Слово первое в Великую Среду

Today is the day of the Lord’s betrayal, a gloomy and sad day, which is why the Holy Church has marked it, along with the day of the Lord’s death, with the seal of fasting throughout the entire year. - He who loves his Savior will not break this seal: he will with all fidelity keep the sign of sorrow and lamentation for the Beloved. For, although the tradition, as well as the death of the Lord, served - in its consequences - to the salvation of the whole world, nevertheless this action is the most black and disgusting. It even seems to me more criminal than the crucifixion itself. For those who crucified the Lord did not know Him as they should; “If they had understood, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:8). And who is betraying here? His own disciple, one of the twelve, that is, the closest, is betrayed by the one who heard all the conversations of the Lord, witnessed His life and miracles, shared with Him, for more than three years, both joy and sorrow. After all this, the tradition is so unexpected in the traitor that the Church itself will ask in bewilderment tomorrow: “What image have you, Judas, made a traitor to the Savior? Food from the face of the Apostle excommunicate you? Does food give healing? Having washed the food of others, do you despise yours? Will I throw away food from your meal? Oh, how many blessings you were unmemorable!” (Great Friday. Morning. Sedal. Ch. 7). Everything was done for Judas, and everything was despised by him! That he had no reason to lament and complain about the Teacher is shown by his own words and his terrible end: “those who sinned,” he says to the Teacher’s murderers themselves, “who sinned by betraying innocent blood!” (Matthew 27:4). What led you, unfortunate one, into this terrible sin? “Love of money and the devil,” answer the evangelists. Carrying a reliquary with money, Iscariot became addicted to what he was carrying and turned out to be a thief. After this, the holy society of Jesus, in which the spirit of arbitrary poverty and self-denial dominated, became alien to him, heavy, disgusting to a soul infected with passion. Judas dreamed of self-interest and silver everywhere and in everything. The devil was not slow to take advantage of this unfortunate disposition of the heart and, having founded a dwelling place in the soul of Judas, forced him to look at everything that happened not with the eyes of faith and love, as the other apostles looked, but with the self-interested eye of a tax collector and a Pharisee. This is how Judas looked at the ointment that Mary poured on the feet of Jesus, and, pretending to be a friend of the poor, he regretted that it was not sold and the money was not given to his wickedness. This is, without a doubt, how Judas looked at everything else. “What,” he thought, “are we walking from one end to another of Judea like beggars? Why not take advantage of the zeal of the people, take into your own hands the power that apparently is given by itself? After all, the Messiah must finally rule over everyone and everything. Can we really wait for us all to be captured as criminals and executed? Perhaps this won't happen. But let others wait for this. Iscariot is not so simple and short-sighted. He will take his measures in advance.” - Why are you delaying? The devil whispered in my ears. Now is the most favorable opportunity to lag behind the company of Jesus. You see how the Sanhedrin is looking for an opportunity to take the Teacher secretly. You yourself can do this implicitly, so that the Teacher will not even consider you a traitor. For what is required for this? Just indicate the location of the Teacher at night. In addition to the fact that you will be paid for this important service, through this you will enter into contact with the top officials of the Sanhedrin. And this will not be a big problem for Him: you yourself saw how He was miraculously saved more than once from all the snares and snares of His enemies; will be saved now, and you will do your job and create happiness for yourself: take advantage of the opportunity and hurry! And the unfortunate student is definitely in a hurry - to his death. Под предлогом покупок, нужных к празднику, он находит случай тайно побывать у первосвященников и сговориться с ними о предательстве. Желание не представлять из себя низкого продавца, торгующегося за кровь, и показать мнимое усердие к пользам синедриона, заставляет его согласиться на самую невеликую цену, в надежде, со временем, большей и лучшей награды. Для этого же он явится в самом вертограде Гефсиманском, с видом не предателя, а человека, возвращающегося из посылки, который потому позволяет себе дружелюбно приветствовать Учителя и даже облобызать Его; между тем, как это именно лобзание было знаком для явившейся затем, как бы без всякого согласия с Иудой, спиры иудейской (спира – рота или полк). Therefore, until the very end, none of the students could know who the traitor was. One Teacher saw and knew everything; knew and used all measures to save - not Himself, but the unfortunate disciple. How many touching admonitions at one last supper! The washing of feet, the teaching of the Body and Blood could touch the spirit of the outcast, but they did not touch Judas! The passion of love of money drowned out everything! But I turned it off for a while. When the plan was completed, when the Teacher, instead of miraculously being saved from his enemies, gave himself up to them like a sheep to the slaughter, Judas woke up, remembered everything that he saw good, holy, Divine in Jesus, and turned to repentance. The silver coins are defeated; the innocence of the Teacher was publicly confessed; All that remained was, like Peter, to wash away the sin with tears and turn to the same Teacher and Lord with faith. But the devil now suggested something else: just as he had previously seduced with fearlessness, so now he presented the inexorability of guilt and sin. And behold, Judas is on the tree of destruction! It was then, not before, that the menacing words comprehended him in full force: “It would have been kinder for him if that man had not been born!” (Mark 14:21). You see to what extent the passion for money has brought the poorest man! For if Judas had not promised many good things from himself, he would not have been chosen as an apostle. Let us, brothers, beware of this illness, as well as other passions: for they are all equally dangerous, and sooner or later end in both mental and physical death for a person. But let the fallen one not lose heart and let him not come to despair! The heavenly Doctor has no incurably sick people. As long as we live, we can be saved, no matter how great our sins. If Judas himself, instead of the destructive tree, had hastened to the tree of the Cross of Christ with faith and repentance, then together with the repentant thief he would have entered heaven, without any silver. This is how all the wise Fathers of the Church talk about it and teach. Amen. You might be interested in: