Слово в субботу недели 1-й Великого поста, по причащении Святых Таин

Where did the apostles go because of the Last Supper? They went with their Teacher and their Lord to Gethsemane, there to watch and pray, suffer and hope. Where did Judas go? He went alone to the enemies of Jesus, for the spirit and servants, to take and betray to them his Teacher and Lord. From the same Divine meal - what two different fruits!.. From the same holy place - what two opposite paths!.. Where did the path of the apostles lead? First to Gethsemane and Golgotha, then to Olivet, then to the Upper Room of Zion, and then to heaven... And the path of Judah? He first led him to the palace of Caiaphas, then he led the unfortunate man for a moment to the church, but then - and soon - he led him to the pernicious tree, and from there - to hell!.. So different was the fate of the first communicants of the Body and Blood of Christ! Why such a (terrible!) difference? From good and bad will. Good will brought the apostles to heaven; evil will brought Judas down to hell. And Peter fell, but stood up; the same would have happened to Judas if he had repented and created fruits worthy of repentance. Is anyone now following the path of the apostles? He goes who, having partaken of the Body and Blood of Christ, considers himself through this to be inextricably and forever united with Christ; and therefore follows Him wherever He leads, to Tabor or to Gethsemane; who, belonging to his Savior with all his being, tries to be like Him in everything, to think as He thought, to speak as He spoke, to live and die as He lived and ended his earthly life! Does anyone still walk the way of Judas? He goes who, receiving the Body and Blood of the Lord in the Eucharist, accepts them as simple bread and wine, and thereby considers himself to be in no way obligated to his Savior; who in the church shows some respect for the Holy Place and, when they talk about sins and betrayal of the law, is ready, like Judas, to ask: is it not me, Lord? And behind the church he clearly worships the world and its idols, shamelessly sells faith and law, shame and conscience. This is now the way of the apostles and the way of Judas! There are both paths before you: and you must definitely choose one! “Whatever is not with Me is on Me,” said the Lord Himself (Luke 11:23). So who are you with? With whom, not here and now in the church, but where temptation meets you; where, perhaps, it will be necessary either to accept honor and unrighteous wealth, or to go to the cross for the truth?.. But you have already chosen what you should; each of you said: I will not give you the kiss of Judas! Look - don’t give this hellish kiss! Otherwise, it will have no time to burn your lips and heart with the flames of hell! Each of you promised to confess the Lord, like the prudent thief: look - confess! There will be no shortage of cases for this; for the world is now the same as it was before: it lies all in evil and attracts everyone to evil. Stand courageously against this evil both in yourself and in others! Don't go back to the way things were! The prudent thief, if he had managed to come down from the cross alive, would, without a doubt, devote the rest of his life to the Lord, and would have become the most zealous of His disciples. Let us also devote the rest of the time of our lives to Him, the All-Good, so that at the hour of death we hear from Him: “Today you will be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43)! Amen. You might be interested in: