They say that this time of year is not good for the depressed. I don’t know what the stats are on that one, but over the years that’s what I have heard. So I presume it to be true.

I surely can see how it can be true. There is such hype with the shopping and celebrating, visiting back and forth with relatives, and singing in the choirs. But for those who don’t have the money for shopping and don’t have anyone to celebrate with, it can surely be a downer maximum.

Therefore, I presume that the suicide in Crystal Cathedral today was brought on obviously by an emotional implosion that could not be forestalled.

I have had some clan members who have taken their lives. They were middle class citizens. They had good jobs. They were loved by family and friends. But there was something amiss obviously. Therefore, we found them gone from us — by their own hands.

The church musical director at the Cathedral took his life this afternoon in the Cathedral. It’s eerie isn’t it? Altar candles lit. The crèche in place. Choirs assembling. An organist rehearsing from a side chapel. Ushers preparing bulletins for distribution.

All the more that we become sensitive to those about us who are alone, some forgotten, others excruciatingly despondent because of one emotional trigger or another.

The other day a friend of mine told me that she expressed to her church folk that she wondered why they passed her by when walking down the church aisles. Why didn’t they stop in to visit her now that her husband died in the last several months? Why didn’t they phone her? She thought they were close — church family. She thought they would be there when the widow vacuum set it. But they weren’t.

The parishioners were caught off guard when this grieving woman expressed her true feelings during a worship service. So the others in the pews attempted to come forth with some rationale for their not giving heed; but their comments didn’t add up to be of much worth.

In other words, it’s easy for us to be ingrown. We can be self-centered subtly. We can spin out so quickly in our own doings that we simply don’t notice somebody else — alone, forgotten, seeking a friend.

So it is today that for some reason that we hope will spell itself out, one of the Cathedral staff took his life in the sanctuary confines. Now that is one large cathedral, so the police had quite the hunt down when they got wind that there was aimless shooting going on just prior to a public Christmas worship.

The musician had opened fire within the complex. For nine hours the police tried to gain the upper hand. Then came the finale. Johnnie Wayne Carl, 57, snuffed out his existence on Earth.

The holy family was put out. Instead of a comfortable Inn room, they were put in the shed alongside the parking lot for horses and carriages. Thankfully, the Baby had a loving mother and foster father watching over Him. Thankfully the shepherds stopped by long enough to give comfort to the threesome. Then when the holy family did find residence in a house, Persian astrologers followed God’s star to the Baby’s side, worshiping Him.

I think today of those yearning for a shepherd, some traveler from the east, perhaps a family member who will take time out to understand and care at Christmas.

J. Grant Swank, Jr.