Some Thoughts on 9/11

September 11, 2001 has become a touchstone in our history. It was a time of loss and tragedy. It was also a time when we felt afraid and insecure.

As we reflect upon our individual and collective responses to September 11 and how we will respond in the future, our model, as always, is found in the Jesus story. In Jesus, God experienced an unjust execution at the hands of the political authorities and religious leaders of his day. God responded by taking this moment of tragedy and death, and transforming it into a mechanism to effect the salvation of the world. God did not respond with vengeance. God rose above the pettiness that was in the hearts of everyone in the crucifixion story and literally changed what the story was about. Without God's actions in Christ that took place at the cross, the crucifixion story would have been quickly forgotten. Just another meaningless execution needed by the powers that be to maintain their power and status. Now the story is associated with forgiveness, joy, and love.

May our response to 9/11 mirror what God accomplished in Jesus and use an incident of death and tragedy to bring about God's purposes. Those who are responsible for the attacks on 9/11 responded to whatever their own real or perceived 9/11 was with vengeance. In this world, everyone who has ever existed in every generation has been the victim of injustice and tragedy. Those responsible for the attacks responded to tragedy by reciprocating death and injustice. Their response was wrong. God's response to tragedy in Jesus was right.

A faithful response to 9/11 is not only about seeking and maintaining safety and security. It is about mirroring God's work of reconciliation that was begun in Jesus. It was manifest in those who acted with heroism in seeking to maintain our own safety and security. It was and is about being intentionally present and being in prayer with those persons directly and indirectly impacted by the tragedy. It is about reflecting on our own fear and anger and seeking to overcome it. It is about looking for places in our local communities, our nation, and in the world community where there is estrangement and seeking to bring about reconciliation and forgiveness.