Like everyone else who cares, I've had ten years to reflect on 9.11.01. I was sitting at my desk at the church office when the first call came in from Mrs. Ruth Steen, "The Twin Towers have been attacked." She said it in a matter of fact tone like she knew I would need to know. At that point neither tower had fallen, but Ruth lived through Pearl Harbor and always seemed to know when something was big enough to be burned into the national consciousness.
I went into the church educational building and found a TV in one of the Sunday School rooms. I had to rig an antennae from tinfoil I found in the supply closet. The only station I could get was NBC. I was sitting there alone watching through a fuzzy picture when the plane flew through the second tower. I called my wife and told her to get the children and turn on the TV. I wanted them to remember.
By nightfall an impromptu prayer meeting was going on at the alter in our sanctuary. We joined people of faith around the country as we prayed for those who were suffering, had lost loved ones, and the many who were still looking and waiting. We prayed that God would protect America even as Air Force fighter jets flew low over our city from nearby Tyndall Air Force Base. By the next morning a community prayer service was planned. I was asked to speak to the hundreds of people from dozens of churches and the community who gathered at Lynn Haven Baptist Church. My words, like my feelings, were raw. It would be some time before my head caught up with my heart.
Now, after a decade, my perspective has matured. The hurt has faded some. I know my grief is not the burden that some still bear. My mind gave up trying to find meaning in that day. Instead I have found a place for 9.11 to fit in my understanding of the world. I offer my perspective for your consideration.
1) 9.11 is not God's judgment on America. Did you get those emails too? I got more than that. Dozens of church members, ministers, and public officials brought this idea up to me. Some asserted this belief publicly. I don't hold what people say in a crisis against them later, and I don't want to minimize the suffering of 9.11 in any way, but the judgment of God on a nation can not be compared to something so small as the attacks of that day.
2) Catastrophe will not turn most people toward God. In the days and weeks following 9.11 I heard people say, "If this doesn't get our attention nothing will," as if the magnitude of the losses would lead to a great spiritual revival in America. Many churches saw a blip of increased attendance over the next few weeks following the attack, but within six months most were back to previous levels. I took comfort in the teaching from the book of Revelation, where after terrible catastrophes mankind still refused to repent and seek God's forgiveness. Our nation's history changed on 9.11, human nature did not.
3) There are no limits to sin. As hard as it is for me grasp, there are people in this world who want Americans dead, the country destroyed, and our way of life to cease to exist. Such hatred does not need to be explained. Even if we could understand it I don't see how that would make anything better. In my faith tradition Adam and Eve were the parents of all people. They had two sons. Cain murdered Able. Americans come from a variety of faiths and perspectives, but many of us agree that the family history of hate and murder is as old as mankind itself.
4) Grief is incomplete without faith. In the Bible there is a verse imploring believers not to grieve like those who have no hope. To grieve is important, to hold on to hope is even more important. Grief acknowledges our loss and sorrow in the present. Hope acknowledges a better future. People of faith have an advantage when it comes to hope. Christians believe God is ultimately in control of the world, and no matter how awful people act, eventually the Creator will restore justice and peace and love. It is this kind of faith that brings people through grief and lifts their hearts to the future.
I'm sure I'll have more to write later. After all, 9.11 is one of the defining moments of my generation. But after a decade of reflection I can say my words, like my feelings, are no longer raw.
I went into the church educational building and found a TV in one of the Sunday School rooms. I had to rig an antennae from tinfoil I found in the supply closet. The only station I could get was NBC. I was sitting there alone watching through a fuzzy picture when the plane flew through the second tower. I called my wife and told her to get the children and turn on the TV. I wanted them to remember.
By nightfall an impromptu prayer meeting was going on at the alter in our sanctuary. We joined people of faith around the country as we prayed for those who were suffering, had lost loved ones, and the many who were still looking and waiting. We prayed that God would protect America even as Air Force fighter jets flew low over our city from nearby Tyndall Air Force Base. By the next morning a community prayer service was planned. I was asked to speak to the hundreds of people from dozens of churches and the community who gathered at Lynn Haven Baptist Church. My words, like my feelings, were raw. It would be some time before my head caught up with my heart.
Now, after a decade, my perspective has matured. The hurt has faded some. I know my grief is not the burden that some still bear. My mind gave up trying to find meaning in that day. Instead I have found a place for 9.11 to fit in my understanding of the world. I offer my perspective for your consideration.
1) 9.11 is not God's judgment on America. Did you get those emails too? I got more than that. Dozens of church members, ministers, and public officials brought this idea up to me. Some asserted this belief publicly. I don't hold what people say in a crisis against them later, and I don't want to minimize the suffering of 9.11 in any way, but the judgment of God on a nation can not be compared to something so small as the attacks of that day.
2) Catastrophe will not turn most people toward God. In the days and weeks following 9.11 I heard people say, "If this doesn't get our attention nothing will," as if the magnitude of the losses would lead to a great spiritual revival in America. Many churches saw a blip of increased attendance over the next few weeks following the attack, but within six months most were back to previous levels. I took comfort in the teaching from the book of Revelation, where after terrible catastrophes mankind still refused to repent and seek God's forgiveness. Our nation's history changed on 9.11, human nature did not.
3) There are no limits to sin. As hard as it is for me grasp, there are people in this world who want Americans dead, the country destroyed, and our way of life to cease to exist. Such hatred does not need to be explained. Even if we could understand it I don't see how that would make anything better. In my faith tradition Adam and Eve were the parents of all people. They had two sons. Cain murdered Able. Americans come from a variety of faiths and perspectives, but many of us agree that the family history of hate and murder is as old as mankind itself.
4) Grief is incomplete without faith. In the Bible there is a verse imploring believers not to grieve like those who have no hope. To grieve is important, to hold on to hope is even more important. Grief acknowledges our loss and sorrow in the present. Hope acknowledges a better future. People of faith have an advantage when it comes to hope. Christians believe God is ultimately in control of the world, and no matter how awful people act, eventually the Creator will restore justice and peace and love. It is this kind of faith that brings people through grief and lifts their hearts to the future.
I'm sure I'll have more to write later. After all, 9.11 is one of the defining moments of my generation. But after a decade of reflection I can say my words, like my feelings, are no longer raw.
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