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“O the damnation of Judas! Seeing the harlot kissing the feet, he plotted the deception of the kiss of betrayal. She let down/freed her hair, while he bound himself through anger, carrying, instead of myrrh, his ill-smelling malice, for envy does not appreciate preferring that which is beneficial. O the damnation of Judas! Deliver our souls from it, O God!” (Byzantine hymn of Holy & Great Wednesday)
It’s interesting that, on this Holy and Great Wednesday, just before our Lord’s passion, the betrayal of Judas is compared, specifically, to a woman ‘who was a sinner,’ who anointed the feet of our Lord in the house of Simon the Pharisee in Luke 7. This is interesting, because this is not one of the anointings of Christ by a woman (either Mary the sister of Lazarus or another, unnamed woman) that happen shortly before His passion, in the house of Simon the Leper at Bethany. The anointing by the ‘sinful’ woman happened long before these, and not on Bethany but probably up in Galilee.
What is the point of this comparison? It seems that our tradition is at pains, just before the final days of this week, to present us with two examples: 1. of a religious man, - one of the 12 Apostles, no less, - behaving badly; and 2. of a not-so-religious woman, - a harlot, no less, - behaving beautifully. It’s reminiscent of the story of the priest-monk Zosimas and St. Mary of Egypt, in which the religious man, Zosimas, begins to pride himself in his ascetic accomplishments, while the woman with a sinful past, Mary, outshines him in that regard. The point is, I think, to reassure us, as we approach the celebration of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, to assure us thateveryonecan approach and accompany our Lord at this time. And that no religious, ecclesial, or marital or other status (or lack thereof) excludes us from the possibility of being ‘in’ or ‘out’ of communion with our Lord crucified-and-risen. We could, potentially, be in sinful and ill-smelling bondage, as was one the twelve Apostles, Judas, if we bind ourselves (as did he) with his own ambitions and plans, rather than trusting the Lord’s. And we could, potentially, - even if we have been bound with ill-smelling addictions or habits (as had been the sinful woman), “let down our hair” and let ourselves be received and freed from our pain by our loving and forgiving Lord. Glory be to Him, and have a blessed Holy and Great Wednesday, dear friends!
