-Friday of Holy Week-

Simon of Cyrene, who took the cross of Jesus.

What a moment. What a time. What a job.

Forced to carry the cross of another. The innocent suffering for the guilty.

An outsider, no less, Cyrene is in northern Africa, today’s Libya, 900 miles from Jerusalem. Was he tired from the journey? Confused by the rabble? Concerned for the man convicted?

Silently he serves.

Would you do the same if you had the chance? Would you carry the cross of another? Would you give your life, or at least a portion, for the one who gave you his?

Simon of Cyrene, who took the cross of Jesus.

For a moment, he helped the Savior of the World.

But did he know, did he see, it was his own cross he carried that day? Jesus took it from him.