In magnam feriam

Naturally I am in anguish, constrained by the bonds of cowardice, wondering how I shall satisfy the thirst of your love of hearing, what table of discourse I shall set before you, what I shall become when welcoming so great a people, for whom Christ alone will suffice for a feast. The joy of the world is now at the doors; the harbor of the Lord's Resurrection draws near. Again the senseless nation of the Jews is thrown into confusion; again the dogs bark against the shepherd; again the slaves rebel against the master; again the workers of darkness plot against the light; again Judas meditates the lawless sale; again the Jews prepare silver, so that they may send to Hades the one who is free among the dead, and learn of death taken captive, so that tombs may be shaken and the dead may be winged for resurrection; again a disciple sells, and men learned in the law buy, and a thief theologizes on the cross. But let us recall the voice of the traitor: "What do you wish to give me," he says, "and I will deliver him to you?" What do they wish to give you, Judas? The rope of the noose, the outer darkness, the alienation from the kingdom, the separation from the saints, the corpse that will never rise—these are your profits from the contract with the Jews. "What do you wish to give me?" What can they give you that is equal to what you are about to lose, you utterly wicked one? And why do you sell so cheaply the architect of heaven and earth, the one who bears all things in the palm of his hand? When you saw your master honored, you saw the precious myrrh poured out upon his fearsome head, and condemning the woman's generosity, you cried out—

To what end is this destruction?" "Why was this myrrh not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" And you valued the myrrh, which is compounded from various ingredients and prepared by a certain art of perfumery, at three hundred denarii, but you sell the true myrrh, which anoints the dead for the resurrection, for thirty denarii? Do you not know what you are selling, Judas? The drunkenness of avarice has blinded you. When did you ever know a master sold by a slave, when did you ever learn to sell light and buy darkness? Why did you insult the token of love, why do you effect betrayal with a kiss? Rightly did the prophet cry out from afar, denouncing you: "Whither he lifts his mouth, it is full of bitterness and deceit; under his tongue is toil and pain;" "You have made deceit like a sharpened razor." And you kissed your master. Come, kiss him; the Savior patiently endures, not turning away from the foulness of your kiss, but calling back the grace of the debt you owe him from your lips. Oh, how terrible is avarice! Because of it, the disciple, torn from the apostolic chain, inherits the rope of strangulation and shows his throat worthy of the noose, through which the words of betrayal came forth.

Oh, what a great good is sobriety! For through it the thief leaped from the cross into paradise. For when he saw the Master hanging in the midst, and the whole creation shaken with fear, the sun veiled in grievous mourning, the light of day fleeing, the elements denying their order, the rocks being rent—when he beheld all these things, then reading his own conscience and not ignorant of his fellow thief's deeds, when he saw creation borne hither and thither and trembling, he recognized the Master in the midst of those trembling, and having recognized him, immediately cried out: "Remember me, Lord, when you come into your kingdom." Truly the thief was a swift worker of the eleventh hour; for he fulfilled the whole work of the day of his life, and in the hour for which he was hired he worked eagerly. He did not falter in faith, he did not look away at the insults, he did not flinch at the blows, he brushed aside the reproaches of the Jews, he took creation as his teacher, and having recognized the Master of creation, he gave worthy adoration.

What then does the giver of rewards, the one generous in benefactions, Christ, do in response to these things? When the thief sought his future, he immediately displayed the grace without delay. For when the thief said, "Remember me, Lord, when you come into your kingdom," the Master immediately answered, saying, "Amen, I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise." The scripture that says, "While you are still speaking, I will say, 'Behold, I am here,'" is true. Glory to Christ himself, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen.