Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry the Cross

The following is a Stations of the Cross reflection prepared by South House Volunteer Grace Holland.

In the eighth station we see Simon the Cyrenian pressed into service to carry Jesus’ cross. He is chosen to bear Christ’s burden even without ever offering to. Despite his reluctance, Simon accepts the burden, easing Jesus suffering, fear, and exhaustion. Simon, as most of us in that situation, I’m sure did not want to be called into service, and had serious reservations about whether or not he could possibly hold all of that weight and endure even a few moments of Jesus’ suffering. Simon showed his strength and love in his willingness and ability to get involved as only a passer-by.

Amate means Love in Action. This is something I have heard all throughout my year at Amate House, and have strived to live out on a daily basis. Serving individuals around the Chicago community at Chicago Legal Clinic, I knew coming into this year all my days would not be easy. There is no end to the challenges and joys and unexpecteds that life throws at you, especially in a work place. Working directly with clients who are learning the foreclosure process and how to navigate the court system can be both very trying and very rewarding. In striving to display love in action every day, I will admit I find it much easier to show love to my friendly, appreciative and easy clients. It is a whole different story when it comes to those who are loud, aggressive and opinionated. But nevertheless, both types of clients, and all of those who fall somewhere in between, deserve my best effort and every service available to them.

Why did Simon get involved? What stopped him from denouncing Jesus, from fading back into the crowd and leaving Jesus to bear his own cross? In our own lives, how do we know when to get involved, when it’s best to stay and when we should really remove ourselves and walk away? I think the shared factor that helps us all relate to one another is our common humanity. It is our common humanity that allows us to decide why we get involved, what stake do we have in a situation and more bluntly, why I should care. Thinking about the service many of us do every day, let alone the individuals we encounter on at our sites, on our commutes, and even at home, it’s hard to know what crosses are my crosses. Why do I care? Simply because I should? No, it’s more than that. It’s a shared humanity, a common but different looking life experience. It’s part of what it means to be human and a Christian, seeing God in others.