For when Judas advances to kiss Him

[Unknown]

"For when Judas advances to kiss Him, what does Christ say? "Judas,
betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss?" (Luke xxii. 48.) Art thou not
ashamed of the manner in which thou betrayest Me? This Christ said to touch
him, and bring his former intimacy to remembrance. But while the Lord acted
and spoke thus, the betrayer did not change for the better----not on
account of the weakness of Him from whom the counsel came, but the
worthlessness of him to whom it came. And Christ, although He foresaw all
these things, did not cease, from the beginning to the close of the scene,
to do all that was consistent with His own character."

St. John Chrysostom, Discourse I, Chiefly on the parable of the rich man
and Lazarus (17 of --).

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out
of them all. He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken."
Psalm34:19-20

Draw nigh unto God and He will draw nigh unto you.