What Would Simon Say?

I can tell you the exact moment I decided on the name of my second born. It was Palm Sunday 2010. We were doing a dramatic reading of the passion of Christ that morning during the worship service. We had gotten to the part about Jesus carrying his cross and the soldiers forcing a man from Cyrene to help him.

Simon.

The last man to embrace Jesus before he died. The last man to help Jesus carry the weight of the world. Simon carried a unique honor. I look forward to the opportunity to introduce my son to Simon of Cyrene someday.

I especially cannot wait to speak with him myself. I have questions for the man about his brief time with Jesus.

I have often wondered if, on the way to the cross, there were words exchanged, however few, between the two of them. I also wonder, when Simon wrapped his arms around Jesus, did it feel as if he were simply supporting the weight and the cross of a wounded man? Or did Simon feel something more? I like to think he did.

I have often thought about Simon’s few intimate minutes with Jesus in terms of a certain wounded woman…one who reached through the crowds just to touch the hem of Jesus’ cloak. She felt power. She felt healing. (Luke 8:46)

Imagine what power Simon must have felt as he wrapped his arm around Jesus, moments before he would take on the sin of the world and conquer death itself. What kind of Kingdom Power was surging through the blood of the Lamb just before it was poured out for the sins of many?

Only Simon knows.

Until I get the opportunity to ask him about it, I will let my imagination run. I imagine that in order to feel the power that is capable of creating the universe, conquering death, forgiving the unforgivable and loving even the least of us, I must get close enough to Jesus that things may feel a little dicey. I imagine that in order to feel the power of the great “I AM” in my life, I may have to walk so closely to Jesus that I feel the weight of the cross, and the undeniable wash of His blood. I imagine that in order to share intimate and powerful moments with Jesus, I must walk with Him, wherever He is headed…no matter how seemingly great the struggle, because the power of Almighty cannot be experienced in quite the same way when it is simply observed and considered from a safe distance. I imagine.

Is that right, Simon?

Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." - Luke 9:23