Mark 15:16-22
And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull).
Reflection
As he was mocked and abused, Jesus travelled through the rough streets of Jerusalem towards Golgotha. The weight of the cross on his shoulders as he went. He was worn down and fatigued. He was exhausted from the path that was his to take and he accepted the help of a passing stranger. Allowing him to come alongside of him and bare a bit of the weight of the cross.
What does it mean to you that even Jesus would, for a moment, share the burden of the cross with a stranger? How might this speak into your own life? What are the burdens you are carrying? How have others come alongside you in the past?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you were worn down by fatigue: be with those from whom life drains all energy. You needed the help of a passing stranger: give us the humility to receive aid from others. To you, Jesus, weighed down with exhaustion and in need of help, be honor and glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.