20th Sunday, Jer 38:4-6, 8-10 The vivid image of Jeremiah plopping ignominiously into the cistern of Prince Malchiah generates a pair of insights for me. First, the courage of the person who rescued him. The man’s name is not given and perhaps he was called "Ebed-Melek," which is "Servant (or slave) of the King," much the way women in service were called "Cook," if that is what they did and who they were in the view of those who employed them. In the tension and danger of a court bitterly divided over the efforts of the king to avoid capitulating to Babylon and those of Jeremiah to face the inevitability of defeat, this servant saved the life of a man out of favor with his boss: So a righteous Gentile. Second, I am reminded of Andrea del Sarto’s Cristo in pietà (ca. 1514-20, in Florence’s Galleria dell’Accademia, where Michelangelo’s David looms strong, beautiful and masterful): Between being mocked and crucified, Jesus sits, resting for a moment, stripped but for a red wrap, abject, alone, infinitely sad and yet somehow serene. Three studies in nonviolence: Jeremiah, his rescuer, Jesus. Barbara Green, OP
Jeremiah, His Rescuer and Jesus
Show Comments ()
1
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
13 years 5 months ago
The Office 2007 then Microsoft Office 2007 the Office 2007 Download Release Windows 7 Candidate Microsoft Windows 7 in Win 7 May Download Windows 7 when Buy Windows 7 we Office 2007 Professional have MS Office 2007 had Office 2010 millions Microsoft Office 2010 of Download Office 2010 people MS Office 2010 successfully office 2010 professional plus running the product.
![]()
![]()
![]()
The latest from america
I am rather fond of my native land and her robust and quirky republican traditions, but Jesus did not preach democracy nor endorse any particular political philosophy.
What are our young people learning? What will we do as people of faith to actively mitigate suffering? And, finally, what about the future?
We have recently seen entire communities wiped off the map by wildfires fueled by ever-hotter weather. This has grave implications for tradition, family and other goods that social conservatives value.
Pilgrims coming to Rome will now have the opportunity to experience St. Peter’s Basilica like never before.