5 - The Cross is Laid Upon Simon of Cyrene

We often talk about mystery in faith as if it were somewhat distant, or exceptional.  Yet sometimes it is near, or even all around us.  But we don't see 'the wood for the trees'.

Here's Jesus, having carried the cross which ordinarily speaking, he'd rather not have carried.  But His Father in heaven willed that He should, so He did.  Yet here as He tired to the point of exhaustion, unable to go on, it is his immediate persecutors who arranged for the cross to be carried.  They appear to stand opposed to God, and indeed they are, yet they act out the fulfilment of His will.

And along comes Simon of Cyrene, forced to carry the cross against his will, to forcibly co-operate in the killing of another man.  Yet Simon will soon learn that there was more to this reality than at first seemed.  The man whose death He is helping to ensure, is about to open a door to eternal life.

The victim is seen to be the greatest loser, and Simon the second loser in this scene.  Yet the victim will be the greatest victor in all of human history, and Simon is arguably one of the most privileged people that ever lived.

And so with our lives too.  We are called to do good and avoid evil, but the wrongs of the world surround us and inevitably we co-operate to some degree.  What matters then is how we conduct ourselves:  Do we ask God to guide us?  Do we legitimately minimise our support for the evil done in our names, whether through taxes or elected governments?  Do we act as a force for good in our families and in society?  Do we offer up our sufferings?  Accept the limitations that the laws of God place on our worldly successes and self satisfactions?

God knows how to turn these things around for good results.  How He does that might seem a mystery.  But He stands ready to do that with every large and small aspect of our lives.  Let's pray for the grace to enter into His mystery!