Did you ever wonder what Simon of Cyrene said when he got home that night?

I ask that question because somehow Lent has asked it of me this year. It began innocently enough for both Simon and me. Simon set out to his usual day’s work. And then, right in the midst of the ordinary, everything changed. Simon was a by-stander to the crucifixion, an on-looker. He was someone from the crowd, someone who was trying not to be noticed, not to be involved. And suddenly, he was swept right into the heart of the story, right into the heart of the passion of Jesus. In an instant, Simon moves from the fences to home plate. From detached observer to involved participant. In a moment, he is transformed from the periphery to the center, from watcher to actor.

That was my lent. It, too, began innocently enough. I had chosen to do without some things, and to do some other things. And then, just like Simon, things changed in the form of a man who was about to become homeless. And who subsequently became homeless. There he was on my doorstep, looking for help. He came from another state, trying to start over, and things didn’t work out like he hoped and now, he was there at my doorstep. And like Simon, I was swept right into the heart of the continuing passion of Jesus in the plight of this homeless man. I wish I could say I found him housing. I can’t. I wish I could say I offered him housing. I can’t. (He has 1 dog and 4 cats and I am allergic to cats) I did what I could, - allowed him to use the phone, made it okay for him to sleep in his car in the parking lot without being hassled, made a few connections to some service agencies – but it never feels like enough.

I am sure that Simon felt like what he was doing for Jesus was not enough. So we both were swept, unwillingly into the drama that continues to unfold in our humanity – the ongoing suffering of Jesus, and hopefully, the ongoing salvation and redemption he also won for us.
This week – will you let yourself be caught up in the drama? Will you find the person or place or event that sweeps you from the sidelines into the center – and then, like the man at the beginning of the procession – be willing to give what you have when you hear Jesus say: “The master has need of it…”