Eighth Station

We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

Reading

They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.  (Mark 15: 21)

Reflection

Based on what little we are told about him, it is reasonable to assume that Simon was a Jew from Cyrene (a city in present-day Libya) who had come to Jerusalem to be part of the celebration of Passover. Being from another land, he may have heard very little about Jesus. From his point of view, he was simply going about his own business when he happens upon this procession of soldiers and men who were about to be crucified. Simon is then seized by the soldiers and forced to carry Jesus’ cross. Simon is diverted from what he thought would be his celebration of the Passover. What he did not know was that, now, God was inviting him to take part in the celebration of THE Passover, when the Lamb of God would offer His own life on the Cross for us all.

As autistic people, we tend to build our lives around our customary rituals and routines. We don’t tolerate change very well. We have empathy for others – far more than other people may see – but it is so intense that we ourselves can’t express it. We may settle for lives centered in our own minds, where we try to do the best we can, but also protect ourselves against a great deal of the needs we see in people around us. These needs can feel overwhelming. We may not know what we are supposed to do.

What can happen – if we are blessed – is that God taps us on the shoulder and leads us in a direction we would never have chosen on our own. This new direction may, at first, feel like a diversion – unsettling, confusing, illogical. However, if we discern that it is truly from God, and then choose to trust God, we discover that what looked like a "diversion" becomes the calling, the service, and the experience of God’s love that our hearts have desired all along. We never knew it – and could not have known it – without having the faith to follow God’s little "diversion" in our lives.

This appears to be what happened for Simon of Cyrene, too. Biblical scholars believe that, because St. Mark gives us the names of Simon and his two sons, that they must have been known to the original readers of Mark’s Gospel. They were likely Christian converts themselves.  Simon did come to see, and believe, that he had celebrated the real Passover in Jerusalem, after all!

Prayer