of Caesarea interprets: “Paradise is understood to be the blessed and eternal life” (PG 106, 529). Paradise-eternal life-kingdom of God, are all related. Paradise and hell are NOT two different places. (This version is an idolatrous concept.) They signify two different situations (ways), which originate from the same Uncreated Source, and are perceived by man as two, different experiences. Or, more precisely, they are the same experience, except that they are perceived differently by man, depending on man’s internal state. This experience is the Light of His Divinity of His “Glory.” From the moment of His Second Coming, through to all Eternity, all people will be seeing Christ in His Uncreated Light. That is when “those who worked good deeds in their lifetime will go towards the resurrection of life, while those who worked evil in that lifetime, will go towards the resurrection of judgment” [John 5:29].
In the presence of Christ, mankind will be separated (“sheep and goats”, to His right and His left). In other words, they will be discerned in two separate groups, those who will be looking upon Christ as paradise (the “exceeding good, the radiant”) and those who will be looking upon Christ as hell (“the all-consuming fire”. Hebrews 12:29). Paradise and hell are the same reality. This is what is depicted in the portrayal of the Second Coming. From Christ a river flows forth: IT IS RADIANT LIKE A GOLDEN LIGHT AT THE UPPER END OF IT, WHERE THE SAINTS ARE. AT ITS LOWER END, THE SAME RIVER IS FIERY, AND IT IS IN THAT PART OF THE RIVER THAT THE DEMONS AND THE UNREPENTANT (“THE NEVER REPENTANT” ACCORDING TO A HYMN) ARE DEPICTED. This is why in Luke 2:34 we read that Christ stands “AS THE FALL AND RESURRECTION OF MANY”. Christ becomes the Resurrection into Eternal Life, for those who accepted Him and who followed the suggested means of healing the heart; and those who rejected Him, He becomes their demise and their hell.
Patristic testimonies: Saint John of Sinai (of the Ladder) says that the Uncreated Light of Christ is “AN ALL-CONSUMING FIRE AND AN ILLUMINATING LIGHT”. Saint Gregory Palamas observes: “Thus, it is said, He will baptize you by the Holy Spirit and by fire in other words, by ILLUMINATION AND PUNISHMENT, DEPENDING ON EACH PERSON’S PREDISPOSITION, WHICH WILL BRING UPON HIM THAT WHICH HE DESERVES.
Consequently, Paradise and Hell ARE NOT A REWARD OR A PUNISHMENT (condemnation), but THE WAY INDIVIDUALLY EXPERIENCE THE SIGHT OF CHRIST, DEPENDING ON THE CONDITION OF OUR HEART. God doesn’t punish in essence, although, for educational purposes, the Scripture does mention punishment… Man’s condition (clean-unclean, repentant-unrepentant) is the factor that determines the acceptance of the Light as “PARADISE” or HELL.“ [Source: Saint James Orthodox Church]
At the Orthodox funeral service, we chant “memory eternal?” When Orthodox Christians pass away, we pray that their memory will be eternal. We are not simply asking God to think about them: we’re asking Him to save them (and us) and bring us all into His Kingdom. The right thing is that we should want the name of the deceased person to be commemorated forever in eternity, in life everlasting, in God’s Kingdom. This is the meaning of the words ‘Eternal memory to you.’
One time Christ’s Disciples were boasting to their Master and saying: ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name” (Luke 10:17). The Lord said to them not to be so pleased about that but: “REJOICE THAT YOUR NAMES HAVE BEEN WRITTEN IN HEAVEN” (10:20). That is to say, they should rejoice that their names are known and will be remembered and commemorated in the Heavenly Kingdom of Light and Life.
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“Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!”
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 