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You saw myrrh being poured out upon his awesome head and, condemning the woman's munificence, you cried out: “To what purpose is this waste?” “Why was this myrrh not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” And the myrrh, made from various kinds of ingredients and prepared with a certain art of ointment-making, you valued at three hundred denarii, but the true myrrh, which gives the dead the scent of resurrection, you sell for thirty denarii? You do not know what you are selling, Judas. The drunkenness of avarice has darkened you. When did you ever know a master being sold by a slave, when did you learn to sell light and buy darkness? Why did you insult the sign of love, why do you work betrayal with a kiss? Rightly did the prophet, denouncing you from afar, 340 cry out: “His mouth is full of cursing and bitterness and deceit, under his tongue is trouble and sorrow;” “Like a sharpened razor you have practiced deceit;” and you were kissing your master. Come, kiss; the Savior endures with longsuffering, not turning away from the stench of your kiss, but recalling the grace of the debt which he gave you from your own lips.

Oh, how terrible a thing is avarice. Through this the disciple, torn from the apostolic chain, inherits the rope of strangulation and shows his neck to be worthy of the noose, through which came forth the words of betrayal. Oh, how great a good is soberness. For through this the thief leaped from the cross into paradise; for when he saw the Master hanging in their midst and all creation shaken with fear, and the sun being covered in harsh grief, the light of day fleeing, the elements denying their order, the rocks being rent-when he beheld all these things, then having read his own conscience and not being ignorant of the deeds of his fellow thief, when he saw creation carried hither and thither and trembling, he recognized the one in the midst as the Master of those things that tremble, and having recognized him he 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 day's work of his life; at the hour he was hired he worked eagerly. He did not falter in faith, he did not look away at the insults, he did not look down at the wounds, he disregarded the reproaches of the Jews, he took creation as his teacher and, having recognized the Master of creation, he gave worthy worship.

What then to these things says the rewarder of wages, Christ who is generous in his good deeds? When the thief asked for the future, He himself showed a grace that was not to be deferred; for when that one had said: “Remember me, Lord, when you come into your kingdom,” the Master immediately answered, saying: “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in para 341 dise.” True is the scripture that says: “While you are yet speaking, I will say: Behold, I am here.” To Christ himself be glory, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

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μῦρον κατὰ τῆς φοβερᾶς αὐτοῦ κεφαλῆς ἐκχεόμενον εἶδες καὶ τῆς φιλοτιμίας τοῦ γυναίου καταγινώσκων ἐβόας· «εἰς τί ἡ ἀπώλεια αὕτη;» «διατί τοῦτο τὸ μῦρον οὐκ ἐπράθη τριακοσίων δηναρίων καὶ ἐδόθη πτωχοῖς;» καὶ τὸ μὲν μῦρον τὸ ἐκ διαφόρων εἰδῶν κατασκευαζόμενον καὶ ἐν τέχνῃ τινὶ μυρεψούμενον τριακοσίων διετίμησας δηναρίων, τὸ δὲ ἀληθινὸν μῦρον τὸ ὀσφραῖνον νεκροὺς τὴν ἀνάστασιν τριάκοντα δηναρίων πιπράσκεις; οὐκ οἶδας τί πωλεῖς, Ἰούδα. ἐσκότωσέ σε τῆς φιλαργυρίας ἡ μέθη. πότε δὲ ἔγνως δεσπότην παρὰ δούλου πωλούμενον, πότε δὲ ἔμαθες πιπράσκειν φῶς καὶ ἀγοράζειν σκότος; ἱνατί δὲ τῆς ἀγάπης ἐνύβρισας τὸ γνώρισμα, ἱνατί δὲ φιλήματι τὴν προδοσίαν ἐργάζῃ; καλῶς σε στηλιτεύων πόρρωθεν ὁ προφήτης 340 ἐβόα· «οὗ ἀρᾶς τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ γέμει καὶ πικρίας καὶ δόλου, ὑπὸ τὴν γλῶσσαν αὐτοῦ κόπος καὶ πόνος·» «ὡσεὶ ξυρὸν ἠκονημένον ἐποίησας δόλον»· καὶ κατεφίλεις τὸν δεσπότην σου. πρόσελθε, φίλησον· ἀνέχεται ὁ σωτὴρ μακροθύμως, οὐ τὸ δυσῶδες τοῦ σοῦ φιλήματος ἀποστρεφόμενος, ἀλλ' ἣν ἔδωκέ σοι ἐκ τῶν σῶν χειλέων ἀνακαλούμενος χρεωφειλήματος χάριν.

ὦ πόσον ἡ φιλαργυρία δεινόν. διὰ ταύτης ὁ μαθητὴς ἀποστολικῆς ἀπορραγεὶς σειρᾶς, τοῦ πνιγμοῦ τὸ σχοινίον κληρονομεῖ καὶ ἄξιον δεικνύει τῆς ἀγχόνης τὸν λαιμόν, δι' οὗ προῆλθε τῆς προδοσίας τὰ ῥήματα. ὦ πηλίκον νῆψις ἀγαθόν. διὰ ταύτης γὰρ ὁ λῃστὴς ἐπήδησεν ἀπὸ σταυροῦ εἰς παράδεισον· ὡς γὰρ εἶδε τὸν δεσπότην ἐν μέσῳ κρεμάμενον καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν κτίσιν κραδαινομένην τῷ φόβῳ καὶ ἥλιον μὲν ἐν χαλεπῷ κατακαλυπτόμενον πένθει, τῆς ἡμέρας δὲ τὸ φῶς ὑποφεῦγον, τὰ στοιχεῖα τὴν τάξιν ἀρνούμενα, ῥηγνυμένας τὰς πέτρας-ὡς ἅπαντα ταῦτα ἐθεάσατο, εἶτα τὸ συνειδὸς ἀναγνοὺς τὸ οἰκεῖον καὶ συλλῃστοῦ τὰς πράξεις οὐκ ἀγνοῶν, τὴν κτίσιν ὡς εἶδε τῇδε κἀκεῖσε φερομένην καὶ τρέμουσαν, τὸν ἐν μέσῳ δεσπότην τῶν τρεμόντων ἐγνώρισε καὶ γνωρίσας εὐθὺς ἀνεβόησε· «μνήσθητί μου, κύριε, ὅταν ἔλθῃς ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ σου.» ὄντως γοργὸς ὁ λῃστὴς τῆς ἑνδεκάτης ὥρας ἐργάτης· ὅλον γὰρ τὸ τῆς ἡμέρας τοῦ βίου ἀνεπλήρωσεν ἔργον, ᾗ ἐμισθώθη ὥρᾳ προθύμως εἰργάσατο. οὐκ ὤκλασε τῇ πίστει, οὐκ ἀπεῖδεν εἰς τὰς ὕβρεις, εἰς τὰς πληγὰς οὐκ ἀπέβληψε, τὰ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ὀνείδη παρεκρούσατο, ἔλαβε τὴν κτίσιν διδάσκαλον καὶ τὸν τῆς κτίσεως δεσπότην γνωρίσας ἀξίαν ἔδωκε τὴν προσκύνησιν.

Τί οὖν πρὸς ταῦτα ὁ τῶν μισθῶν ἀποδότης, ὁ φιλότιμος ἐν ταῖς εὐεργεσίαις Χριστός; τοῦ λῃστοῦ τὸ μέλλον ζητήσαντος αὐτὸς ἀνυπέρθετον τὴν χάριν ἐπέδειξεν· ἐκείνου γὰρ εἰρηκότος· «μνήσθητί μου, κύριε, ὅταν ἔλθῃς ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ σου», ὁ δεσπότης εὐθὺς ἀπεκρίνατο λέγων· «ἀμήν, λέγω σοι, σήμερον μετ' ἐμοῦ ἔσῃ ἐν τῷ παρα 341 δείσῳ.» ἀληθὴς ἡ λέγουσα γραφή· «ἔτι λαλοῦντός σου ἐρῶ· ἰδοὺ πάρειμι.» αὐτῷ τῷ Χριστῷ ἡ δόξα σὺν πατρὶ καὶ ἁγίῳ πνεύματι εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ἀμήν.