Blood on the Pavement: A Crash of Blood and Grace

God is with us.

I was sitting at the light. I saw the bike first. I wasn’t prepared. The bottle was next. Everything crashed. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. Then, I saw a leg. Instantly, I hit my flashers and ran. I dove to her side. Holding her body as still as I could, I tried to figure out how bad she was hurt. When Sheriff’s Deputies pulled up, I thought help had arrived. As a man screamed that the young woman needed CPR, the Deputies just leaned on their cruisers. Honestly, I have never seen two bigger worthless pieces of shit in my life. As the poor woman moaned for help, the Deputies did nothing but perfect their fucking leans. Regardless of my anger, I refused to lose my focus. Eventually, the woman woke up and told me her name. I made the sign of the cross. Then, I looked at her attire and realized that she was a nun. When the paramedics arrived, I stayed with her. It wasn’t until the doors of the ambulance closed that I allowed myself to breath.

When the police arrived, I listened to witness after witness tell their story. In the midst of all the words, the stories often contradicted. However, there seemed to be a growing conclusion that the woman driving the car was at fault. The mob quickly formed and seemed ready to enact vengeance right then and there. As the woman stood by weeping and terrified, I went over and assured her that God was with her. In the presence of such hate, I’m not sure she believed me.

In the midst of it all, a member of the mob started to talk to me. After he shared what he saw, I looked at him and said, “If it was your daughter, would you want people to rush to condemnation like you’re doing?” The man looked stunned and defensively replied, “What did you see?” Without hesitation, I replied, “I saw two children of God in desperate need of love and prayer.” In that moment, an officer shouted out, “Don’t be talking to him.” With that, another officer told me that I could go.

As I walked away, I thought about the bleeding nun’s graceful disposition. I knew that she was simply living out her vows. In those moments of contemplation, I realized that she was the embodiment of grace. She was so much more human than all of those who vengefully claimed to be championing her humanity. She shed blood and shared grace. May we go and do likewise.

Amen.