#Simon of Cyrene

[septembersung]

Simon the Cyrenian Speaks Countee Cullen

He never spoke a word to me, And yet he called my name. He never gave a sign to me, And yet I knew and came.

At first I said, “I will not bear His cross upon my back— He only seeks to place it there Because my skin is black.”

But He was dying for a dream, And He was very meek; And in His eyes there shone a gleam Men journey far to seek.

It was Himself my pity bought; I did for Christ alone What all of Rome could not have wrought With bruise of lash or stone.

[illustratus]

Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary, also known as Lo Spasimo or Il Spasimo di Sicilia

by Raphael

It shows the common subject of Christ Carrying the Cross to his crucifixion, at the moment when he fell and his mother suffers a spasm of agony, the Swoon of the Virgin, or "Lo Spasimo". All the emotion of the painting is densely crammed into the foreground and the background is similar to that of a stage set with distant groups of people and crosses. The man on the left in the foreground is similar to a figure in Raphael's painting The Judgement of Solomon in the Raphael Rooms in the Vatican Palace, except reversed. Simon of Cyrene lifts Christ's cross momentarily and looks sternly at the guards. The four Marys are depicted on the right side of the painting and towering on either side of the composition are the guards. The concept of, and devotion to, the "spasm" of the Virgin was fashionable, if somewhat controversial, in early-16th-century Catholicism, although in this work the Virgin has only fallen to her knees, not collapsed or fainted, as is often shown.

[pink-fiat003]

Last night I had a sudden feeling that I should choose St. Simon of Cyrene as my patron saint instead of St. Albert the Great. I just suddenly felt a deep connection with the imagery of carrying a cross while Jesus was walking right next to him. I was quite surprised because St. Albert is my favorite saint, but I can’t help but feel like going with St. Simon of Cyrene!

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

Jesus Is Killed on a Cross

21 There was a man from Cyrene coming from the fields to the city. The man was Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus. The soldiers forced Simon to carry the cross for Jesus. 22 They led Jesus to the place called Golgotha. (Golgotha means the Place of the Skull.) 23 At Golgotha the soldiers tried to give Jesus wine to drink. This wine was mixed with myrrh. But he refused to drink it. 24 The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. Then they divided his clothes among themselves. They threw lots to decide which clothes each soldier would get.

25 It was nine o’clock in the morning when they nailed Jesus to the cross. 26 There was a sign with the charge against Jesus written on it. The sign read: “THE KING OF THE JEWS.” 27 They also put two robbers on crosses beside Jesus, one on the right, and the other on the left. 28 [And the Scripture came true that says, “They put him with criminals.” 29 People walked by and insulted Jesus. They shook their heads, saying, “You said you could destroy the Temple and build it again in three days. 30 So save yourself! Come down from that cross!”

31 The leading priests and the teachers of the law were also there. They made fun of Jesus just as the other people did. They said among themselves, “He saved other people, but he can’t save himself. 32 If he is really the Christ, the king of Israel, then let him come down from the cross now. We will see this, and then we will believe in him.” The robbers who were being killed on the crosses beside Jesus also insulted him. — Mark 15:21-32 | International Children’s Bible (ICB) The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Cross References: Psalm 22:7; Psalm 22:18; Psalm 69:21; Psalm 109:24; Isaiah 53:12; Matthew 1:23; Matthew 27:32-33; Matthew 27:37; Matthew 27:42; Matthew 27:44; Mark 15:20; Luke 22:37; Luke 23:32; Luke 23:35; Luke 23:38; John 1:49; John 19:14; John 19:19; John 19:23-24; Acts 2:23

[tonreihe]

Léon Bloy to his fiancée Jeanne, October 24, 1889.

[numbersbythebook]

Simon of Cyrene

written by Will Schumacher

As I was reading through the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord this last Easter week I was wondering the significance of Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross for Jesus. One may say that the Scriptures are just saying that a man named Simon from Cyrene carried the cross, no more and no less.  However, God’s Word is perfect.  There is nothing lacking in it and there are no wasted words used in it.  Everything in it is there for a reason. Simon comes from the Hebrew word “shema” meaning “hear” and “obey”.  It is Strong’s H8085.  I have always found it fascinating and instructive that in the language of the Bible to hear means to obey.

One of the most important prayers in Judaism is the Shema which begins with the word “shema”.

Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:

Cyrene means “powerful one”.  It has the same root as “Lord”. So Hear and Obey from a city whose name is tied to our Lord carried the cross. Simon is first mentioned in Matthew:

Matthew 27:32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.

Prior Jesus says that if anyone comes after Him, he must deny himself and carry his cross.  This is what peaked my interest.  I knew Jesus said we must carry our cross and there was someone named Simon-meaning “hear and obey” carrying a cross at the crucifixion.

Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

The verse jump between the 2 verses is 465. Strong’s G465 =”exchange” is used 2 times in the New Testament.  In both instances they are used in the discussion of Jesus telling his disciples that they must carry their cross:

Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Mark 8:37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

There are also a number of times the word “shema” has an in-text gematria of 465 according to the 777 gematria database.

So Jesus told his disciples that to be a disciple one must carry his cross.  Simon of Cyrene is a picture of the disciple of Christ carrying his cross.  Jesus died in our place, but we are still to “hear and obey” and out of love and dedication for what He has done for us.

[dramajunkyy]

[apenitentialprayer]

To absolutely no one’s surprise, I’m gonna propose Cersei join Tyrion and Ned as antitypes of Christ - the Walk of Shame being a mirror of the Stations of the Cross. Two people experience an intense public humiliation, forced to walk from point A to point B (point B for Christ being His place of execution, for Cersei being safety and freedom until her trial). Both people are stripped of their garments; Cersei before the walk, Christ afterwards. Ser Kevin is not there to witness his niece’s sexual humiliation and extreme vulnerability, Mary is present to witness her Son’s. Speaking of which: Christ has friends interspersed throughout His walk. Women mourn over him, and an extra-Biblical tradition says a woman helps clean his face; for Cersei, women call her whore, harlot, and many other names, a man throws a piece of meat that smears her body in grease and blood, and another man exposes himself to her to further humiliate her as people make lewd and obscene comments about her body. Christ is innocent; He asks His Father to forgive those who humiliate and execute Him. Cersei is guilty; she fantasizes about her brother carving the eyes out of onlookers, and hopes she will one day tear the tongues out off the septas complicit in this disgusting spectacle. Someone is pressed into service to help Christ carry His Cross; Christ accepts this help without (recorded) comment. A knight tries to help lead Cersei through a dangerous crowd; she lashes out at him. There was a brief second, when Cersei fell for the third time, where I thought that George R.R. Martin was using his lapsed Catholic upbringing in a way that was incredibly on the nose; but Cersei falls a fourth time ten yards further, breaking the perfect parallelism but nonetheless invoking the same kind of imagery.

[unbridledmemories]

Simon of Cyrene, and Daily Dying

In moments where the road towards celebrating the Cross, and the sting of death, echo through the vast expanse of our nation, one encounter marks its purposive action — Simon of Cyrene carrying Jesus’ cross. Simon of Cyrene, according to the gospels Matthew, Mark, and Luke, was ordered by the Roman Soldiers to carry the cross. He was just “coming in from the country”. But only Luke mentions that…

[steviebee77]

Jesus’ Last Week: Friday, April 3, A.D. 33

AS THE SUN COMES up on the morning of April 3, A.D. 33[fn1], three men sit chained to the wall in a palace jail arguing, comparing, and contemplating. Each man is eligible for pardon under the tradition of the Paschal Pardon. I can only imagine the tension and gut-wrenching fear of waiting on Pilate’s death row. Three Roman jailers come to the cell and grab Barabbas. Realizing neither one of them…

[dejahisashmom]

Swoon or Substitute? Two Rationalizations of the Resurrection of Jesus - Historic Mysteries

Swoon or Substitute? Two Rationalizations of the Resurrection of Jesus – Historic Mysteries

https://www.historicmysteries.com/jesus-resurrection/

[alicebeckstrom]

DID YOU KNOW that when Sam tells Frodo, "I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you", that he is recreating the role of Simon of Cyrene? (Simon of Cyrene was the man compelled by the Romans to carry the cross of Jesus of Nazareth as Jesus was taken to his crucifixion.) 

[capnpen]

Quick Thought – Tuesday, January 2, 2024: Getting Close Causes Change

Read Matthew 27:32-44 As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. Matthew 27:32 Reflect Simon was new in town, having just arrived for a big celebration. This was something he looked forward to every year, but this time was extra special. Simon had brought his two sons with him so that they could see the celebration first-hand. He had…

[queerprayers]

i don't know who needs to hear this but langston hughes and margaret bonds wrote a holy week choral piece about simon of cyrene & this recording also includes her setting of w.e.b. dubois's credo

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

Morning and Evening

by Charles Spurgeon

Morning Devotional for April 5th

On him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus. - Luke 23:26

We see in Simon's carrying the cross a picture of the work of the Church throughout all generations; she is the cross-bearer after Jesus. Mark then, Christian, Jesus does not suffer so as to exclude your suffering. He bears a cross, not that you may escape it, but that you may endure it. Christ exempts you from sin, but not from sorrow. Remember that, and expect to suffer.

But let us comfort ourselves with this thought, that in our case, as in Simon's, it is not our cross, but Christ's cross which we carry. When you are molested for your piety; when your religion brings the trial of cruel mockings upon you, then remember it is not your cross, it is Christ's cross; and how delightful is it to carry the cross of our Lord Jesus!

You carry the cross after him. You have blessed company; your path is marked with the footprints of your Lord. The mark of his blood-red shoulder is upon that heavy burden. 'Tis his cross, and he goes before you as a shepherd goes before his sheep. Take up your cross daily, and follow him.

Do not forget, also, that you bear this cross in partnership. It is the opinion of some that Simon only carried one end of the cross, and not the whole of it. That is very possible; Christ may have carried the heavier part, against the transverse beam, and Simon may have borne the lighter end. Certainly it is so with you; you do but carry the light end of the cross, Christ bore the heavier end.

And remember, though Simon had to bear the cross for a very little while, it gave him lasting honor. Even so the cross we carry is only for a little while at most, and then we shall receive the crown, the glory. Surely we should love the cross, and, instead of shrinking from it, count it very dear, when it works out for us "a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."

[alwaysrememberjesus]

Simon of Cyrene