Ten Year Anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks
We gather together today to remember...
On one hand, remembering can trigger a sense of feeling lost, and on the other hand remembering can give us strength and hope. Either way, remembering is good; it’s a part of who we are; it’s a part of our story; remembering leads to healing. Though remembering is good, it is not always easy... At times I still become overwhelmed by strong emotions... So many questions… Why? Why did this have to happen? Some say it was from God, others say it was humanities doing. In looking back, I see ignorance, arrogance, politics, anger, and fear. I think I will always struggle as I process my understandings of why it happened.
Do you really think they knew what they were doing? Do you really think they knew how that one day would change the world forever? And all in the name of God! I just don't get it! In the name of God?
There is only one God, and the God I know is a loving God, not a god that leads sheep to slaughter...
Asking questions is good...
Questions help us process our memories, and they create growth that allows us to sustain the shallow and meaningless events in this world. Asking questions helps us as we look back and remember.
I can't imagine that type of pain and suffering. It makes it even harder for me to imagine pain and suffering like that when I know it was created on purpose. Accidents happen, but this?... No, this was about power, control, and fear. I don't think I'll ever understand how someone could order this pain and suffering to occur.
I just can't imagine... As things began to unfold, emotions and anxiety were high. Some simply watched from a distance…a safe distance. Others ran, they ran away as fast as they could seeking protection from the unimaginable. There were others who didn’t watch from a distance or run away; they were called inward, leaving behind their own fear, fear that was replaced with love, honor, righteousness and tradition.
Remembering helps me work through it; remembering helps me find healing. I know this is a process, and I know this is a journey that will bring with it more understanding and more clarity with each year. As God’s children, we are called to help bring clarity to each other within the events of our lives. The events I have just described were not those of 10 years ago, but 2000 years ago…the events I am remembering are that of Good Friday, the events surrounding the death of Jesus.
Ten years ago today, we did experience a horrific set of events, a set of events that also changed the world forever. Both events were fueled by power, control, and fear. Both events left people feeling lost and anxious. Both events challenged what people believed to be the Truth. For me, the truth that God gave us free will, reassures me that God did not cause either of these. God did not cause the pain and suffering on the cross and God did not cause the pain and suffering of 9/11. Though God was not the one who ordered these events, it does not mean that God wasn’t present with those who suffered and died.
Two of the things that Jesus said on the cross were, “My God my God why have you forsaken me” (Mark 15:34 and Matthew 27:46) and he said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”(Luke 23:34) One was a message to those who believed and followed Jesus; one was a plea to God.
People often think that when Jesus cried out, “My God my God why have you forsaken me” that he felt abandoned by God. My understanding is that this could not have been the case. The words, “My God my God why have you forsaken me” are the first words from Psalm 22. The psalms were the Hebrews songs, they were not intended to be said, they were sung. They began hearing these songs in the womb, and they sang them until they drew their last breath. The Jews that heard Jesus cry out that day would have known Psalm 22 by heart. When Jesus said, “My God my God why have you forsaken me” the rest of the psalm would have continued in the minds of the listeners. Psalm 22 tells a story of hope and how God saves us even when things seem beyond hope. Jesus was not abandoned. He knew God was with him and even from the cross he was teaching them and us, one more lesson.
On the night before Jesus died he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, “Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19) He said “Do this in remembrance of me.”… Remembering is good, it brings hope and healing. Jesus said to remember him and what I try my best to remember is not the pain, suffering and death of the cross. What I want to remember, are the lessons that Jesus taught about being in relationship with other people, the lessons that teach us who God really is, and the lessons of how to be in a good relationship with God.
The second thing that Jesus said on the cross was when he asked God to forgive those who were causing him that pain and suffering; he asked God to forgive those who were bringing him to death.
In the translation of the Bible called The Message, today’s Gospel begins with this,
“At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, "Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?" Jesus replied, "Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven.”
“Do this in remembrance of me.”… Jesus taught us to forgive others…let go of fear and anger, let go of vengeance and hatred… even when you feel nailed to the cross.
As I remember the story of Jesus and the cross, I can’t help but realize the similarities between it and the story of 9/11. Though I don’t want to forget either of these life changing events, what I want to remember the most are not the images of death and destruction, but rather the images of God shining through them.
I had only been ordained to the Transitional Diaconate less than 3 months, and I didn’t know what to do on that horrific day. Like so many others, I was numb and lost… but God would not leave us there in that darkness. God sent people to the church and God sent me to them. The more people that gathered together the brighter the light of Christ became. As the light grew I began to see images of God unfolding before me; I began to see the presence of Christ within such chaos.
I remember how people’s lives slowed down and they began to really appreciate what they had. I remember seeing families spend more time together and how their hugs lasted a little longer than before. I remember how people’s desire to help each other grew and there were countless new outreach ministries. I remember things like the formation of scholarships for the children of those who died. I remember a unity within our nation’s politics and seeing people across the country set aside their differences and become united in what they shared in common.
Again and again over the last 2000 years, and over the past 10 years, we have witnessed so many good things rise up from the bad… and as resurrection people, we can’t forget to be a witness that through death comes new life.
So… no matter what chaos and turmoil comes our way, we must always remember that in God through Christ Jesus, we too will never be forgotten.
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