Thursday, March 26

Scripture: Luke 23:26
And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus.

SIMON OF CYRENE
The Lord Jesus was set on His doleful journey to Calvary because of hate. Look at the depiction that accompanies this post: the rage contorting the faces of those along the path has its justification in the scriptures that describe this scene to us. The leaders of the people did not want Jesus to live, despite Pilate’s willingness to release Him. No, when they were offered a choice, they chose to free a murderer, and to condemn the Messiah to death.

And so the Lord Jesus began to walk the road to Calvary. He started down the Via Dolorosa, the way of pain.

Yet, if you look again at the depiction of this scene, you will see the actor use his skill to convey something else: this was not a walk the Lord Jesus was unwilling to undertake. See Jesus take hold of the cross. He embraces the cross; He embraces His mission.

He is determined.

He may fall, but He will not fail. Because He knows why He is doing what He is doing.

He chose to be where He is. He chose to do the will of the Father.

The Lord Jesus set out on this journey because of love.

And then, we are told in the gospel of Luke, Simon of Cyrene is forced to carry the cross for Jesus. This is different than the depiction in the video, where Simon steps forward—where Simon volunteers to walk beside Jesus.

Scripture tells us something different: this burden was forced upon Simon.

Sometimes—often—perhaps even almost always—we do not choose to walk in the way of pain. The Lord Jesus may embrace pain because of love, but we are not as brave as our Savior.

And despite this, He lets us join Him.

When we are left to choose, we are much like the people in Jerusalem, who asked Pilate to release a murderer instead of the Messiah. We will choose sneering rebellion and violent anger over self-sacrificing peace and victorious love.

We choose badly… so very, very often.

And so, perhaps, it is a good thing that we don’t always get to choose.

This is what mercy looks like, then: it looks like being plucked out of the crowd and weighed down with an instrument of death. It looks like violent change that forces us out of our role as spectators and plunks us down in the midst of the drama.

How is that mercy?

It is mercy because of whom we are allowed to walk beside.

The Lord Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me.” Sometimes we don’t take it up, and even then, He is merciful: He allows it to be forced upon us. And then He lets us walk beside Him anyway.

Even though we didn’t have the courage to choose this road, this Via Dolorosa. . . He still grants us to walk with Him.

In this path, we never have to blaze the way. We don’t walk this road as explorers or pathfinders. We walk this road as students, as apprentices. Our Master blazed this trail. He walked down it, weighted with our sins and with our sorrows. We only ever have to follow in His footsteps.

When it comes to the Via Dolorosa, the way of pain (which is, make no mistake about it, also the way of death), we may step forward in confidence.  We may press forward with faith. Because the Lord of Life walked it before us, and so we will never walk it alone.

PRAYER
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  – Book of Common Prayer.

Jessica Snell, Class of ’03, Editor of Let Us Keep the Feast