a series of reflections based on this online stations of the cross
I grew up with this song as the re-enactment of this part of the story. Simon is an innocent bystander, in the city of Jerusalem to sacrifice his lamb for Passover, and gets called into this grand narrative that reframes for him what the sacrifice of the lamb is really about.
While there are plenty of things about this song and accompanying music video that I would critique now, this station of the cross invites us to think about those who intentionally or unintentionally are part of our journey of faith. And again, it’s good news that even Jesus’ journey to/through death was not a journey in isolation. As the church has told this story over the centuries, Simon carried the cross for Jesus for a spell. In the music video for the Ray Boltz song, the backdrop for this drama is a father sharing the story of this tradition of journey and sacrifice with his sons.
We cannot pick up our cross and follow Jesus on our own. Or if we try to, most likely we will stumble and fall. Alternatively, along the journey of faith, there are those whose journeys cross paths with ours, and we are blessed by the ways they help us carry those things that weigh us down.
This station of the cross invites us to pause and reflect on those who journey with us…those who help us carry our burdens…those who take the load of the cross off our shoulders every now and then. I am grateful that it is not hard for me to come up with names and faces of people who help me carry those things that weigh me down and feel heavy. But I think of people who do not have the same kind of support system that I do, and my heart hurts for the pain they carry alone.
Also, as I think about this story today, I am struck by how hard it might have been for Simon–who maybe was happy to help carry Jesus’ cross but knew that at the top of the hill he would be giving it back. He couldn’t ultimately take the cross away from Jesus. He could share the burden for a spell, but he could not finally eliminate or remove the pain. And part of the magnitude of this way of the cross is that Jesus both accepted Simon’s help, but also continued on the way for himself.
Whether it is as Ray Boltz sings and Simon was in Jerusalem to share the history and tradition of his faith with his children, or whether he got drawn into the story in a different way, this station reminds us that the journey of following Jesus is not done alone. Hopefully we witness and ‘catch’ the story from those around us. We share burdens with each other. We get close enough to the suffering of others that we hurt with and for them. We pick up the cross to follow Jesus…and sometimes we need help.