Sunday night just a bit after 11:30, someone threw two rocks through two panes of the glass surrounding our narthex, completely shattering them. Our cameras caught no images. Sleepers present at the time were unable to identify the individual, and left quickly so as not to endanger themselves.
Incidents like this, or like the recent theft of our sound system in Wells Hall, are deeply discouraging. As Eric said standing amidst the shattered pieces of glass, “this feels personal.” And it does. Maybe we have made someone mad, maybe someone who needed something we or other agencies couldn’t provide just snapped. It feels awful to wonder if someone is returning our attempts to be hospitable and kind with anger and violence. Because we don’t know who did it, and there is likely no way of identifying that person (and if we did identify them, what would we do? Send them to a prison system that will do nothing for their mental health except perhaps make it worse, and then release them without support?), we are simply left to wonder. Yes, we speculated as to who it might be. Yes, we felt kind of awful for suspecting people we may know. Personally, I am angry, frustrated, and feel like my compassion for my neighbors is running a bit ragged at the moment. I suspect my feelings are shared by many of us.
Which is why I am so grateful for the calm reactions of everyone present when we discovered the destruction, and the immediate efforts to reach the police, talk to folks in the area, and clean up the mess. We expressed our suspicions, but chose not to falsely accuse or blame anyone. Thanks especially to Eric, Aron, Linda, Sherina, and a neighbor, all of who rallied throughout the day and night to secure our space.
The truth is, just like everyone in the world around us, we are vulnerable. Vulnerability is a gift when our needs for love and acceptance are met. It is a source of pain when they are violated. We follow a God who in Jesus fully accompanied us into our deepest and most painful vulnerability, whose life was shattered by the anger and fear of the very people to whom he offered kindness and compassion. And I take comfort in the reality that Jesus felt pretty ragged as well.
In the narthex hangs a cross incorporating pieces of shattered glass. Jean Tudor made this cross the last time our glass panes were intentionally destroyed. This cross hangs both as a reminder of our vulnerability, the willing vulnerability of our God, and our call to respond by living more deeply into our commitment to serve Christ in all persons, and respect the dignity of every human being.
It is my hope that every time we walk by the plywood covering our front door, we can muster in ourselves an honest prayer: God of creation, sometimes your creatures cause us pain. Help us love all your creation, all your creatures, and grant us mercy when we fail.
