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One of the criminals joins along with the jeering crowd
mocking at Jesus. Rebuking him and deriding him that if you
are the Son of God save yourself and save us. This criminal
though in pain and suffering doesn’t mind mocking at Jesus
with abusive words. We see him as a person who wanted instant
solutions to escape sufferings and pain. We also see him as one
caught in the mob mentality of joining the others in deriding
Jesus. When one ridicules Jesus, the other re-affirms his faith in
Jesus. In this person on the cross, we see our own self… wanting
to escape pain and suffering or ridiculing God as not being able
to save and so on…
The other Criminal rebukes his friend and seeks mercy
from Jesus. This criminal in a way sets new challenges for our
own faith journey. In a way, we see this criminal admitting his
guilt. Acknowledging Jesus to be innocent and then seeking the
mercy of Jesus.

His perception of Jesus is entirely different from his
friend. He sees Jesus as one who amidst his own suffering and
pain, praying and seeking forgiveness on those who have caused
him this state.
This Criminal Who sought the mercy of Jesus challenges
our faith today because he displays trust and faith in Jesus, not
when Jesus was doing his miracles, not when Jesus was turning
the water into wine or not when Jesus was healing the blind
Bartimaeus and not when Jesus was feeding the 5000. But, this
criminal who's hanging on the cross displays his trust and faith
in Jesus when Jesus himself is hanging on the cross during a
time when Jesus himself is helpless weak and vulnerable. The
display of trust and faith in that Jesus who is vulnerable sets a
new paradigm for us on nurturing our own faith. People’s idea
of spirituality and faith often springs from a display of trust on
God who is all able and almighty, but here we see a person who
displayed his faith on Jesus at a time when he was weak and
helpless.
What is our faith today? On which image of God do we

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Lenten Meditations Re - Imaging People