Riff raff in heaven?
I’d like to
spend a few minutes today talking about “riff raff.” This is the perfect day
for it. March 25, St. Dismas Day.
Never heard
of it?
Our Roman
Catholic friends tell us: St. Dismas is the man known as the
"Good Thief" who was crucified with Christ alongside another criminal
on Calvary. He is described in Luke's Gospel (29: 39-43) as repenting from his
sins and asks Jesus to "remember me when you come into your kingdom."
Jesus replied to him, "I say to you, today you will be with me in
Paradise."
Enemies of
the state were often crucified by the ancient Romans. Another favorite target
for this humiliating form of torture was “scum of the earth,” perhaps better
known as “riff raff.” And that’s how these other two guys could best be
described…the pair who flanked Jesus on the hill of Calvary.
“Riff raff”
strikes a familiar chord with me, because from the very beginning, a common
perception was that our agency was showing compassion to that same
segment of society. Now, to be clear, those who know me and know about
HFP, also realize that we don’t consider any human being to be “riff raff.”
But, I know the question remains hidden in the minds of many: “Why spend time,
money and resources helping that kind of person?”
Pastor Nate
may have said it best, this morning, in his sermon about the Parable of
the Workers in the Vineyard. Those who worked for only one
hour received the same pay as those who had labored all day, even though that
was the agreed-upon salary. And it didn’t set well with the all-day workers.
Nate’s
response: Compassion is greater than fairness!
On this St.
Dismas Day, a legitimate question for the theologians might be why this
low-life criminal, who didn’t study the scriptures and didn’t spend his life
being nice to people, receives the same kind of eternal reward that we do? And
a legitimate question for those of us in prisoner advocacy might be why those
persons behind bars deserve the same kindness and compassion as needy people on
the outside?
If our staff
and volunteers are followers of that itinerant preacher on the cross who
welcomed St. Dismas into Paradise, the answer is the same: Compassion is
greater than fairness.
In
conclusion, this message from a Roman Catholic publication:
On this
St. Dismas Day – March 25 – special blessings to all inmates, families, staff,
volunteers – everyone involved in prison life and ministry one way or the
other. Read & reflect on Luke 23: 39-43, the story of our patron the good
thief.
From now on,
let's not ignore St. Dismas Day.
Or the
beautiful message that it generates.
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