Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1903-09-19
S'CROSS BEARING"
A Brilliant Sunday Sermon BY Rev.
James E. Homes.
Urges Us to Have the Paul Spirit of Courage
and Contcutmen!, Even When We Stag
ger UHder Load OF Adversely.

had for his subject CrosS Fearing ne
took rs his text Matthew xvii: 81: And
as they came out they found a man OF
Cyrepe. Simon by name; him they COM
PEELED to bear His cross" MIR. Holmes
said:
Three kinds OF crosses were in use in the
days of Jesus, the so-called st. Andrews
cross, the cross in the form OF the letter
IT, and the ordinary Latin cross. 1t was
on the last OF these that Jesus suffered
c1ucifxion. This consisted of a strong up
right post, which was carried beforehand
to the place of execution, and two cross
pieces. which were born by the victim. 1t
was these transverse pieces which proved
too heavy for the Master. 1t was prob
ably between the hours OF and 10 o'clock
cession. of which Jesus was the central fig
ure, set forth for the place of execution;
a place outside the city walls. Ordinarily
such a procession was IN charge OF CEN
turiop. and preceded by public cricr:
who from time to time proclaimed aloud
the nature of the crime. He also carried
a white wooden board on which this was
written. The longest route was always
selected. and the most crowded streets, to
attract the attention of the people. Each
of the condemned would be accompanied
by guard of four soldiers, and, as a mat
ter of course. Il great crowd would follow.
The weight OF the cross soon proved too
heavy for the exhausted strength OF Jesus;
You must remember He has not tasted
food or drink since the Paschal supper the
night before. and that events had occurred
since then in quick succession, every one
of which must have stirred His soul with
deepest emotions. The betrayal by Judas.
and the farewell to His disciples had oc-
cured, after which He had spent some
hours alone in Gethsemane. engaged in a
terrific mental and spiritual struggle. It
was then, as YOU remember. that His me-
eaiies found Him, since which time He
has stood surrounded h enemies, practi-
cally alone; for His disciples had all for
saken Him. Meanwhile He has been hur-
ried from place to Place and from one
official to another; from Annas to Caiphas,
then to Plate, then to Herod, and then
again to PLATE. Indignity upon indignity.
torture upon torture have been heaped
upon Him all that livelong night and all
that morning, so that it is not to be Won
dered at that tie weight of the cross
was too great for Hin. Up to the last
here He sank exhausted beneath the heavy
load. 1t happened just then that this
man. Simon of Cyrene, came upon the
scene, and him the Roman soldiers seized
and compelled to carry the cross the re.
mainder of the way.
On first thought it might seem, strange
that the people would permit such an in
Simon was undoubtedly foreigner, which
his dress would indicate, and the soldiers
would know that it was safer to put this
humiliation on foreigner than upon a
native of Jerusalem. As it was, the neo.
pie do not seem to have resented it, that
a fellow jew had to suffer the deflement
of bearing a heather cross. and this may
have been the explanation that Simon was
a foreigner, and only prose!yte Jew. How
greatly surprised and chagrined he must
have been, to be thrust SO unexpectedly
into such a. predicament: How it, hap;
pened that he was there walking abroad
on fast day we do not know. He may
have been idly strolling along that country
road without any particular aim or purpose
in view. or he may have lived outside the
city walls and was entering the city on
business or to worship or merely on pleas
ure bent. We cannot know how to explain
his presence there on that road between
Calvary and Jerusalem just at that moment
when some one was needed to bear the
cross of Christ. bat it happened that he
appeared on the scene just as Jesus sank
beneath His load, ard he finds himself
seized by the Roman soldiers, and despite
his remonstrances, compelled to bear the
cross OF Christ. 1t is all so sudden, and so
unexpected. that he can scarcely know
We see it all as he did not. We see in
would rl,Jiv rive al that ,vo have Avid
,vbv covld he not onnrnc;,to ~ WAS II
ignorance on his part? Had he never
heard the name of Jesus OF Nazareth !?
startl;no events that had hncn stirr;5o Ter.
nsalem of latea 70 him II only annears as
an unfortunate accident that he hapDencd
to cross Tho natb of th;s n,.n Ch,.;s+ M,
the way to execution. jus. as He sank
down under The weight Of Ills cross. As
ated' T.o..o.eJ a,i no,-. ba lcnn. fn, tln
self s,o,, " the saze o ,f'd Tho ene and hea.
IN silence 't the Jef;en' , that has come
unon him and unor his house.
And now I wish to mace alonrs;dc of
This and in contrast to il the words Of
The anost,c Paul. God forbid that | should
clorv save in the cross Of Christ !" 10
Simon the cross of Christ means disap-
nointmcnt dis@-ace and loss: to paul il
IS tie one thing elor;ors and worth re-.
in sentimenf9 Il viii NOT do to saw Paul
is s;ron'v DEALING in n tgu-e al spcech.
while Simon acfnaliy suffered the Weirht
and the DISGRACE al an actual cross, for
Paul bore the cross of Christ as actually
as SIMON
# was the cross that bcourht lin, into
conf,;"t with the aTThor;t;e. and WIZ
mobs: it was the cross that drove him
from nlace 70 Mace vagahond On the
f,ca Of tha oa.f%. i was ian crosn that
brouoht him into nr;son. and into dam
rar. # was thr cross that made him q dis
@rana and his ,,.mc an evecrot;on v,her-
srsre there W., WAS ale .Tew;sb syna@oge Paul
snfrnraJ loss and no;n and L,,rn;Iot;o over
and oyc anair p o'': .oconnt nf tc cross
1 an i 6G,'rn o ~ sneech e w, win hmt
his bac,. was bent and broken: his bodily