This commentary is by Rev. Devon Thomas, the minister serving the Second Congregational Church in Jeffersonville.
Last September, there was a break-in at the church I serve in Jeffersonville. The perpetrators entered through the food pantry that the church hosts. They then made their way up into the church and the church offices.
A few items were stolen, but what was most shocking for me and my congregation was the damage to the building. The door to my office had been pried open, stuff was thrown all over the floor, and there was an attempt to get into the church safe.
The following morning, when we discovered what happened, there was a real sense that something personal and precious had been violated.
Though Jesus tells us not to get too hung up over worldly items, a church building tends to hold a special place in the hearts of its members. It is a place filled with memories of weddings, funerals, baptisms, fun times and sad times. It is a place of friendships and even adversity. We also put a lot of effort into making sure the building is maintained so that it can, hopefully, be there for new generations to continue making loving stories under its steeple.
The thought that someone would break into our church, in many ways, is shocking and infuriating, and I feel it is an understandable human reaction to get angry and frustrated.
However, I am reminded of a guy who managed to find enough compassion in his heart to pray, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” while being mocked and literally put to death at the same time (Luke 23:34). That may be the world’s highest bar for forgiveness, ever!
Crime and fear of crime are on the rise in Vermont. This is why I feel it is important that we challenge ourselves to look at these issues through a lens of compassion.
After I had time to get over the initial shock of the break-in and pick up my office, our congregation took stock of what was stolen — some food from the pantry, a lunchbox my daughter had given me as a gift, and some old crosses the church was trying to get rid of. These were not high-value objects.
Also, things took a bit of a twist when a few days later everything that was stolen wound up being anonymously returned. Putting all of these pieces together, I had to assume this break-in was likely not a crime of malice, like when kids spray-paint obscenities on church doors. This felt to me like an act of desperation, and recognizing this moved me past any feelings of outrage to a place where I could feel compassion for all of our neighbors who are struggling in Vermont right now.
We need to remember that crime rates are directly affected by issues of affordability. And while I do not think affordability is the only reason we have crime in Vermont, right now Vermont is a place where people are really struggling to make ends meet. That desperation is real, and desperate people are often driven to make desperate mistakes.
A church break-in is not the same as the shootings we’ve heard about in places like Burlington, but I feel our conversations about crime have largely lacked any focus on the underlying reasons that lead people to break the law.
Not all crime is a result of bad people behaving badly. A lot of crime is a call for help. I wonder if we are compassionate enough to hear