The Right Rev. Archimandrite Nicholas is an instructor in Antiochian Liturgics at St. Vladimir’s Seminary and directs field education for the seminarians of the Antiochian Archdiocese. Fr. Nicholas serves as pastor of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Little Falls, NJ. He also chairs the Antiochian Archdiocese’s Department of Youth & Young Adult Ministries. Fr. Nicholas served as the first president of Orthodox Youth and Young Adult Ministries (OYM) and remains with OYM as a board member and spiritual advisor. He has also served as hierarchical assistant to the Metropolitan of the Archdiocese and worked for twelve years at Hellenic College Holy Cross—nine years as the Dean of Students and three years as the Assistant Director of the Office of Vocation & Ministry and Director of CrossRoad Institute.
Giving thanks to God, the trustees, faculty, and students of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) invite the public to the Commencement of the Class of 2026, to be held on Saturday, May 16. Ceremonies will begin at 2:00 p.m. EDT, with a “Prayer of Thanksgiving” in Three Hierarchs Chapel, followed by Commencement Exercises at 2:30 p.m. EDT in the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium in the John G. Rangos Family Building.
The Commencement Ceremony of the Class of 2026 will be livestreamed for all who cannot attend in person. Please register below to receive the link to watch the ceremony.
CHARLES AJALAT,J.D., Hon. J.C.D., is among the most prominent Orthodox Christian lay leaders and philanthropists in North America. A former trustee of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Dr. Ajalat also served as the Chancellor of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. He is the founder of multiple Orthodox organizations and initiatives, including International Orthodox Christian Charities; the Ligonier First Conference of all North American Orthodox Bishops; the transition to the multi-jurisdictional Orthodox Christian Mission Center; and the Orthodox Vision Foundation, one of the nation’s largest church foundations, which he co-founded with his wife Marilee. He served as Consultant to the Russian Parliament on Laws of Church and State and as a speaker in their Conference on Freedom of Religion in the Modern World, Vice-Moderator of the Secretariat for the World Council of Churches Central Committee, and as a member of the Orthodox Study Bible Oversight Committee.
An attorney by background, Dr. Ajalat graduated with a B.A. from Harvard magna cum laude, and received his J.D. from the law school at the University of California at Berkeley. He also holds an honorary doctorate in Canon Law granted from St. Vladimir's Seminary. Dr. Ajalat was given the honor of being a law clerk to Chief Justice Donald Wright of the California Supreme Court and has represented a sitting President of the United States and many of the world's largest corporations. He has been involved in a number of historic cases in the Courts including the U.S. Supreme Court. Dr. Ajalat was a professor at USC Business and Law Schools for many years in addition to practicing in a law firm he formed. He was also a visiting lecturer at the law schools of Harvard, Berkely, Stanford, and UCLA.
He has received numerous secular and church honors, including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the highest honor of both the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese and the Orthodox Church in America.
Over the years Charles, his wife Marilee, and their children and grandchildren have raised and donated significant sums and helpful ideas to Orthodox causes. Their generosity has extended to St. Vladimir's Seminary, where they supported initiatives including the initial Seminary capital campaign up to current efforts to aid the Seminary in the challenges it faces with respect to Church growth. Charles and Marilee's son Richard is an alumnus of the school (’13) and also served on the Board of Trustees as the President of the Alumni Association. Among other endeavors, he financially initiated the successful audio-book program for St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVS) Press.
If you have any questions about what you’ll learn, tuition and financial aid, what intensive weeks look like, and more, don’t miss this opportunity to chat with us.
The D.Min. program provides clergy, chaplains, and other pastoral professionals with advanced knowledge and skills in order to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those God has called you to serve.
The D.Min. program is hybrid—so you won't have to leave your current ministry as you complete your degree. The program uses online learning and five-day onsite intensives at St. Vladimir's Seminary in New York, which allows students to integrate their current ministry with doctoral level theological research.
To learn more about applying to the D.Min. program, click here.
Join master practitioners from the ancient Syriac and Armenian traditions this May at St. Vladimir’s and St. Nersess seminaries, as we explore commonalities and differences in Eastern and Oriental Orthodox approaches to sung worship.
Workshops and discussions will take place Friday, May 1, at St. Vladimir’s Seminary in Yonkers, NY, and Saturday, May 2, at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary in Armonk, NY. Dr. Gabriel Aydin and Dr. Haig Utidjian will present, respectively, on “Syriac Liturgical Chant: History, Theology, and Tonal Tradition” and “Armenian Liturgical Chant: History and Theology.” A full schedule is included below.
The sessions are free and open to the public. Join in person or online.
Friday, May 1 | St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary
1:30 PM — Welcome and Opening Remarks
1:40 PM — Dr. Gabriel Aydin, Session 1: “The Structure, Theology, and Liturgical Function of Syriac Chant”
3:00 PM — Break
3:20–4:50 PM — Dr. Gabriel Aydin, Session 2
5:00 PM — Dinner Break
7:00–8:00 PM — Lecture-Recital: Drs. Gabriel Aydin & Haig Utidjian
Dr. Aydin will present selected hymns from the Syriac liturgical tradition drawn from the chant repertory of the Nativity, Holy Week, and Resurrection. The performance of hymns from various liturgical occasions will demonstrate the richness of Syriac modal structures (Qinotho/Qole), the interplay between text and melody, and the predominantly syllabic character of Syriac chant, one of its essential musical features.
Dr. Haig Utidjian will sing excerpts of some of the most poignant hymns drawn from the Offices for Good Friday, demonstrating the considerable modal variety and degree of melismatic elaboration that characterizes some particularly well-loved hymns.
Saturday, May 2 | St. Nersess Armenian Seminary
1:30 PM—Welcome and Opening Remarks
1:35 PM—Dr. Haig Utidjian, Session 3: “Armenian Liturgical Chant: History and Theology”
3:00 PM—Break
3:20–4:50—Dr. Haig Utidjian, Session 4
5:30 PM—Vespers
ABOUT THE LECTURERS
Haig Utidjian, Ph.D., is an orchestral conductor, chorus master, musicologist, and patristics scholar. He has published extensively on the musicology and theology of the Armenian Hymnal and on the works of St. Gregory of Narek. He is a Senior Deacon of the Armenian Orthodox Church, and has been decorated with the Komitas medal by the Armenian state, the Yakob Mełapart medal of the National Library of Armenia, and the Medal of Merit of the Pan-Armenian Cultural Union. His publications include the volumes They Who Imbibed the Effusions of the Spirit: The Art of the Armenian Book through the Ages (2016), Treasures of the Earliest Christian Nation: Spirituality, Art, and Music in Mediaeval Armenian Manuscripts (2018), Tntesean and the Music of the Armenian Hymnal (2018), and a critical edition of Dvořák’s Mass in D (2020). He has been invited to deliver the 2026 Zernov Lecture at Oxford.
Gabriel Aydin, Ph.D., is a musicologist, author, and composer specializing in ancient Syriac liturgical chant and the musical traditions of the Christian Middle East. Born and raised in Tur Abdin (southeastern Turkey), he received early formation in the chant and liturgical tradition of the Syriac Orthodox Church. He holds a doctorate in Musicology from the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Lebanon, and an M.A. in Art and Religion from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music and Yale Divinity School. Dr. Aydin is the founder and director of the Syriac Music Institute in the United States, and he is the author of Syriac Hymnal According to the Rite of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch (2018), Syriac Sacred Music: The Catalog of Chants According to the Edessan School of Musicand Demonstration of Arabic Music Scales Recorded by Ivar Schmutz-Schwaller (2008), and Syriac Music for Syriac Elementary and Middle Schools (2003).
With faith in Christ and hope in the resurrection, we share news of the repose of Sergei Nemtsov, an alumnus of St. Vladimir’s Seminary. Sergei fell asleep in the Lord on April 21, 2026, in Moscow, Russia.
Sergei was born in Soviet Russia on September 12, 1951, into a family of geologists. At 16 he was accepted into Moscow State University, but withdrew in protest after the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. This event spurred his lifelong search for truth over propaganda, which he recorded over the decades in a series of poems. After a lengthy spiritual search exploring Eastern religions, yoga, and meditation, he encountered Christ in the Gospels and was baptized into the Orthodox Church at 27.
In 1982 Sergei escaped the Soviet Union and found his way to Europe, where he was blessed to meet with Metropolitan Anthony Bloom. Shortly after this encounter he had the opportunity to travel to New York and visit St. Vladimir’s Seminary. Thanks to a scholarship from the Tolstoy Foundation, Sergei was able to enroll as a seminarian at St. Vladimir’s, where he studied from 1984–1987.
Sergei Nemtsov (middle) serving at Three Hierarchs Chapel as a seminarian.
Sergei raised two children with his wife Cathy, Ksenia (a beloved member of staff at St. Vladimir’s Seminary) and Andrei, and has one grandson, Alexander. Sergei lived as a faithful Orthodox layman, returning to Russia in 2009 to spend his last years in his homeland.
May the memory of the servant of God Sergei be eternal!
In recent weeks a priest and two deacons were ordained from the ranks of seminarians at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. Additionally, two Malankara Orthodox seminarians were tonsured as subdeacons. Glory be to God!
The latest round of seminarian ordinations began on campus, at the Seminary’s Three Hierarchs Chapel, on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation. The community celebrated a truly joyous feast, as His Grace Bishop Andrei of Cleveland of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America (OCA) presided over the Vesperal Divine Liturgy and the ordinations of Dn. Daniel Werner to the Holy Priesthood and Benjamin Franks to the Holy Diaconate.
The Rev. Daniel Werner
The newly ordained Fr. Daniel Werner is a third-year seminarian (M.Div. Program) from the Orthodox Church in America (OCA)’s Diocese of the South. Dn. Benjamin, also from the Diocese of the South, is in his second year of studies in the M.Div. Program.
The Rev. Dn. Benjamin Franks
During his homily, Bishop Andrei spoke of the mystery of the Annunciation to the Theotokos in words also befitting the mystery of holy ordination.
“As St. John Chrysostom teaches, God does not compel but draws by love. And here, on Annunciation, with this good news we see this divine gentleness. God awaits the free response of a human heart.”
Bishop Andrei continued, “And so the question for us today is simple. When we respond as the Holy Mother Mary did, will we allow God to enter into the hidden places of our lives, not with fear, but with trust? For her simple and eternal yes—”Behold, the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to Your word”—this simple “yes” becomes the doorway of salvation.”
The Rev. Dn. Moses (Darius) Sabau is a seminarian of the Antiochian Archdiocese. Pictured here with fellow seminarian the Rev. Dn. John Whiteside (left).
On March 27 two seminarians from the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC), Mathew Jacob and Joseph (Akin) Sunny, were tonsured as subdeacons together at St. Stephen's Orthodox Church in Franklin Square, NY. Both Subdeacons Mathew and Joseph are third-year seminarians in the M.Div. program, and are from the MOSC’s Northeast American Diocese. His Grace Metropolitan Zachariah Mar Nicholovos, a trustee of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, presided over the ordinations.
Subdeacons Joseph (front, left of center) and Mathew (front, right of center) were tonsured together with Subdn. Joel Kurian (front, center) of St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. Pictured with them are seminarians and alumni from St. Vladimir’s and St. Tikhon’s seminaries
May God grant all the newly ordained and their families many years!
St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) is pleased to announce forthcoming public events highlighting the sacred music of Oriental Orthodox traditions. The events are supported by a Worshipping Communities Grant of $24,990 from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW).
The purpose of this grant, one of seventy-nine that commenced on January 1, 2026, is to support a year-long project to explore commonalities and differences in Eastern and Oriental Orthodox approaches to sung worship in the context of theological education. The project’s primary aim is to cultivate mutual understanding at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, where members of Oriental Orthodox churches form an integral part of SVOTS’ educational community.
Serving as project lead is Dr. Alexander Lingas, Professor of Music and Associate Director of the Institute of Sacred Arts at St. Vladimir’s Seminary. An Implementation Team of Seminary faculty supported by advisory committee of Seminary students will implement a program of events that will include:
Spring and fall workshops on Oriental Orthodox liturgical chant led by master practitioners of their sacred traditions. The first workshop will be co-sponsored by St. Nersess Armenian Seminary and held on May 1–2, 2026, with Dr. Gabriel Aydin and Dr. Haig Utidjian presenting, respectively, on Syriac and Armenian chant. A detailed announcement of this event is forthcoming.
Hosting an international colloquium on “Liturgical Music in Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Theological Education,” on October 29–30, 2026. The keynote address will be given by Bishop Daniel Findikyan.
Institute of Sacred Arts Director Dr. Peter Bouteneff added, “The Calvin Institute grants have been about sharing our experience of liturgical music across ethnic and jurisdictional lines. It’s a special joy to expand this now to Oriental Orthodox traditions, with whom St. Vladimir’s Seminary has partnered for decades.”
ABOUT THE CALVIN INSTITUTE OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP
The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW), located at Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is an interdisciplinary study and ministry center that promotes the scholarly study of the theology, history, and practice of Christian worship and the renewal of worship in worshipping communities across North America and beyond.
Over the past year, St. Vladimir’s Seminary went the extra mile—miles, to be more accurate—to commemorate several luminaries in the Seminary’s history.
Most recently, this past weekend, a group led by Archpriest Alexander Rentel and Seminary Dean Dr. Ionuț-Alexandru Tudorie visited the grave of Fr. Thomas Hopko at the Orthodox Monastery of the Holy Transfiguration in Ellwood City, PA.
“It is not possible to do every year, but by God’s grace we have been able to pray for these beloved deans and teachers in this blessed and wonderful manner,” said Fr. Alexander, the Rector of the Seminary’s Three Hierarchs Chapel.
These former deans are all buried within a reasonable driving distance from the Seminary’s campus: Fr. Thomas Hopko at the cemetery of the Monastery of the Holy Transfiguration in Elwood City, PA; Fr. Georges Florovsky at St. Vladimir’s RussianOrthodox Cemetery near Trenton, NJ; Fr. Alexander Schmemann at the cemetery of St. Tikhon's Monastery in South Canaan, PA; and Fr. John Meyendorff at Oakland Cemetery in Yonkers, NY.
May the memories of the Priests of God Georges, Alexander, John, and Thomas be eternal!
The Rev. Dn. Chad Cordero, a deacon of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), is attached to the Nativity of the Holy Theotokos Orthodox Church in Charlotte, NC. He was ordained to the Holy Diaconate in 2022. Dn. Chad and his wife Jaime are faithful members of the St. Vladimir’s Society, comprised of generous donors who give monthly to St. Vladimir’s Seminary. Dn. Chad graciously shared with us why he supports the Seminary.
Dn. Chad, how long have you been serving at Nativity of the Holy Theotokos?
This has been the first and only parish that we’ve attended since my wife and I moved here from California in 2006. We were catechized and chrismated at this parish. This is our home. We have four children that we are raising here. We have been truly blessed by such an amazing parish community and all the opportunities that God provided us since we have been here, the last twenty years.
How did you first connect with St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS)?
I had heard of SVOTS before, but it wasn’t until 2019 when I began my educational journey to the diaconate that I became intimately involved in what it had to offer and how special it really was. SVOTS had the roadmap, through the OCA Diaconal Vocations Program [frequently hosted on SVOTS’ campus in previous years] that I was able to participate in and follow until my ordination to the diaconate in 2022. During that time I was exposed to all that SVOTS really provides for the Church, and it was very humbling to see. I was beside myself as I witnessed the sacrifice that so many people give to be a part of the SVOTS community and ultimately commit their lives and their families’ lives to serving our Lord Jesus Christ. Since my time in the DVP I have met so many great priests and dedicated families who came from the Seminary. I am excited to see how the Church grows through the amazing work that the Seminary is doing.
And since then, you have become a generous supporter of SVOTS and a member of the St. Vladimir’s Society of monthly givers! Why did you decide to join?
I felt convicted to join the St. Vladimir’s Society as I thought about all the people who have sacrificed so much to serve our Lord. At first I felt guilty that I could not give in the same way that the students (and families) are giving. There is story after story of the students who quit their jobs and moved their families to the campus to follow God’s calling in their life. However, after much prayer and discernment, I realized that I have to follow my calling, and I can still participate even if it looks different. It was about that time that I heard about the St. Vladimir’s Society. I decided to join. I have always been told, “to whom much has been given, much is expected.” Well, I have been given so much, I must take every opportunity to give back, no matter how big or small it is. The Society is one of the ways that I can give back.
Members of the St. Vladimir’s Society such as your family are so important in providing stability for the Seminary each month. How would you describe the importance of monthly giving from your perspective as a donor?
The bonus is that through the Society my family and I can also participate in the work of the Church. Through the many donors that give, we have so many resources that I, and so many others, use on a daily and weekly basis. Resources like liturgical texts and music for organizing the divine services, or daily lives of the Saints and Scripture readings for our spiritual enrichment, and even beyond that to Orthodox educational material for inquirers and the baby Orthodox who just want to know a little more, such as through The Orthodox Faith series (Thank you also, Fr. Tom!). I am so grateful for the small yet meaningful connection I have with this wonderful establishment through the St. Vladimir’s Society.
This sermon by Archpriest Sergius Halvorsen, on Mark 2:1–12, was delivered at Sts. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church in Glenview, IL, on Sunday, March 8, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Dr. Randa Karadsheh Anderson)
Paralysis.
That is a scary word. When someone is in an accident, or is gravely ill, we dread that word, “paralysis.” We ask, “Are they paralyzed; will they be able to walk again; is the paralysis permanent; will they recover?” Losing the ability to move, to work, to care for loved ones can be devastating. Paralysis is scary. And today we hear about a paralyzed man that is brought before Jesus.
The man is carried by four of his friends on a pallet, a kind of stretcher, but when they get to the house where Jesus is preaching, they cannot get inside. The crowd is too large, there are too many people in the way. So, the man’s friends figure out a way to get him up on the roof, dismantle part of the roof, and lower the man down into the house.
The friends go to heroic lengths to help this paralyzed man. But when you’re hurt, when it is hard to get around, it can be hard to accept help. When people offer to help, the instinctive response is to just try harder to do it yourself. Someone reaches out and says, “Here, let me give you a hand,” or, “Here, let me do that for you.” I usually say, “No thanks, I’ve got it.” And then I fight really hard to do everything by myself.
When it is hard to move or to complete everyday tasks, I hate to admit that I’m weak, or that I’m struggling. So, I politely refuse help: “Oh, thanks, that’s really nice of you to ask, but I’ve got it.” And most of the time I can pull it off. Most of the time I can just grin and bear it, I can fight through the pain and do what I have to do. If I was lying in bed and my friends tried to carry me somewhere, I would argue, “Please, that is not necessary. You don’t need to carry me, that’s a bit much.” And then, if they carried me up on the roof and started dismantling the house in order to lower me down inside, I would really object, “Hey, wait, this is ridiculous! Don’t make such a fuss, I really don’t think this is a good idea.”
It is easy to refuse help, to say that I’m really okay. But what happens when I’m not okay? What happens when it hurts so much that I cannot grin, and I’m just too weak to bear it? What happens when I can’t do everything by myself?
The paralyzed man, lying on that stretcher in front of Jesus, was extremely ill, and physical pain and illness can harm the soul. If the paralyzed man had been in an accident, or had a grave disease that robbed him of his physical strength, his physical paralysis may have caused spiritual or psychological paralysis as well. Physical illness or paralysis can tempt you to just give up: to give up on life, to give up on prayer, to give up on God.
But paralysis also works in the other direction. Maybe the man had suffered a devastating loss, like the death of a child or a spouse; or maybe he had witnessed horrible acts of violence; or maybe he was a victim of abuse. Maybe this man suffered from emotional and spiritual paralysis. He may have thought that his life was simply too hard, or that this world was simply too evil, or that his grief was just too much to bear.
So maybe the paralyzed man had given up all hope. Maybe his arms and legs and nerves and muscles were all perfectly healthy, but maybe his soul had been shattered beyond repair. This kind of paralysis also happens. Paralysis can start in the flesh and move to the soul, but it can also start in the soul and move out to the flesh.
Today, maybe you and I are not hurting as much as the paralyzed man that is brought before Jesus, but we all suffer from some kind of paralysis. When I think of all the sadness and the pain and the loss in my life; when I think of all the horrible mistakes I have made, all the ways I have hurt other people; when I think of all the opportunities I have squandered, and all the gifts I have wasted, a kind of paralysis creeps into my soul.
This kind of paralyzing temptation says, “You’re never going to get better. You’re only going to suffer more.” These kinds of temptations can lead you to give up on life, to give up on prayer, to give up on God. We might still go through all the motions, yet, somewhere deep down inside, part of the soul is paralyzed like that man on the pallet that comes before Jesus.
Spiritual paralysis keeps me from doing God’s will. Spiritual paralysis keeps me from loving people who are hard to love and forgiving trespasses that are really hard to forgive. Spiritual paralysis keeps me from opening the door of my heart to God’s saving grace.
But today, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ says to the paralyzed man, and to us, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” God calls us His children. Jesus says to you and me, “My daughter, my son, your sins are forgiven.” When God forgives our sins, it is not some sort of adjustment to the cosmic spreadsheet of good and evil. That is not how God works.
When Jesus says, “Your sins are forgiven,” He is saying, “No matter how much guilt is weighing on your heart; no matter how much dark shame is crushing your soul; no matter what you have done, I love you.” When God says, “Your sins are forgiven,” God is saying, “I love you, just as you are, right now.” God knows our weakness, He knows our guilt and our shame, and He says, “I love you and I want you to be free.”
God’s forgiveness is the gift of freedom and new life.
Of course, we might be like the scribes who questioned in their hearts when Jesus spoke to the paralyzed man, and we might be questioning in our hearts, “Is it possible, can Jesus actually forgive me?” “Can God love a person like me with all my failings?”
Jesus knows our doubt, and He says to us, “Why do you question like this in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your pallet and walk?’ But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Jesus says to us “Rise, take up your pallet and go home.”
When the paralyzed man stands, picks up his stretcher, and leaves the house in front of everyone it is a sign that God’s love is real, that God’s love is powerful, and that God’s love transforms us. And sometimes God gives us miraculous physical healings to remind us of His love and goodness. But God’s mercy is much deeper, and much more powerful than that.
Long after the paralyzed man picked up his pallet and walked out of the house, Jesus encountered another man who was paralyzed. This man was not a good guy. He was a criminal, a thief, someone who had committed crimes and had been sentenced to death. This man had not been brought to Jesus by his friends, his friends had abandoned him. He had been carried by Roman soldiers to Golgotha, and there they crucified him next to Jesus. This man was the Good Thief, one of the men who was crucified with Jesus.
We don’t know exactly what the man had done to arrive at that horrible end. But, we know that something had gone terribly wrong in his life, and in the end, the Roman authorities hang him on a cross and leave him there to die. Yet in the middle of that awful situation, with all that pain, and shame, and guilt, in front of all those people who were jeering and shouting, and gawking at the spectacle of public execution, the Good Thief says to Jesus, “Remember me in Your kingdom,” which is another way of saying, “Jesus, You are my Lord, and I believe that You have the authority to forgive sins. Have mercy on me, and remember me in Your Kingdom.” And Jesus responds, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
Jesus does not miraculously free the man from crucifixion. Jesus does not say, “Climb down from the cross and walk.” Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise,” which is another way of saying, “My child, your sins are forgiven; you are loved by God, just as you are—a broken, hurting, person, dying on the cross. You are loved by God, you are forgiven, and you are welcome in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
The Good Thief continues to suffer on the Cross, and the soldiers ultimately break his legs to hasten his death. Jesus does not set the Good Thief free from his physical suffering in that moment, and ultimately the Good Thief dies on the cross. But, Jesus heals the spiritual paralysis of the Good Thief, and welcomes him into the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus heals the soul of the Good Thief so that he can receive God’s love and mercy.
So, when we are suffering, and when our physical suffering continues, God still loves us, He forgives us, and He desires to be in communion with us as His beloved children. And receiving this gift of eternal life from our Lord, being freed from the paralysis of guilt and shame and sin, God calls us to share His love in the same way that Christ shared God’s love with the thief on the Cross. In the moment that Jesus faced the greatest evil, when He was surrounded by the most hateful darkness, He brought love, and forgiveness, and everlasting life to the Good Thief. When Jesus allowed Himself to be nailed to the cross, when He was physically immobilized—paralyzed on the Cross—Christ was still working miracles of love and forgiveness.
Which means that no matter how we might suffer—maybe we are confined to our bed, and maybe we are not getting better—God’s love still transforms and brings new and everlasting life. Because God does not command us to “get better,” He commands us to love and to serve.
So, today we ask our merciful Lord, “In this moment, Lord, in my brokenness, and weakness, heal me of my spiritual paralysis. Open my heart to accept Your love and Your mercy and Your forgiveness. Strengthen me to love when it is hard; give me courage to forgive when it is not easy; illumine my heart with the light of Your perfect love. Lord, remember us when You come into Your Kingdom.”
