Watch the Lamb

The first time I heard this song I was in a cabin onboard the Doulos in '96. Some crewmates were miming to it, and my first thought was: "I have to listen to it again!" The lyrics were strong, powerful and piercing. I quickly decided that I wanted to learn to mime this song too. I did.

I don't remember how many ports we stopped and the number of times we performed it, but it seems like this haunting melody has been with me forever. Everytime I sing it (we have to know the lyrics before we can mime), I am brought back to the cross. Again and again.

The song is sung from the perspective of Simon of Cyrene, whom the Bible described as the person who carried Jesus' cross for him on the way to Golgotha where the crucification took place. (One little thing here is that, although no one is actually able to attest to the racial origin of Simon of Cyrene, he was believed to be darker-skinned as Cyrene was part of North Africa). It is also believed that his two young sons Alexander and Rufus later became well-known in the Christian community in Rome.

To me, this song is a slice of an ordinary life colliding with a great and painful moment in world history. It brings out, blow-by blow, the cruelty of the cross and the terrible price it exacted on Jesus. May we never forget what it cost Jesus to bring us back to God.