September 11
Ezekiel 33:1-11
Psalm 119:33-40
Romans 12:9-21
Matthew 18:15-20
Tim
Christoffersen
St. Anselm’s
September
8, 2002
"Did
anyone see the two hour program "Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero? This
Wednesday will be exactly one year since the horror of the events of last
September 11th. This morning I would like to see if, by drawing on the readings
from Scripture, we might gain some insight into that horror and its meaning
for our spiritual lives both as Christians and as Americans. And how it might
affect how we go about our daily living.
When we call into our mind’s eye the horror of seeing people jumping
from those burning towers and then the total collapse of both towers, its
connection with the readings we just heard are, on the surface, a little tenuous
in two important respects. First, the passages in Romans and in Matthew substantively
deal with evil and sin within the community of believers rather than with
others outside that community. Second, the passages have an intensely personal
focus with respect to the sinner or evildoer and the person against whom the
sin or evil has been committed.
If we ask ourselves "how do I feel about what happened" on September
11, I suspect that it would not occur to most, if not all of us, that, at
some deeper level, we might have different feelings as an American and as
a Christian. Just so I am clear and don’t create a misunderstanding,
my own feeling is that our national psyche or core beliefs as a society have
only a Christian veneer. Our core values as a society are secular and humanist.
Christian values do significantly overlap with values we, and others, as Americans
hold dear. But a root belief of American society is that man is, in effect,
the creator of the meaning of life. As Christians, we know we are creatures
created by a living God who is present in our lives. The dominant strain in
American culture leaves room for God only in the personal sphere.
When we acknowledge the sense of vulnerability we now feel and the moral outrage
as Americans, those feelings go to our very depth as a culture. They touch
upon what we hold sacred as Americans. God does not fit into this picture,
except, perhaps, an absent God. God has been confined to the realm of the
‘personal.’ God does not ‘exist’ in the public realm,
in the interaction among nations. If anything, as Americans we ask ourselves
‘how could God allow this to happen to us.’
As Christians I believe we feel the same sense of vulnerability and moral
outrage. But we also have to wrestle with a profound sense of a "loss
of words" in the face of what happened. We know God is God and we are
not. We have an inkling, I think, that we just don’t understand the depth
and meaning of what happened. As Paul said, "Now, we see through a
glass darkly."
What might we learn from Paul? The context of the reading from Romans is that
Paul is speaking about how we are all members of one body, the body of Christ.
The clear, underlying theme in the passage is love. The first words in the
reading were "love must be sincere." Paul goes on to describe
characteristics of ‘right behavior.’ "Do not be proud. But
be willing to associate with people of low position." "Do not repay
anyone evil for evil". "If it is possible," Paul says,
as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge…but
leave room for God’s wrath…"
One section of the "Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero" program was
called the "Face of Evil." Evil is something personal as Paul uses
the term. Jesus was even more clear that evil was not something abstract but
personal. In one encounter in Mark 1, Jesus sternly orders the evil spirit
to come out of a man. A violent shaking seized the man and the evil spirit
came out of him with a shriek. Culturally we have tended to see evil as the
result of some form of deprivation. It is a behavior that is the result of
something bad that happened to us. One of the persons interviewed in the Faith
and Doubt program, in speaking of evil, said "when you confront evil,
you know what it is and it is personal and intimate." How do you understand
evil?
The reading from Psalms also weighs in with words on right behavior. "Turn
my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away
from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word."
Personally, I love the words Paul uses a few verses prior to today’s
reading. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." It is not easy
to turn away from the "you deserve it" culture in which we live.
At some level most of us feel we have worked hard for what we have and we
feel we do deserve it.
But when we listen on TV to the families, spouses and friends who lost loved
ones on September 11 it is a little easier to honestly ask ourselves what
it means to "Turn [our] eyes away from worthless things."
We can think a little more deeply about what Paul meant when he said, "Do
not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind."
And maybe it will be a little easier when a brother wrongs us, to go to him
or her alone and show him how he has wronged you. But the important part,
how you approach your brother, is not stated directly. Paul’s words provide
a pretty solid basis. Your love must be sincere and do not be proud. When
we have suffered a setback personally we all know it is a little easier to
be honest and humble and, I suspect, there will be a better chance for reconciliation
and forgiveness to occur.
Unfortunately, there is one thing we do not have to think about. As Americans,
the world in which we live is less predictable than before September 11 last
year. We are living with a higher level of uncertainty. As Christians, September
11 dramatically reminds us that Jesus told us that following him would not
always be an easy journey. We also struggle and wrestle with the spiritual
meaning of what happened on September 11.
I did not lose anyone I knew on September 11. I don’t think the feelings
run as deep in me as in those who lost loved ones that day. Personally, I
feel puny in trying to address the spiritual dimension of what happened. I
do feel it is important that each of us look at what happened with spiritual
eyes and listen to our own deeper feelings with an open and prayerful heart.
I certainly don’t have answers. I hope a question or two has arisen in
your mind and you feel encouraged to wrestle a little with those questions.
AMEN.
