Easter is a time where Christians gather in cathedrals and churches and catacombs and communities to celebrate the miracle of resurrected life.

As a storyteller, I loved when my dad would recount the resurrection

story with the cast of characters, the brute Roman soldiers, pontificating Pontius Pilate,

weeping Mary, and of course, our hero, Jesus. But as I was reading the account, I noticed a

character that makes a small appearance, but a size will impact. The narrative changes and we rarely

recognize the man who endured the cross next to the man who was crucified on the cross.

Mark 1521 says this, a man named Simon from Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus,

was coming from the fields to the city. The soldiers forced Simon to carry the cross for Jesus.

Simon the Cyrene. He was just walking through town, possibly caught up in the crowds watching his

criminals passed by on their way to condemnation. History is silent on this character other than he

carried the cross for Jesus. Did he argue with the soldiers?

Did he beg them to find someone else? Did he try to run away? The Bible is silent, but I wonder if he

mumbled and grumbled as the beam was placed on his shoulders. I wonder if he stared at Jesus and

wondered why this man was condemned to die. I wonder if he had compassion for the man

who was bloody, bruised, and bludgeoned. Whatever his reaction, it is safe to say that Simon

the Cyrene possibly felt like he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. There's no way he would

have known how far he had to carry the cross and definitely didn't know the events that would take place.

So the question I'm asking is, what are you carrying today?

What are you feeling the weight of the unknown or shouldering a burden that feels heavy?

Life is full of plots and twist changes as our story unfolds.

But I want to remind you of Simon the Cyrene. He was the last

person to feel the full weight of the cross of Jesus. He would soon discover that the physical

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