A life interrupted
As Simon of Cyrene set out for Jerusalem 40 days before Passover, He had a clear plan and purpose, His eldest sons were for the first year both old enough to accompany him while his wife stayed behind in Cyrene with the younger children. Known as a man of devout faith he was often one of only a few Cyrenian Jews who would make the journey of nearly 800 miles. This year was to be important, He was to show his sons the splendour of the temple, a return to their spiritual home from which in his heart he had always felt exiled.
Each visit before he had observed all the ritual obligations that ensured Yahwehs blessing on His family and life. He was also keenly aware on each visit how the darkness of his skin made him stand out, marked the shame of his Heritage. It was for this reason he kept his sons close, very close to his side.
He had a plan, a routine he had followed with the same precision and rigidity as the Passover itself. He was to purchase the lamb from the same seller as in previous years and take it to the Temple, he would get there early to ensure his offering would be sacrificed by the priest between the ninth and eleventh hours.
As they approached Jerusalem, the throngs of people around the Sheep Gate seemed to be heading the wrong way, causing a chaos that made him draw his sons closer. The atmosphere of the crowd felt oppressive, and as the gate came into view the crowd ground to a halt, no one could move toward the temple or away from it.
It was then he saw the centurions pushing the crowd back, roughly shoving anyone unable to clear the way quickly enough, the crowd were baying, shouting and spitting at …he couldn’t see what. His instinct was to get his sons out of this crowd and get to the temple, he still had to find a lamb. He still had to find the lamb.
This was when everything changed, the plan so carefully arranged, changed. Changed everything forever.
Simon had no choice but to stand still at the side of the road, his boys tucked behind him, as protected as he could possibly keep them in an ugly baying crowd.
It was then he saw HIM, he saw the bloodied figure fall to the ground, a sickening thud as he fell under the weight of the cross he was carrying. Simon closed his eyes and drew a deep breath, he realised just how fast his heart was beating against the walls of his chest, as his eyes opened he was face to face with the strong roman features of a centurion.
“Carry it”, he snarled motioning to the cross. No, thought Simon, no no no. For a hundred reasons no. His boys, his timing, the contamination of this wretched creatures blood, the sacrifice, this was not his drama, not his duty. But the face of the centurion left no doubt there was no choice. He looked at his sons, “follow me” he barked at Alexander “hold on to your brother”
He knelt down and gripped the rough wood of the cross to pull it off the criminal. His deep reluctance making it heavier than it probably was. That was when he saw him, really saw him for the first time, in a way that he’d never seen anyone before. There were seconds, probably no more when he held the gaze of the criminal. When their eyes locked.
He didn’t see defeat in those eyes, he saw a love, and a determination that he understood in his heart but would never be able to put in words. It wasn’t a strangers burden he was lifting, he had been pressed into the service of a king, taken straight into the heart of a story that had begun with his ancestors.
His eyes firmly set on the hill before them, Simon laboured behind Jesus, the burden becoming lighter and the conviction of the man, he could only see the back of, becoming his own.
As they reached the peak, Simon himself sunk to his knees with exhaustion, “You are here, my friend” he gasped, “You are here”
He felt compelled to stay, everything in him wanted to turn away, wanted to leave, maybe there was still a chance he could make a sacrifice in time, as the bleating of the unblemished lambs at the temple could be heard over the crowd that had now gone silent.
But as they stripped The Nazarene bare, he knew. He looked down at his hands, black from the drying blood mingled with his own. He knew that the shame of his ancestor Ham was being undone, the prophetic words of Noah that his people would indeed be the servants of the descendants of Shem. That he had served the greatest son of Shem, watched over and commanded by a son of Japheth. The sons of the vine dresser beholding the vine.
And like his forefather he too couldn’t take his eyes from the nakedness of man before him. As his sons came up beside him, he held them closer still. “This is our sacrificial lamb my sons” he said, the words chocking and sticking in his throat.
And as the son of God died before his eyes, atoning for his sins and those of his ancestors he made a promise that he would take the name Jesus to the ends of the earth. And so he did.
Want to know more about Simon of Cyrene ?….. Here’s our Character study sheet on him
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Alexander’s ossuary was discovered in a family tomb in the Kidron valley and Rufus becomes a great evangelist mentioned in Romans 16, his wife is mentioned as a mother figure to St Paul too.