March 29, 2024 Good Friday
Friday, March 29, 2024:
Pause. Pray. Read. Be still. Write. Pray. Go about your day or turn in for the night.
Read: Luke 23:26 Pressed into Service
As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene,
who was coming from the country,
and they laid the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.
(Luke 23:26, NRSVUE)
Imagine yourself in this scene. You’re walking from the peaceful countryside into Jerusalem during Passover, lost in your thoughts and heading to the temple and the market or a meeting with friends.
Suddenly, you find yourself in the midst of a chaotic crowd. They jostle you around while raising their fists, yelling, and taunting a man carrying a cross on his way to Golgotha to be crucified for perceived crimes against the people. You hear the name Jesus spit from angry mouths.
Weak from hours of torture and questioning by authorities, Jesus stumbles and drops to a knee. Unexpectedly, a Roman soldier grabs your arm and pulls you from the crowd.
“You! Pick up and carry the cross!” the soldier demands.
Bent and straining, you lift 300 pounds of timber to your shoulder. This one confusing, bewildering moment erases all thoughts of your original purpose. Trying to make sense of what’s happening, you step into line behind Jesus to carry his burden. You don’t make the way but follow in his footsteps and at his pace.
You step into God’s extraordinary plan for redemption of the world.
Be still and Reflect: When have circumstances forced you to interrupt your intended plans to carry another’s burdens? How did the experience transform you and your faith?
Pray: Lord God, thank you for inspiring Matthew, Mark, and Luke to call out Simon of Cyrene by name. Like him, I am an ordinary person, trying to do my best while walking through my day, when You may redirect my path. Not because I’m doing anything wrong, but because You want me to serve differently than I planned. Rather than grumbling, help me to deny myself and my agenda and to trust You. Equip me and strengthen me to carry any burdens that go with the interruptions, and to follow in the footsteps of my Lord Jesus Christ, going wherever he and the encounter leads me. Through the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
By His Grace,
Gloria