Hitchhiker’s bLOG – 2021.12.14

Who Prays for Craig?

Last Wednesday, a large and beautiful artificial Christmas Tree sitting in front of the News Corp building (home of Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times) caught fire shortly after midnight. Later that day, the NYPD arrested a 49-year-old homeless man who has a history of arrests for drug possession and public intoxication, and chances are he is like many homeless people and suffers from mental illness. That troubled man’s name was Craig. Craig was arraigned and charged with several crimes.

Apparently, Craig had an obsessive compulsion to burn a giant Christmas tree, and the Rockefeller Center tree was his original target. Access to that tree was not possible, so he went down the street, climbed the structure of the artificial tree at News Corp, and lit some papers he had shoved into it.

Craig was released without bail after the arraignment as New York has some strange rules pertaining to bonds for minor, non-violent crimes. Craig disappeared into the Big Apple.

Right on cue, people on all sides began making political hay about the incident. Some declared it was a hate crime, and others exhibited hate toward the tree owners. Some invoked January 6th, and others said the man was released as retribution because the tree belonged to Fox News. According to some, Craig would have been drawn and quartered if it was the 30 Rock Christmas tree that burned because it was owned by a liberal news outlet. NOTE: Rockefeller Center is not owned by NBC, but by Tishman Speyer, the same Real Estate holding company that owns Yankee Stadium.

As I mentioned earlier, Craig is homeless, has a troubled history, and most likely suffers from mental illness. Yes, somebody could have been hurt or killed by what he did, but thank 42 none were. And Craig could have also been killed carrying out this act. So, I emphatically ask you today,

“Who prays for Criag?!

Just before Christmas in 2012, a twenty-year-old kid walked into a school in Newtown, Connecticut and killed twenty-six people, including twenty children ages six and seven. The gunman then took his life, and we will never know why he did it. He obviously a troubled and sick kid. And right on cue, people began politicizing this horrible event.

The following Monday, at 9:30 am, the Connecticut governor asked people to observe a moment of silence and asked for church bells to ring 26 times. I instructed our property guy to ring ours 27 times because 27 people died that day. The request was not a popular one with my staff, but I could not help but think about this incredibly broken and sick perpetrator of this heinous crime. Who prayed for him?

Maybe the previous paragraph offends you because you think I am equating a burning Christmas Tree to Sandy Hook; get over it and ask yourself why you would be offended. Both crimes were committed by broken and troubled human beings; real people who our Lord weeps for.

When things like this happen, do we ever stop to pray to the God of Life, the Universe, and Everything for these broken souls who wander in our midst? Or are we too busy bowing to the false gods of the world?

And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight.

Acts 9:18