Carry the Cross Publicly

Can you imagine on your way to worship suddenly being ordered to carry a cross for a man sentenced to die? After having traveled a great distance, Simon of Cyrene (modern-day Libya) enters the Holy City just as Roman soldiers are leading three men out to the place of crucifixion. Pushed and pressed by a mixed mob filled with both anger and grief, soldiers seize Simon “and put the cross on him” and make him walk behind Jesus, one of the men being led to Golgotha. What Simon of Cyrene intended to do privately –worship God in the solitude of the Temple–suddenly went public as he helped carry a shameful Roman cross for the Son of God. This is exactly what Jesus calls disciples to do: “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.”