Today We Remember...

Today, We Remember…


I still remember vividly the attacks of September 11, 2001. I was at work, not listening to NPR, or any radio show/station, which was very unusual for me at that time of day. Someone from the office came out into the warehouse and told us about the first plane hit. I didn't realize even then how serious the situation was, and delayed turning on the radio until the second plane hit. I don't remember which came first, the plane crashing in Pennsylvania or the Pentagon attack, but I called my mom after they both occurred. She was still sleeping at the time. After she said "Hello", I told her what was happening and to turn on the television. I kept listening to the radio all day. My dad went home from his job to be with my mom, and my sister and her three children went over there, too. I wish I had joined them, but nobody from my workplace went home, and, even though I really wanted to be with my family, I stayed at work, not that we got very much done that day.

I remember thinking, "The World Trade Center is hit, two planes crashed into it and the towers are burning, some people have already died, but they're evacuating and it will turn out okay for most of the people today."

Then the towers fell.

I don't even know how to describe the sinking feeling I got in my gut when that happened. There was a Lutheran church not far from my workplace, so I called their office and asked if they were open for people to come pray. The lady on the phone told me that they had just decided one minute before I called to open the church up for prayer. So I went for a while. When I got back to the warehouse, my boss told me he was surprised that I came back. I'm not sure why my co-workers were not as affected as I was by what happened, but it hit me hard. My boss took it better than any of us did, but he'd spent twenty years in the navy and had been in combat. Some of my co-workers, and I must admit that I'm still somewhat upset over this, decided that their news source for the day was Howard Stern!

Many Christians, myself included, hoped that America would wake up and turn back to God, but that didn't really happen. Many New Yorkers have been affected and have re-prioritized their lives, concentrating more on God, friends, and family, but there wasn't a wide-spread spiritual renewal in that city, either. Our churches were packed for only a few weeks.

It seems that God intended through this tragedy, not a loud and general triumphant "revival" for the United States of America, but "the hidden sanctification" of a few souls. Of course, we see only a small portion of what goes on, and we cannot know whom God changed through that event, or for what purpose. Sometimes, it takes a generation or two for God's plan to become evident. I think of Mr. Edward D. Kimball, a Sunday School teacher at Mount Vernon Congregational Church in Boston, Massachusetts, I believe. Mr. Kimball never did any thing "extraordinary" in his life, but one day he led D.L. Moody to Christ. And look at Louie and Zélie Martin – ordinary Christian parents who gave birth to a Saint (and whose cause for sainthood is being explored). Perhaps something like that will come from the 9/11 tragedy. Who knows?

In the meantime, let us pray for the United States.

O God, I ask, in the Holy and Powerful Name of Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, that You will bless America by bringing the Christians in Her to repentance for our sins. May we reject and renounce the materialism in our lives, the selfishness, greed, and gluttony with which we fill our days. May we seek to know and love You, and seek to know and love our neighbors, and welcome them into Your family. May we remember that true riches are found in virtuous lives lived for Your glory, and that the riches of this world are given to our stewardship to further Your kingdom. And that even being good stewards builds Your kingdom. May we live courageous lives of charity and chastity in the public square, and, lest people think that we are so great and not You, may we be unafraid to speak of Jesus, His death, burial, and resurrection, what He means to us, how He changes us, how He loves u, and how He loves our fellow-citizens.

As we approach this election, may You guide our hearts and minds that we may vote for people and policies that are in accord with Your eternal and unchanging law. And may we remember that our hope does not lie in who our President is and which political party controls the Congress and what judges are on the Supreme Court, but our hope is in Jesus Christ and in Your promises to us through Him. May we remember that, in addition to voting into government men and women of character and integrity who will support the passing of good laws, that we must serve our family, friends, and neighbors. May we remember that it is more important for us to support crisis pregnancy centers than it is to protest public funding of Planned Parenthood. May we remember that is more important to befriend the men at the gay bar down the street than it is to boycott companies with domestic partner policies. May we remember that it is more important to visit the abandoned persons in nursing homes than it is to ensure adequate government oversight of the facilities they live in. May we remember that people are much more important than politics (but may we never forget that politics is important, too).

As we pray for America, asking that Your kingdom be furthered in Her, may we remember that Your kingdom will last for ever, whereas our nation will endure but for a time. May we remember that Your kingdom transcends all earthly kingdoms, and may we therefore pray for all people in all nations on earth. May we remember our brethren in Iraq who suffer at the hands of the Muslim majority of their country because of their witness to You. May we remember that Iraqi Muslims are not our enemy, but are prisoners of war; indeed, prisoners of THE Enemy, casualties in THE War. May we remember those who are oppressed by wicked rulers, those who are exploited by uncaring employers, those who are slaves, those women and children subjugated by the sex industry, those suffering from AIDS and other incurable diseases, any person who is in any situation that makes it difficult for them to believe that a good God exists. And, as we fight oppression, exploitation, slavery, the sex trade, disease, and darkness, may we remember, once more, that those who are guilty of these crimes are prisoners of THE Enemy and casualties of THE War. And may we remember that the darkness and evil in their hearts is in ours, too.

O God, fill us with Your love and grace that we may be concerned with Your glory. Change us that we may be fit instruments to spread Your kingdom. May Your Spirit fill us over and over, again and again because we are leaky vessels. May we love and respect and cherish Your Name, and may our hearts be consumed by You.

Amen.