by Archimandrite Savvas Anastasiou
On Holy and Great Wednesday, the final phase begins—the one that will lead us to the voluntary Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have prepared ourselves appropriately, through the prescribed hymns and Gospel readings, to receive Christ the Bridegroom. We shall no longer chant “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh,” for He has already arrived. The voluntary Passion of our Lord has reached us, and the “spiritual chaos” which will surround Him has begun.
By the phrase “spiritual chaos,” I mean the following: in the coming days, we shall witness many situations diametrically opposed to one another, and in the twinkling of an eye, they will swap places. Peter will deny the Lord, while the thief will confess Him. The Apostles will abandon the Lord, while the harlot will kiss His feet; the crowd that shouted “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” will shout “Crucify Him.”
I say that the Immaculate Passion begins on Holy Wednesday because the events in Bethany, in the house of Simon the Leper, instigated the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus. The events that will culminate on Great and Holy Friday began on Wednesday. The exquisite hymns of the Matins service of Holy Wednesday describe, through poetic means, the events of that evening in Bethany two thousand years ago. They transport us noetically to the house of Simon the Leper.
Simon belonged to the faction of the Pharisees. The Pharisees, although the word now means hypocrite, they were the most religious of all the Jews, and it was to them primarily that Christ preached, even if He often rebuked their exclusivity. They believed they were the only righteous ones and everyone else was beyond salvation; therefore, Christ often showed them examples of virtuous persons among the non-Pharisees or from among those whom the Pharisees considered unclean.
For example: once the Pharisees caught a certain woman in the act of adultery and dragged her out of the house to a place to stone her, as Moses commanded in the law. They brought her to Jesus first to test Him, asking: “Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?” Jesus did not answer but sat down and wrote on the ground with His finger. He did this twice without answering them. The Church Fathers say that He wrote the sins of all those holding stones in their hands, ready to stone her; and when each one saw what Jesus wrote, he saw his own sins. Finally, Jesus answered: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” The crowd departed, leaving the woman alone with Christ.
And He said to her: “Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”
The Lord does not desire the death of the sinner, but that he should return and live; nor does He take pleasure in the destruction of men, but wills that all be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Therefore, He saved her life to give her the opportunity to repent.
After the resurrection of Lazarus and His entry into Jerusalem, Jesus was invited with His disciples to the house of Simon the Pharisee. Simon was a leper, and perhaps he hoped to be healed by Christ. Christ accepted to go to Simon’s house to his great joy. Everything was ready: the house was cleaned, the appropriate food prepared, the table set; everything was in its place. Christ came for the dinner, and the rite of the evening began, for the Jews had strict laws and customs regarding dinner, and receiving the Teacher into one’s home was no small thing. Christ came with the disciples and the dinner began. All went well according to the Jewish typikon (order); only one thing was forgotten: to wash the feet of Jesus, as it was the host’s custom to wash the feet of the guest.
Otherwise, the evening went well. Many spiritual topics were discussed: the coming Passover, the resurrection of Lazarus, etc. Jesus, however, kept silence; He did not participate in the discussions. Why? Because He was waiting for a certain person to come to the dinner as well.
And suddenly, a noise arose in the courtyard. Behold, she came. Everyone stood up to see who it was, except for Christ; He remained calm. He knew who it was. And who was it? The harlot—the woman whom the Pharisees had previously caught and wanted to stone.
She approached Christ holding an alabaster jar in her hands, full of precious myrrh—the myrrh of the dowry, which Jewish women kept to anoint their bridegrooms on their wedding day. She broke the jar and poured the myrrh on Jesus’ head. She fell at His feet and kissed them, washing them with her tears and wiping them with her hair, while the myrrh dripped from Jesus’ garments onto the ground; for now, Christ was drenched in myrrh. It was an awesome sight.
Why did she come and do this? To thank Christ for the opportunity for repentance she received from Him. Her gratitude would not allow her not to return to Christ to say thank you. She kept the commandment Christ gave her: “go, and sin no more.” She descended into the depths of humility and recognized her faults.
Those reclining at the dinner awaited Jesus’ reaction. What would He do? Everyone knew her; the harlot was well known. Did Jesus not know? According to Jewish law, it was forbidden for a teacher to be touched by such a person. Simon said to himself that if He were a prophet, He would know who and what sort of woman this is who touches Him, that she is a sinner.
Yes, He knew her. Being God, He created her; He knew her from her mother’s womb. He knew every act, every sin, every thought. He had been waiting for her return since before the foundation of the world. How could He not know her? He was the one who saved her from stoning. Perhaps some of those who were ready to stone her then were there, in Simon’s house that evening, ready again to stone her—not with stones, but with their judgment.
They expected Christ to drive her away, to despise her. But Christ kept silence. Finally, He broke His silence and said to Simon: “Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”
She was raised from the mire of her deeds through repentance and received forgiveness. This awesome and moving act of the harlot, stemming from deep repentance and gratitude—the moment when the hell of sin was transformed into a paradise of repentance, when that which was below ascended to that which is above, when the sinner became a Saint, when a soul was saved from the mire through repentance—this moment caused a reaction not from Christ, but from the disciples.
And what did they say? “Why this waste?” They said this myrrh could have been sold for much and given to the poor. But the one saying this, Judas Iscariot, was a thief; he had the money box and used to steal what was put in it.
Christ knew this and said to him: Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.” The Lord rebuked Judas’ greed and revealed his false philanthropy before everyone. And He praised the woman, saying: “For in that she hath poured this ointment on My body, she did it for My burial.”
But the pride that Judas hid within himself would not allow him to accept the Lord’s rebuke; instead, he immediately thought to betray the Teacher. Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
Did you see, my brothers, how the events that culminated in the crucifixion began on Holy Wednesday? Judas decided from that day to betray the Lord. This is why Christians fast on the Wednesdays of the year, in memorial of this act.
Jesus could have remained silent, as He often did and as He would soon do before Pilate. But the Scripture says: “When Jesus knew it”—that is, He knew Judas’ thoughts and immediately rebuked him. The so-called waste of the woman moved Judas’ greed. Christ revealed his greed before everyone and at the same time praised the woman, showing Judas’ folly. The shame he felt then quickly turned to anger, and he thought of how to take revenge.
Being a lover of money, and already stealing from the money box, he went to the chief priests and scribes and agreed with them to receive thirty pieces of silver and deliver Christ. Thus he thought to satisfy his anger—to repay the rebuke. For envy knows not how to prefer what is profitable.
The harlot recognized the Divinity of Christ, and the disciple studied how to betray Him. Judas lived for three years near the God-man Christ, saw His miracles, heard His words, and received authority over unclean spirits; while the sinful woman lived in adultery. But when she heard that Jesus was in the house of Simon the Leper, she hastened to Him with deep humility for her sins and gratitude for the salvation she received, and she poured precious myrrh on Jesus’ head as He sat and ate with the others.
One can say much about the myrrh and the meaning of this act. In the Old Testament, myrrh was used for the anointing of priests and kings. She acted rightly, for He is the King of Israel and a faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God. He is the Christ; what does Christ mean? It means “the Anointed One.” Jesus confessed that He is the coming Christ to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well; but the harlot recognized it for herself.
According to the Jewish custom of marriage, the bride anointed the bridegroom with precious myrrh on the wedding day. Do not be surprised; do we not have the icon of Christ the Bridegroom? Did we not sing “Behold the Bridegroom cometh” and “I see Thy Bridal Chamber?” This act has the greatest significance: she was mired in carnal sins, but she was able to turn the desire for sin into a desire for Christ. Whatever love (eros) she had for sin, she transformed into love (agape) for Christ. She felt in her heart the Divinity of Christ, that He is God made man, and therefore she did this deed for her Lord and Benefactor.
It has another meaning as well: the Jews anointed the bodies of the dead with myrrh before burial. Therefore, Jesus said: “In pouring this myrrh on My body, she did it for My burial.” He is preparing to go to His Passion.
But the others did not understand; they did not feel as the harlot did. Those closest to the Lord were indignant and considered the act a waste. This good work, of which Jesus said “Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her,” this good work gave birth in Judas’ heart to the thought of betrayal.
The exquisite hymns of the Matins of Holy Wednesday express the inner meaning of the events: when the harlot offered the myrrh, then the disciple agreed with the lawless; she rejoiced pouring out the precious myrrh, he hastened to sell the Priceless One; she confessed the Master, he separated himself from Him; she was freed, and he became a slave of the enemy.
See the harlot kissing the feet of the Lord; Judas also kissed the Lord, not in repentance, but in betrayal. She loosened her tresses; he was bound by passion. She spread her hair to the Master; he spread his hands to the lawless. She for forgiveness, he for silver. Great is the repentance; oh, the wretchedness of Judas!
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The Divine Service of the Matins of Holy Wednesday is among the most beautiful Services of the year. However, that which constitutes the crown of the entire service is the well-known Doxastikon of the Aposticha: “O Lord, the woman who had fallen into many sins…”
The hymnographer of this troparion is, as is well known, Kassiani the nun. She lived in the Byzantine Empire in the ninth century, during the reign of the Emperor Theophilus.
The mother of Theophilus summoned all the most beautiful and distinguished maidens from throughout the world to find a wife for the emperor. She gave Theophilus a golden apple to give to the woman he desired. He summoned Kassiani along with many others. Kassiani was strikingly beautiful, and as Theophilus approached her to give her the golden apple—but wishing first to test her—he said: “From a woman came forth the baser things,” meaning that all the evils in the world came through a woman, referring to Eve. But Kassiani, being wise, immediately replied: “And through a woman spring forth the better things,” referring to the Theotokos, and that salvation springs from her. The emperor did not wish for a wife who would answer back in such a manner, and so he gave the apple to another woman, Theodora.
After the emperor married Theodora, Kassiani was free to become a nun. Yet Theophilus always kept Kassiani in his mind, and one day he went to the monastery where Kassiani was to be found in order to see her. Kassiani was, as we have said, a hymnographer; she was in her cell writing the famous words:
“O Lord, the woman which hath fallen into many sins, perceiving Thy Divinity, and taking upon her the office of a myrrh-bearer, wailing, bringeth myrrh unto Thee before Thy burial. ‘Woe is me,’ she saith, ‘for night is unto me an ecstasy of riot, a dark and moonless love of sin. Receive the fountains of my tears, O Thou who drawest out the water of the sea by the clouds; incline Thine ear unto the groanings of my heart, O Thou who didst bow the heavens by Thine ineffable self-emptying. I shall kiss Thine immaculate feet, and wipe them again with the tresses of my head…'”
Suddenly, Kassiani heard a noise outside—the footsteps and voices of many men. The emperor had come to see her. She did not wish to be seen, so she immediately stopped writing and hid somewhere in the monastery. Theophilus entered with his soldiers and searched everywhere for Kassiani. He entered her cell but did not find her. He did, however, find the parchment with the troparion upon her desk and the pen beside it. He read the troparion, and when he saw that it stopped in the middle of the verse, he realized she had hidden. He took the pen and completed the verse thus:
“…whose sound Eve heard in Paradise in the afternoon, and being struck with fear, she hid herself.” Then Theophilus departed. After he had left, Kassiani came out and found the addition Theophilus had made to the troparion, and she liked it. She then continued writing the hymn:
“The multitude of my sins and the depths of Thy judgments, who can search out, O Saviour of my soul? Do not despise me, Thy handmaid, O Thou who hast mercy beyond measure.”
Come then, my brothers, let us ascend with Christ to His voluntary passion. Let us go also, that we may die with Him. For if we die to our passions, we shall rise with Him on the third day, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, to whom be glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen.
