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Good morning. The first goal has been accomplished. I did not trip walking up here in this road . Yeah. So I will take that as a sign of victory and success. Let me first say

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thank you and give respect and honor to President. Would law to thank him for his friendship for his guidance and for his grateful and thoughtful introduction to the staff, the faculty, the administration of Austin Presbyterian

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Theological Seminary, to all of my fellow alums to I see members of the mount Zion baptist Church who are present, so grateful to see your smiling faces , so grateful to see members of the baptist Ministers

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Union who are present, thankful to you for your support and probably to the rowdiest group who's in the chapel today. And that is my fellow members of the pl pl cohort. And so we've been hanging

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out with each other since sunday evening. And if I'm a little bit rattled, it's because dr Todd has been talking to us this morning with some very deep theological insights that I'm still trying to figure out

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, but what an honor and a privilege it is to be here today and to share with you in this moment. For I do not take lightly the esteemed individuals who have stood in this place before me

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and I do consider it an honor and a privilege to be here for this moment that we have gathered . I've been led to a text in the Gospel according to Mark and I know that they didn't allow

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us to do this while I was at school here at the seminary. But I'm reading it from the King James, I think you get that privilege when you graduate, you can read it from wherever you

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want. But mark, chapter 15 and I'll read for your hearing, verse number 21. Mark chapter 15 verse 21 reads in this fashion And they compel one Simon a C. Iranian who passed by coming

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out of the country, the father of alexander and Rufus to bear his cross. And it is with that text in mind. I want to talk with you for this moment on this significance of the archives

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. By definition Miriam Webster says that archives are a place or a repository in which historical materials or records are preserved during my time here at Austin Seminary. I actually remember like it was yesterday I was sitting

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in the office of my esteemed advisor and we were looking through my schedule trying to figure out what I would take next and I'll never forget that. He looked across his desk at me and told me these

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words, he said Darrell, it's all about the archives. And just as you're looking at me, I looked at him with that same puzzled look and was trying to figure out what in the world.

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Mhm Does that mean? But yet I believe without blinking he looked at me again and said Daryl, I need you to remember that. It's all about the archives at the time. I didn't realize exactly

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how profound that statement was. But what I've come to learn in life is that the archives are important for? It is in the archives that you have proof that you were ever present. Mm It's in

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the archives that even though you can verbally claim you participated, if you didn't make the picture mm mm If your name is not on the program. Yeah . And if you're not mentioned in the literature,

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there is no record of your existence. It's all about the archives. I've come to learn that it's the archives that can take someone from being invisible to being impactful. It's in the archives that can take

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someone from being forgettable, too formidable. It's the archives that takes someone from being a mere possibility to being someone who becomes permanent. I believe this is true about the archives and that's why it is so

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important during the month of february that we celebrate Black History Month because it is during this month that we intentionally looked through the Archives of History to remember, to honor and to celebrate the many who fought,

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sacrificed and even died, that we might be who we are today. That's why I'm thankful today for my family at Austin Seminary, for having this day and this week of remembrance and hope for honoring people

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like Sharon alexander and dr steven reed and Sharon Risher because they were in the archives and I I respect the idea that they looked through the archives and found those who have gone on to do meaningful things.

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Because here's what I've come to understand, that searching the archives gives us the permission to be mesmerized by those who are traditionally missed. Searching the archives gives us the permission to observe those who are often overlooked

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. Searching the archives allows us to discover the diamonds that can only be found when you dig through the details. It is my argument today, Austin seminary family that the bible is a set of divinely inspired

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archives just to prove my point. If you go back to the 5th chapter of Second Kings, there's a little girl who tells Namen that if he could only make it to the prophet, he could be

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healed from his leprosy. We never know her name and we never hear from her again. Yet. We still preach about her today. It's all because she's in the archives. There's a text in the

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Gospels that talks about an uninvited woman who ends up breaking up a dinner party at the house of Simon the leper. The text says that she breaks an alabaster box of precious ointment and begins to anoint the

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head of jesus at the table and although folks got upset and begin to think it was a waste of money, jesus blesses her and he makes a profound statement when he says whenever and wherever the gospel is

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preached, this woman shall be remembered, not because she was unique or special, but because she's in the archives. Yeah, the text that I've given for you today is a text that is found in

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each of the synoptic gospels Gospels. The reason I chose the passage in Mark is because it provides insight that is actually missing from Matthew and luke. In this particular text, we find Jesus standing before pilot

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is chapter 15 opens pilot has already discovered that he can find no fault in jesus. And so we find him going back and forth with the people and the religious leaders about who he should release and the

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leaders and the people unanimously say we want Barabbas and so pilot releases jesus into the hands of the soldiers who will humiliate him, who will spit on him , who will slap him, who will press a

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crown of thorns into his head. And they are going to eventually place across on his back and lead him to the place called calvary. But this is the place where we find this interesting verse I've read

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for you For verse number 21 is nearly at the halfway point of the crucifixion narrative in Mark chapter 15 , But it's here in the archives, these 25 words in the King James 19 words in the Greek

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give us an idea of a man who is only remembered because he's briefly mentioned in the archives. Yeah , I want to share with you briefly, they told me I had 20 minutes. Mhm Yes,

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I want to share it with you briefly why the archives are significant. No one. The archives are significant because they draw on a valuable perspective In verse # 21, we are introduced to a man named

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Simon of Cyrene. In this text, we have already seen the perspective from pilot. If you put yourself in the text, we've already stood on the platform next to pilot as he interviews jesus and eventually

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as hands are washed and he releases him into the hands of his captives. We've already seen the perspective of the chief priest who are pushing for Jesus to be convicted and to be crucified because they disagree with

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his doctrine And Mark Chapter 15, we've already seen the perspective of the soldiers who begin to hurt jesus and humiliate him and beat him within inches of his life. But it's in this fine little space in

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the archives that we get a new perspective from this man named Simon. Simon is a part of the crowd. Simon is on the street as jesus is being pushed toward calvary and he's standing there minding his

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own business. When the text says that the soldiers demanded that he picked up the cross of christ and help him make it to calvary, we've often heard it said that history is written by the victors or

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the dominant culture, but can I tell you that if you look through the archives, if you dig through the archives good enough, it will give you the opportunity to see a perspective from which you've never

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seen. If you will put yourself in the place of Simon, the text says that he was from out of town and that he had just arrived and he's pushing through the crowd to find out what's going

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on. I can imagine that he's dressed up in his good attire because he's there for the time of Passover and for some reason, Matthew, Mark and luke. I think that you need a perspective from

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the street. Can I suggest to each of us that as God continues to use you in your various ministries, don't get so high that you can't see the perspective of others. And even when we begin

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to look through the archives, you get the chance to see a perspective that beforehand may not have been considered valuable. Mhm. The second thing in verse number 21, I want you to understand that make

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the archives significant Is that# 1? It draws on a valuable perspective. But then secondly, I want to argue that it demonstrates God's providence. Look at the text, it says in that little verse

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and they compelled Simon, a siren, Ian who passed by coming out of the country, the father of alexander and Rufus to bear his cross. I know that some of you are nosy, just like

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I am. And you have already read this. Texan asked the question. Out of all the people the soldiers could have selected to pick up jesus cross . Why Simon? Why did they pick the man

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who had traveled over some 900 miles over a week's uh several weeks journey to stand in the crowd? Why did they pick Simon? A man that will never hear from again throughout the rest of the biblical

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record. A man who was probably there to observe the Passover. A man who was there, minding his own business. How did the soldiers pick? Science? I know some of you are asking another

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good question. Aren't there other people that it would have made good sense for them to pick? I mean, people who would have been grateful for what jesus had done for them, Like possibly the one

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leper out of the 10 that came back and said thank you. How come he couldn't take up the cross? Yeah. What about the man who had his withered hand healed? Now that he's got to

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functioning hands? Couldn't he have been in the crowd and couldn't he have carried the cross? What about blind bar thomas? After the son of David had given him his sight? Couldn't he have picked up

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the cross? Yeah, I believe it's possible. Why couldn't one of the 5000 who ate mm off the fish and lows? Why couldn't they be present to pick up the cross? Well, I want

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to argue and suggest that it wasn't them because of God's divine providence. If you search the archives of your mind, can you remember moments where you don't understand how you got there, how you receive what

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you had and how God bless you through somebody you did not know. I would argue that's because of God's divine providence. Have you ever had a moment where you look back and can't figure out how God

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blessed you or how you pass that exam or how you survived? I believe it's because of God's divine providence. And I would argue that that's the same reason that a man from North Africa would be standing

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in the right place at the right time. Mhm . And the soldiers would grab him and force him to pick up the cross. The archives are significant , Number one, because they draw on a valuable

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perspective, Number two, because they demonstrate God's providence . And then thirdly finally, I want to argue that the archives are significant because they declare the power of the cross. Look at the text, it

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says that Simon who was from Cyrene, it says that he was brought in forced to carry the cross of jesus and it says after this, which seems to be very random. It says that he's the

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father of alexander and Rufus. When you look at the text and you dig in to find the diamonds of the text. Tradition tells us that we believe that Simon had some kind of life after he carried

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the cross. I want you to think about this with me. Simon is drug into the street, he's carrying the cross bar of jesus and he's walking behind jesus as he stumbles up calvary's hell. You

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cannot carry the cross of jesus without getting dirty and bloody. Mm And so the text would suggest that as he gets jesus up the calvary, he surrenders the cross and heads back home. Can you imagine

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the story Simon has to tell. When he gets back home, His wife and his Children asked him how was the trip? And with bloodstained clothes, Simon says, while I was hanging on the street

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and I met a man, I don't know why he was guilty, but he was carrying a cross up calvary's hell. And for some reason they made me help him carry. And as I followed behind

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him, I couldn't help but wonder what he did wrong. But when we got up to calvary's cross , I found out that he was innocent. Yet he was called guilty. I couldn't help but notice

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that when I surrendered the cross to him, they hung him on an old rugged cross. I couldn't help but notice that they put nails in his hands and rivets in his feet. I couldn't help but

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notice they hung it between two other thieves on the cross. I couldn't help but listen as he asked the father to forgive them for they knew not what they were doing. I couldn't help but notice as

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he gave his mother a brand new son, I couldn't help but notice as he put his spirit in the hands of his father and tradition would help us to believe that as Simon had this interaction with jesus

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that he would actually convert his family, Including his two sons. Just so you know, I'm not making this up. When you get home, go to romans. Chapter 16 verse number 13 where paul

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himself says give greetings to my friend Rufus and also greet his mother who is like my own mother. History tells us that Mark was written to those who were in Rome at the time. So it makes

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good sense that the reason Simon is in the archives is to talk about his impact he had on the church. Can I help somebody real quick before I get out of here and let you know that even

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if you appear just to be a by standard God can use you to impact the shirt tradition would suggest to us that Simon of Cyrene, Although he's only mentioned in one place had an impact on the church

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that can never be forgotten. And so that's why today I just wanted to share it encouraged with you that the archives are significant. And I have to tell you, even though I'm not at Mount Zion

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and even though it's not Sunday at 11, I have to tell you that the Bible is a divinely inspired archive. That gives me hope when I remember I have hope. Because I remember that after Simon

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did his job. The text says that Jesus finished the work. Yes. The text declares that jesus hung on calvary's cross and that he hung there until he put his head in the locks of his shoulders

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. The text says they took him off that old rugged cross and they put him in a brand new tube. I don't know about the rest of you , but there's divine providence in a brand new too

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, because the bible declares that he used it on friday. The seal was still in place on saturday . They still had soldiers in front on saturday night . but the archives claimed that early sunday morning before

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mary could come and anoint the body. Early sunday morning before the Duke could even wet the grass. Early sunday morning before the roosters could crow. It was early sunday morning that God raised him from the

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dead and the archives claimed that it wasn't just with some power, but it was with all power. All power in heaven and earth is in his hands . And the only way you can get that power

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is you have to read it in the archives.