Am I the Good Thief?

ScriptureNow one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43)ReflectionHere in Luke’s Gospel we witness the dialogue from the cross between Jesus and the two thieves who are “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” crucified with him. The one thief, caught up in his own pain and self-pity, joins with the crowd in mocking Jesus, while the other thief looks upon the face of Jesus and sees him for who he truly is. In this revelation, the Good Thief, known today as St. Dismas, immediately acknowledges his own sins and begs the Lord to “remember him”.  His confession is met with one of the most beautiful promises in all of scripture, “today you will be with me in Paradise.”What was the difference between the two thieves? How was it that one persisted in his own pride and misery, while the other was able to humbly face the reality of his sinful life and confess that to Jesus?  Why did two people with similar backgrounds encounter Jesus in the same way, but react to him in totally opposite ways? Why do we still today see deathbed conversions of some, while others die in bitterness and unbelief?  Father Sopocko, who was Saint Faustina’s Spiritual Director, describes this dramatic conversion as an