Monday 15 April
SIMON HELPS JESUS Read Mark 15: 21 Many years ago I came across the poem "Simon the Cyrenian Speaks" by Countee Cullen. It still moves me greatly and I would like to share it with you.
He never spoke a word to me,
And yet He called my name,
He never gave a sign to me,
And yet I knew and came.
At first I said, "I will not bear
His cross upon my back.
He only seeks to place it there
Because my skin is black."
But He was dying for a dream,
And He was very meek,
And in His eyes there shone a gleam
Men journey far to seek.
It was Himself my pity bought,
I did for Christ alone
What all of Rome could not have wrought
With bruise of lash or stone.
Simon's background is not exactly known except that he came from Cyrene, now Libya, which was a melting pot of different nationalities. It is suggested that was a Jew and had come to Jerusalem for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Whatever the reason, he ended up helping to bear the burden of Jesus's cross on that last journey to Calvary.
Was this a burden forced on him by the soldiers or was he so affected by Jesus's inner certainty that he could not resist that silent appeal? I like to think it was the latter and that we would do likewise.
Kate Paterson
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