Lent: Second Sunday

“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43

What is paradise? Is it a place? We could say it is more a condition of consciousness. It is a spiritual condition from which we came, and to which we will return. The events in the Garden of Eden explain how we left paradise when Lucifer opened our eyes to the physical world and all it had to offer.

Now as we contemplate the crucified One telling us that we will be with him in paradise we can know that our long journey through physical existence means that we will not enter back into paradise the same beings as we were when we left it.

We will have a vastly different consciousness, one that we ourselves have changed by integrating our I Am into our being. The opportunity for this personal integration of the I Am came with the crucifixion when Jesus sacrificed himself to allow the Cosmic Christ to fully enter into his body, and into this earth.

From my previous Reflections on this saying from the cross as Jesus speaks to the two beings crucified either side of him:

And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”’ Lucifer sees the truth, and he is instantly redeemed – he is not redeemed by Jesus, he redeems himself because he sees the truth. Ahriman hasn’t got a clue; he has some time to wait until he is ready to redeem himself. Also, this doesn’t mean that Lucifer’s activity stops, he still plays his role in our consciousness and in this world, but he freely chooses to do this work because he understands the end-game. Kristina Kaine, Who is Jesus : What is Christ? Volume 5

Painting: The Crucifixion by Antonello da Messina (ca. 1430-1479)