Becoming Simon - Easter 2010

After greeting His mother with the collective

sin and misery of the world upon His shoulders,

Christ, abandoned, condemned, beaten and

scourged, reached a point of exhaustion.

The Roman soldiers received one directive,

get this 3rd cross to Calvary and this unlikely

victim-king crucified before sundown.

This miserable wretch could go no further.

Selfishly concerned they would need to bare

his burden, they grabbed a bystander.

Fearing for his life, Simon took hold of

Christ by His blood soaked cloak and

helped to support the splintered beam.

To be like Simon, we must be willing to be

pulled from our comfort and called into service.

In our prayer and meditation;

In our no questions asked approach;

In our reaching out and our touching;

In our hands on, pick up our fellow man;

In our wiping off the sweat and blood

from the brow; in our reaching down in the

grace filled blessedness of human suffering;

We become Simon!

We grab a hold and lift the down and

despairing by the raggedness of life.

We support and carry those in our midst as we

set out to complete this course we have been graced,

for His grace is greater than all suffering.