Dog Gone It!

Opening the door of the cathedral one recent morning, people were horrified to find a dog sitting in the seat reserved for leaders in the church.  The cushions from most of those seats were torn up. 

No one knew how the dog had gotten inside, since there was no sign of the dog when the doors were locked the previous day. 

In our western mindset, the work of a trapped frightened dog is a disheartening mess. 

But here, the community was agitated for days.  First of all, the desecration of the special chair by a dog laying on it was disturbing.  Secondly, there was the mystery of how the dog got inside.  There was speculation that the dog was the devil, or the embodiment of a prophetess.  There was the question as to what this all represented.  There was so much fear.

The dog was never found.  The cushions were replaced with new ones.  There was a dedication for the new cushions.

It took an event like this to show me how much fear is laying just below the surface of hearts.    There is fear of what we cannot control, fear of forces coming against us.  I appreciated the words of the dean of the cathedral the following Sunday. He reminded the people that regardless of what really happened with the dog, which we will never know, our response is the same:  Prayer and faith.