Do not weep for me

As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are surely coming when they will say, “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.” Then they will begin to say to the mountains, “Fall on us”; and to the hills, “Cover us.” For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’

- Luke 23:26-31

In this passage, we see evidence of sympathy for Jesus. Not everyone in Jerusalem is demanding his crucifixion. Simon the Cyrene is told to bear Jesus' cross. Simon the Cyrene has come to be a symbol for what we can do to bear the burdens of others; a symbol of Christian charity and service. I think that this narrative teaches us that grace can come in many forms, sometimes (or perhaps more likely, often) when we are not looking for it. I imagine Simon had come from Cyrene for the Passover to Jerusalem, and there he is called upon to bear the cross for Jesus. Perhaps he was a sympathizer and hence was close, perhaps just curious. But I feel it is a sign of grace that he was called to bear Jesus' cross, and a teaching to us that grace will come to us in many forms we can't expect. It is a privilege to carry this cross. He's not helping Christ to his death, nor serving the authorities to put an innocent man to death; rather it is a grace to bear the burden of this savior put to death in this dark time.

The women of Jerusalem who lament are certainly those who sympathize with Jesus. So deeply does Jesus himself feel the burden of the time that is happening there in Jerusalem that he, instead, turns to them in sympathy. 'Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.' His feeling that is conveyed here is a measure of certainty of the seeds that have been sown in a dark time. And this tells me a kind of a secret about spiritual power and about the effects of true judgment. In this time of darkness a seed is being sown, choices have been made that will bear fruit in the long run. The fruit of this tree will be dark indeed; what is sown in murder will reap decimation on a large scale. We pay for our choices in some way; sooner or later choices to deny the Good will bear fruit we will have to endure. Even in this world, acts meant to deny truth, to cover a lie in spiritual terms, will bear their own type of fruit and eventual burdens upon us. Jesus predicts the destruction of Jerusalem, the time when people will say “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.” Then they will begin to say to the mountains, “Fall on us”; and to the hills, “Cover us.”

I think it is important to understand the effects of spiritual choice that are expressed here. Jesus is acting through grace, through the will of God - but what is done to thwart such acts of Spirit will have serious consequences. And there, for me, is the crux of my faith - why it is important to seek to act through prayer and a life of Spirit. Because what is done in seeking that will, in acting in accordance with Spirit truly and honestly will have effects in the world, one way or another. None of us are perfect vessels, but we have been taught that the one thing which will not be forgiven is blasphemy of the Spirit. To choose a life in this Spirit and to act in accordance with it is to have an effect in the world. We are not abandoned here to a fate living a life in an "evil" world; rather we are all here as actors with choices to make, and which choice we choose to serve will have effects in the world one way or another. Even in the darkest hours, perhaps especially in the darkest hours, life offers us choices of which seeds we will sow. It is up to us.

Jesus says a proverb in Hebrew: 'For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’ This common saying is to indicate that if such harm is done to one that bears good fruit, what then will be the harvest of the tree that is dead? When we take our choices seriously, to serve good or bad, to seek truth or to manipulate with a lie, we lay a seed. One way or another it will bear a harvest. Simon the Cyrene serves the purpose of Christ by bearing this "dead tree" of the crucifix upon himself, which will serve as a future symbol of eternal life, of resurrection and faith, and hope even for the darkest hours. Where we least expect it, in forms we can't predict, we may find ourselves chosen to serve the good. May we all remember what it is to choose to serve, and to take our example to serve the good, and to sow a seed for a righteous harvest.