Simon of Cyrene is an interesting character (Luke 23:26-32) as he is someone who, through no fault of his own, is suddenly caught up in the immense suffering of politics and power. Cyrene is modern day Libya so perhaps Simon had made the pilgrimage from there to Jerusalem for the festival. He may have thought a parade was in progress and then the closer he came to the commotion realised what was happening. He is suddenly ‘seized’ by the soldiers, the cross is thrust upon him and he is forced to walk the path with Jesus. Simon did not choose this path and he has to find God in a suffering he did not expect. Simon is representative of all those caught up in wars and unexpected disasters, those left destitute, those who are bereaved.
Simon’s view then changes as he is not fully participative in Christ’s suffering, he shares in it to a point and then becomes a bystander. In that sense he is representative of people who share in someone’s suffering for a moment, are touched by it and then move on. Perhaps they are powerless to do anything or maybe they simply change the channel on their TV. We know how the story ends, but for now we stay with the brokenness.
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