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Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus. And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. But Jesus, turning to them, said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!' Then they will begin 'to say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!" ' For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?"
- Luke 23:26-31
In yesterday's reading, we were told that Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them, "You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him. I will therefore chastise Him and release Him" (for it was necessary for him to release one of them at the feast). And they all cried out at once, saying, "Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas" -- who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder. Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them. But they shouted, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" Then he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go." But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed. So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested. And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.
Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus. My study bible tells us that Simon means "obedience." It says that this faithful man stands for all who desire to follow Christ and carry the cross He places on them (see Luke 9:23, 14:27).
And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. But Jesus, turning to them, said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children." My study bible says that weeping isn't appropriate for One who redeems the world through the Cross, but is suited for one's own sins and also for the suffering of others. Here, Christ is warning then of the suffering to come in Jerusalem.
"For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!' Then they will begin 'to say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!" ' " A note tells us that this blessing on the barren women is an acknowledgement of the overwhelming pain felt by a mother when her children suffer (also illustrated by the "woe" in Matthew 24:19). St. John Chrysostom says, "Mothers are held by the tie of feeling for their children, but cannot save them. How can one escape the bonds of nature? How can she who nurses ever overlook the one she has borne?" Jesus quotes from Hosea 10:8, a prophesy of retribution for the sin of the people.
"For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?" My study bible says that the green wood is Christ, full of virtue and truth. The dry stands for the barrenness of Israel under its religious leadership of the time, those who are putting Him to death -- barren of life and of righteousness. A note says, "If the Romans eagerly destroy the righteous, what horrifying things await the unrighteous?" This statement is a statement about time: the green wood means it's early yet and the beginning of what is to come, the dry is when Jerusalem (most notably its gorgeous temple) will literally burn in the Siege of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D.
Jesus goes toward His crucifixion, and still this is not the "end of the story." There is so much happening, so much time for people to think, to repent, to understand what is happening. Simon of Cyrene carries Jesus' cross for Him, and His family will go on to convert and become missionaries according to the tradition of the Church. Jesus grieves not for Himself but for those who weep for Him and for their children. Even as He has suffered and is weak, He is still trying to warn them of what is to come in Jerusalem. This is still an attempt to save on His part. The worst is what is to come, and now we have had several warnings by Jesus of what is going to happen within a generation in Jerusalem (approximately 40 years after this event). Justice has been entirely perverted in the case of Jesus, but there is a different kind of "justice" that is coming, and that is in response to the refusal to "hear" the word, God's word. Jesus has said Himself that all manner of sin and blasphemy can be forgiven, even that spoken against the Son of Man, but blasphemy against the Spirit stands (see Matthew 12:31-32 and Mark 3:28-29). It's important to understand a spiritual justice that stands as a kind of "fact" that we can't subvert without consequences. There are universal laws that are, in effect, the work of the Holy Spirit, the truth of God. We know we're called to love God and neighbor. But do we understand how failure to do this results in problems in our own lives? I think the great delay between this event and the prophesied destruction here that is coming tells us something about spiritual reality: we don't see immediate results. We must live by faith. It won't be obvious how a "fall" happens to those who couldn't care and don't heed any kind of spiritual understanding. But that doesn't make it false. It means, still, that life by faith is asked of us, and that those who have "no ears to hear" will still not comprehend the light. It's my opinion that this happens in all kinds of ways all around us, but we still need eyes to see and ears to hear to understand it, to truly observe. To know the Spirit takes discernment, a prayerful heart, time spent learning and knowing God in honest personal prayer and heartfelt worship. He always calls us to "Watch and pray."
