“Terror on every side!
Denounce! let us denounce him!”
All those who were my friends
are on the watch for any misstep of mine.
“Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail,
and take our vengeance on him.”
But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion:
... he has rescued the life of the poor
from the power of the wicked!
Today's First Reading from the prophet Jeremiah comes to us as if on the lips of Jesus himself. We sense his anguish as his betrayal and passion are only days away. But clearly too as Jesus moves forward, he trusts absolutely in the Father who he knows will not abandon or forsake him.
We can perhaps understand the anguish of Jesus our Master more easily in these days of our own fear and suffering and so accompany Him and all in need with greater compassion and understanding and coinherence.
Crucifix, 14th century, Chapel of Perpignan Cathedral, France.