I heard an odd, dull thud. Our church custodian was always making noises
in some far off corner of the church building.
He’d drop a table or slam a trash can.
It was common. Except, this thud
wasn’t like any sound I had heard from him before. It was distant and distinct.
I went back to the meeting I was
in. A church insurance salesman wanted
to talk with me about our policy. Our
cordial conversation, after being interrupted by the distant thud, was interrupted
a second time, by a phone call. It was
one of our church members, Bill B. Bill
asked, “Are you listening to the news?”
I now know what the thud was, the
sound I heard that morning, September 11, 2001.
It was a plane slamming into the Pentagon which sits almost 4 miles east
of Greenbrier Baptist Church, where I was serving as lead pastor.
Today is the 18th
anniversary of the terrorist attacks that changed America, my generation’s “Pearl
Harbor.” Now we have Department of
Homeland Security. The world has
experienced “The War on Terror” and “The Arab Spring.” America has elected its first black president
and its first reality TV star as president.
Strongman dictators Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and Saddam Huessein of
Iraq, fixtures in world politics in the ‘90’s, are both dead.
On September 10, 2000, the Red Sox,
White Sox, and Cubs had each been almost a century without winning the World
Series. Since then Boston has won 4 and
both Chicago teams have won 1. As of
September 2001, the New England Patriots had never won a Super Bowl and Tom
Brady had not yet started an NFL game at quarterback. Since then, the Patriots have won 6 Super Bowls
and Brady is widely considered the greatest of all time.
There are four people now in my life
that were not a part of my life in September 2001, my wife (married in January
2003) and my 3 kids. Some of the changes
from 2001 to now are trivial. Others are
significant and enduring. The testament
to the significance of the day lies in how well we all remember it.
As followers of Jesus, what do we do
with that memory and how do we live as his disciples in the world as it is
today? I see the world as temporary,
transitory. It’s not going to be the way
we know it to be forever. Out of love of
God and neighbor, we must care for the earth and work for humanity and creation’s
thriving. Recycling, ecological
consciousness, and care for the environment are Holy works that honors
God. Exploitation of nature is sin. And yet, I understand the Bible to say that
at some unknown future point, God will restore the world in spite of man’s best
attempts to ruin it. No matter how well
or poorly we do in combatting global warming, God will eventually fix it.
Thus, I grieve the ravages of pollution
and man-initiated climate change. But I
don’t fear it. Humanity’s unchecked
rebellion against God is no match for God’s plans for what God has made. I shudder at the evils man inflicts upon man;
mass shootings, institutional racism, terrorism, war, disregard of the poor; it
is all awful. Yet I also absolutely
believe that on the last day, when Christ returns, all will be restored and his
followers will be with him.
What does that mean for how his
followers are to live now? We are to
lean-in to the Kingdom that is coming.
We care for recreation. We
actively resist global warming. We fight
racism and classism and we work to uplift the poor and vulnerable. We invite the lonely into community and we
share God’s love with all people. We
encourage people to uphold Biblical standards for interpersonal relationships
and family and community life.
As Americans, we are forever
affected by the events of 9/11/01. As
followers of Jesus, our calling is the same today as it was on 9/10/01. We are to love others and share the good news
that Jesus Christ is Lord and all people who turn to him in repentance and
express faith in Him will be born again as sons and daughters of God.
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