In the Aftermath of 9-11

Clergy Column for Religion Page of Middletown Journal, for Sat. Sept. 22, 2001

Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary or Defense, summed it up well on one of the Sunday morning talk shows last weekend. A newsman asked him if the attack on the Pentagon "was personal," since he had been in the building at the time.
"Of course, it's personal," Rumsfeld said, adding, "It's personal to all Americans."
Indeed, every one of us has been profoundly touched in one way or another by the massive terrorist assault of Sept. 11 which destroyed the World Trade Center in New York, damaged the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., claimed thousands of lives, and left many others severely injured.
Numbing shock, horror, disbelief, fear, anger -- these and other emotions came in a torrent. It all seemed so unreal.
The day started out normal enough. I had a few minutes that morning before time to make the short trek from the parsonage to our church, so I flipped on a cable news channel a little before 9 a.m.
To my stunned amazement, I saw one of the World Trade Center's twin towers ablaze, amid reports that an airplane had crashed into it. I decided to take a portable radio with me to the office so I could keep up with the news.
As I listened to the radio, shock turned into horror when another airliner smashed into the trade center's other tower, setting it on fire, too. And when word came that another hijacked plane hit the Pentagon, and that at least one other hijacked plane was unaccounted for, I felt really afraid -- and not only for our nation. You see, our daughter, Judy, and her husband live in downtown Washington, and Judy also works in the heart of D.C. Not knowing the extent of the assault, I feared they could be in mortal danger.
I ran back home as quickly as possible to compare notes with my wife. We decided to try reaching Judy by telephone at work, but all the circuits were busy. Then we sent her an e-mail at work. Not long after that she called to let us know that she was all right. She said she could look out her window at work and see smoke in the distance. . . .
What a harrowing day -- a life-changing day for all of us, and our country.
Sept. 11 also began a challenging time for clergy around the nation, as we moved in various ways to meet the pastoral needs of our communities in a time of national crisis.
As the day continued, I knew some sort of response was essential, but I felt uncertain where to begin. I prayed to God that direction would be given, and I was relieved when our United Methodist bishops called on UM churches around the nation to conduct special prayer services and prayer vigils.
But it wasn't just a Methodist response. Throughout the land, churches, synagogues and mosques opened for services and prayer vigils. We the people -- the people of God -- began storming the gates of heaven with our prayers, perhaps as never before.
Already, it seems, God is bringing great good out of radical evil. He has done it before. He took the death of his Son, Jesus, whose crucifixion was the greatest injustice of all time. And God took that moment of defeat, failure and disgrace, and turned it into the greatest blessing of all time.
Jesus taught that the way to defeat evil -- to truly defeat it -- is to overcome it with love.
We have already begun to do that in this country. And we will overcome this great evil with love -- as we continue uniting to help each other, swelling with love of God and country -- and with love for each other.
It is not too late for America to once again be one nation under God.
And God will not forsake us.