At The Cross: Simon’s Shoulder Mark 15:21 (Wednesday Lenten Reflection)
This week, thinking of this passage, two songs have
been stuck in my head. I debated which
one I was going to pick to share with y’all…and I couldn’t decide, so you get
stuck with both of them. No, I’m not
going to punish you by singing them to you…that would not be compassionate and
merciful. I’m just going to read the
chorus to you.
The first is more like to be familiar to you as it has
been around since 1972. It is Bill
Withers, “Lean on Me.” The chorus goes:
You just call on me brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you’ll understand
We all need somebody to lean on
Lean on me, when you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on
For it won’t be long
‘Til I’m gonna need
Somebody to lean on
The second is a little more recent, and so many may
not be familiar. It was released by one
of my favorite bands, Needtobreathe. It
is called Brother. The chorus offers us these words:
Brother let me be your shelter
Never leave you all alone
I can be the one you call
When you’re low
Brother let me be your fortress
When the night winds are driving on
Be the one to light the way
Bring you home
Both of these songs impress on us the significance of
having a friend, a brother or sister, who will walk with us along life’s
journey and help us shoulder the load we have to bear. That’s the gift I believe we find in this
Wednesday’s verse. Last week we were
reminded that Jesus walks the dark, difficult, scary paths alongside us. This week, with the shoulder of Simon helping
bear the load of the cross, we are reminded that as we walk those paths, not
only does God travel them with us, He reminds us that we are not meant to bear
the weight of our burdens alone.
The Gospel of John, which focuses heavily on the
divinity of Jesus—the part of Jesus that was of God—paints a picture throughout
his Gospel of a Jesus’ who does not need anything—the all-powerfulness of God
still resides and is present within Jesus.
When he tells of Jesus’ march through Jerusalem to Golgotha, Jesus,
beaten and whipped, wearing that crown upon His head, bears the weight of the
cross alone.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke offer us a much deeper picture
into the humanity of Jesus, reminding us as Paul does, that Jesus emptied Himself,
and took on our human flesh fully—hungering, thirsting, growing tired, fighting
temptation, hurting, and suffering just as we do. And so, as Jesus walks that path from
judgment to crucifixion, it is not hard to imagine Jesus, in His weakened condition
struggling to make his way through Jerusalem…nor is it hard to imagine him
stumbling one, two, three, or even more times…not only weak, but the one who
caused the blind to see having his vision blurred by the sweat and blood
running from his brow.
The Romans, tired of how long this procession is
taking, despite the fact that their scourging left Jesus in this condition,
presses a bystander into service, ripping him away from his kids, and forcing
him to help bear the weight of the cross and aid Jesus in the climb through the
winding streets to the top of the hill.
Simon’s presence in the story reminds us that we are
not meant to bear our burdens alone…the fact that Jesus did not bear the heaviest
of all burdens alone, but rather needed and embraced help, reminds us that we
too are to embrace the help that God places in our lives.
“Come, you who are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest…for my burden is light and my yoke is easy.” While there are many ways these verses have
been interpreted over the years, one way that I hold on to is the that the
reason that Jesus’ burden is light and yoke easy is because it is a shared
burden, a shared yoke…we are bound together in Christ as we surrender our lives
to Christ. We travel together, sharing
the burdens, sharing the yokes with one another…just as two cattle yoked
together can pull a load much easier than one by itself, so too, as we help “bear
one another’s burdens,”[1]
do we find that the load is lightened.
Too often we struggle through life trying to do it all
on our own, all by ourselves, not wanting to admit or acknowledge we need
another’s help. We are taught from early
on that we are supposed to be self-sufficient.
Yet that is not the way of Scripture, the way of the Gospel, the way of
Jesus, the way of the cross.
The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, calls us into
community with one another, in to fellowship with one another…and yet that
fellowship is not just “fun” fellowship, but committed fellowship. We are called into relationship within one
another that we might be present for one another, that we might help one
another bear the crosses that we encounter as we surrender our lives to
God. We are called to lean into one
another, and let others lean into us…we are called to offer support, and,
dropping all pride, allow others to help support us. Sometimes we may be pressed into service, or
called into service as the Romans did with Simon…other times we may volunteer ourselves
into service, as Jesus did with every aspect of His life, seeing a need, seeing
someone who is struggling under the burden they are bearing, and setting in to
help…helping them bear their cross…as they, our brothers, our sisters, in turn, offer us, in the likeness of Simon,
their shoulder to help us bear ours.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit. Amen.
1) Why are we so reluctant to seek out,
ask for, or accept help when we are struggling to do it ourselves?
2) Who has been a shoulder you could
lean on?
a. Who has helped you shelter the loads
you have faced?
3) Who have you offered your shoulder
to?
a. How were you received?
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