…they compelled this man to carry his cross. Matthew 27:32-44 Geeez! I used cringe when I was “pressed” into service. Of all the people standing around, why me? Why Simon? Coming in from Cyrene (Libya, North Africa), was he perhaps marginalized by the Romans as someone with no stake in the matter at hand? If so, they were wrong on so many accounts. Simon probably didn’t have much choice, but he could have said “no.” Although we don’t really no how he felt at the time, the fact that he did carry the cross speaks volumes particularly to the notion that sometimes we have to be our sister’s keeper in ways we may not have anticipated. Why not us? If we happen to be in the right place at the right time, I believe it is God who raises us up for such times in need. For in the same way the honor fell on St. Simon, should it not fall on us?
crustybread 