Suspended Animation

This Sunday at The River, we'll take some time to reflect on the events of September 11, 2001 from the perspective of Christian disciples. 

Matthew 5:43-45a says...

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven."

Ten years. Seems like yesterday, doesn't it?

Where were you when you heard a "small plane" had hit one of the WTC towers? How surreal did it seem when the second commercial jet hit the other tower? Then came the real shocker. To think of all the humanity that was wiped out in a brief few seconds as the first tower came crashing down. Under different circumstances, a thing of beauty and grace. But this event was accompanied by utter death and destruction... violence on a level most of us had ever before personally felt and experienced. All those people inside... dead in the blink of an eye. All those innocent lives. All those heroes. Then the other tower collapsed as well. And the reports of what happened at the Pentagon... and of course the infamous plane crash over Pennsylvania. My God, what had just happened to our safe, relatively peaceful world? How could this be happening to us... one nation under God?

That was the first time in my life I can remember everything stopping. Every person in America was glued to the news of this awful tragedy... this impossible, and disgusting act of war against freedom. No funny chatter on the FM stations... no political ranting on the AM stations... no reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond on the cable channels, or sports footage on ESPN. Nope. Every channel suspended regular programming for CNN news. For a moment in time, everything about typical American culture was on hold. No one cared about the stock market, or what Jennifer Lopez was wearing, or even the weather. Suddenly, our country became smaller, more intimate. Everyone was in shock. Everyone was confused. Everyone was glued to the television to continuously watch the footage of what happened that day... and listened as the newscasters tried to help us make some kind of sense of it all.

None of the nearly 3,000 victims got on a plane that morning - or went to work expecting to be part of a horrendous plot against America. No one had a clue that thousands of people would soon be hurled into a skyscraper... or buried underneath a massive pile of rubble that once was the World Trade Center. None of us had a clue of just how much would life change as a result of that memorable day in America's history. On the positive side, it drew us together as a nation. People in large cities and small towns across the nation mourned for strangers in Washington DC, Pennsylvania, and New York City. All of a sudden, we had something in common like never before (or at least not in our lifetime). On the negative side, our new reality was near strip-searches at the airport, "Terror Alert Orange," Homeland Security, and the image of that evil bastard, Osama bin Laden plastered across the screen of every television in the world... smirking at us infidels in the West.

Now, it's ten years later. Bin Laden is dead, but the war rages on. Many more lives have been lost. I think we should take a few minutes and talk about how 9/11 has changed us, shaped us, and informed our idea of what it means to follow Jesus in a world that is not safe. We have enemies... how does Jesus want us to treat them? How do we interpret patriotism in the light of this American tragedy? What sin must we fight against (as a persecuted country) that seeks to destroy our faith in God? How do we process the anger that accompanies injustice? What can we learn about ourselves in the midst of this awful, ongoing war against terrorism?

I'll come ready to lead a discussion. I hope you'll come ready to engage as a community of people who seek to wrestle with God for answers that satisfy a broken heart... and offer a glimpse of hope for the future.