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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me understand what people mean when they say, "I'll see you later!" Amen.

As Jesus was dying on the cross, people made fun of Him. Even a criminal crucified at the same time yelled, "Save yourself and us!" But another criminal said, "Shut up! We're getting what we deserve, but He didn't do anything wrong." Then he said to Jesus, "Remember me in heaven." Jesus promised, "You'll be there with me today."

"I'll see you later" has become something people say all the time. Some people say it even when they won't be seeing you for a really long time, even though "I'll see you later" sounds like it means "later today" or "pretty soon."

This week's Gospel (Luke 23:35-43) is all about timing. A horrible thing was happening: Jesus was hung on a cross and left to die. Some people believed that Jesus was God and didn't understand why He was allowing Himself to suffer; one man who was also dying begged Jesus to save Himself and the others who were dying next to Him.

Another man who was also on a cross was a criminal who understood that he himself deserved to die for his crimes, but Jesus didn't. He asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus went back to heaven.

"I'll see you later" means a lot of things to different people. To some people, it's just something to say, like the silly expression, "See you later, alligator!" To others, it's a way to end a talk with friend - a signal that you'll be talking again soon.

To Jesus, it was a promise. In the middle of His own suffering, He told the criminal who asked for forgiveness, "You'll be there [in heaven] with me today." Jesus was really saying, "Don't worry; I'll see you later."

Sometimes, "I'll see you later" means, "Trust me. I love you. Everything is going to be okay." That's what Jesus meant.

(11/18/10[[In-content Ad]]

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