Great Friday:
Teaching 2
(The Lament of a Christian Over Sins at the Tomb of Christ)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
Teaching 2
(The Lament of a Christian Over Sins at the Tomb of Christ)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
I. When the blessed Sufferer, bearing His cross, was led to His crucifixion, many of the women of Jerusalem followed Him with weeping and tears... This is a customary offering of sensitive hearts, when witnessing the sufferings of a neighbor, especially of one suffering innocently. Nevertheless, the Lord did not wish to accept this sacrifice of human participation: He pointed out to the tears of the daughters of Jerusalem another subject, more worthy of mourning: "Daughters of Jerusalem," He said to them, "do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children" (Luke 23:28).
II. It is not without heartache that we now attend the memorial of the sufferings of the Lord; for can the human heart not be struck when the very stones are rent asunder? It is not without tear-moistened eyes that many now appear at the foot of the Cross of the Lord; for could the human eye be more shameless than the sun, which grew dark at the sight of the sufferings of the Son of God? Thus, all this, on our part, is an inevitable tribute of the heart to the pitiful spectacle of the sufferings of the Lord! But if this tribute was not needed by the Lord even then, when He suffered on earth; for the cup which the Father gave Him had to be drunk to the last drop; how much less is it needed by Him now, when He is exalted and glorified, and when He continues to appear to us in the form of One suffering specifically for us. “Sons and daughters of the new Zion, My Church," as if He were saying this to us, "do not weep for Me; My sufferings have won eternal glory not only for Me, but for you too. You have another subject of bitter weeping, for the arousal of which I show you My cross and tomb: weep for yourselves, for yourselves, whose sins lifted Me up to the cross and brought Me down to the tomb: 'For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?'" (Luke 23:31). Let us listen, my brethren, to this voice, let us fix our gaze on ourselves, let us stand face to face before Divine mercy and justice, which are revealed with such striking solemnity in the death of the Son of God; and, God willing, our gaze will be filled with other tears of tenderness, and we will turn to the image of the Divine Sufferer not with fruitless regret, but with fervent and tender prayer to Him.
a) Great is Your love for mankind, ineffable is Your mercy, O our God, towards us sinners! Thus have You loved the world, for You have given Your only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life! – Boundless is Your condescension, unspeakable is Your long-suffering, O most merciful Redeemer! What have You not suffered, what reproach and dishonor have You not endured, what torment have You not received for us and from us – Your creatures and enemies, friends and slanderers, sons and crucifiers? – Not joy and merriment, but sorrow and sickness fill my heart at this sight of Your mercy and my ingratitude. – You shed Your blood to grant me justification for my sins; – and where is this beautiful garment of purity and innocence with which You clothed me in the Mystery of Holy Baptism? – Ah, I again appear at Your tomb as a condemned transgressor of Your law! – You gave up Your spirit on the cross, that You might send down Your most holy and life-giving Spirit.And where is that pledge of betrothal with which You signed me on the day of my deliverance? Alas, I am again a captive and abode of the evil spirit! You endured reproach and humiliation, insults and spitting, blows and beatings, that You might raise me, who have fallen, to the dignity and glory of the children of God. nd where is that precious dignity, when I again see myself a son of wrath and destruction? For my life You gave me Your flesh and blood as food: ah, how many times have I insulted the most holy mystery with unworthy communion! How many times have I crucified You a second time by trampling on Your flesh and blood! What can I expect now, except execution and judgment from the justice of Your Heavenly Father?
b) O, how impenetrable is Your justice, O righteous Father, which, not finding a worthy victim on earth, seeks it in heaven, punishing sin in the person of Your only-begotten, beloved Son! How terrible is Your judgment, our God, which does not leave any of our criminal actions unpunished, and in Him Who Himself did not commit sin, who took upon Himself the sins of others. How terrible will Your judgment be for those who will appear before Your face with their own sins! O, in truth, many will then say to the mountains: fall on us; and to the hills: cover us from the face of Him who sits on the throne; for the day of His wrath has come! But who will hide me from You, omnipresent and omniscient One? Who will protect me from You, the just and omnipotent, except Your beloved Son, my Mediator and Savior?
III. My sweetest Redeemer, You are my only hope and trust, You are my only refuge and salvation; in Your life-giving wounds I too can hide myself from the face of God’s truth; for You came to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Accept my repentance, and do not close the door of Your mercy to me. I flee to You with the publicans and repentant sinners; I weep bitterly before You with Peter and Magdalene; I cry to You with the thief: "Remember me, O Lord, in Your Kingdom!" Amen.
Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
