Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus
(Those of us who have had the privilege and honor of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land always make Jerusalem part of the holy time. There, although the Jewish Temple has been replaced by a grand mosque, we can see the very places we read about in the New Testament, the actions of our redemption through the life, passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many make the way of the cross, the Via Dolorosa, an ancient prayer service with stops at places that commemorate events of Our Lord’s tortuous journey to the place of His execution. Some of the stations, as they are called, are taken directly from the Gospels, some are inferred from the practice of crucifixion, and a few come from the more reliable Christian traditions.)
Jesus had been condemned to die by Pilate, and the soldiers forming the execution detail knew that the death would have to be out in public, using the most shameful method possible—crucifixion. They also knew that if the prisoner collapsed and died on the way, they would be held responsible. This Galilean was bleeding all over His body. He had already fainted once under the huge crossbeam and was showing weakness like they had never experienced. Of course, their previous experience was with condemned men who hadn’t been scourged almost to death, as Jesus was.
One of them, probably the man in charge of the detail, saw a tall and muscular man among the onlookers, and he impressed him into service. We know the man was a strong country workman from the accounts in the Synoptic Gospels. The Roman detail probably never knew the man’s name, but it has come down to us, probably through the testimony in Rome of his sons, Alexander and Rufus, who were almost certainly members of the evangelist Mark’s Christian community. His name was Shimeon, or Simon, and he hailed from Kyrene in North Africa. We don’t know if Simon complained all the way to Golgotha, or recognized Jesus and was glad he had helped, but his name has come to us through St. Mark, and he is remembered as a saint in the Orthodox communities.
Jesus had commanded all His disciples to take up their crosses and follow Him. Simon was the first to literally take up a cross and follow, even if it was the cross of Christ. Millions have done that over two thousand years of Christian history, and hundreds of thousands of them have suffered the same kind of violent death as Jesus did. The Scriptures record many of their names: Stephen, James, all the apostles except John. The Roman canon tells us of their successors like Linus, Cletus, Clement, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucia, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia. When we accept the baptismal water and chrism and take the Eucharist, we are telling the world that we will follow our Lord to whatever hill the Father chooses for us to witness on. Simon laid down that first Christian cross when the executioners arrived on Calvary. Jesus was raised up on it so that He could die for us and draw all humanity to Himself.
We pray now and always that we have the grace we need to do whatever is necessary to witness the immeasurable love of God for His people and His world.
