Luke 13:4-5 “Or
those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think
they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you,
no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
Like
most Americans who lived through 9-11, I can still hardly believe it. It was a
beautiful sunny morning which turned into a wicked and terrible day. We were
all stunned at the time and didn’t know why it was happening. It was a deadly
day where fear and alarm really tested our faith and allegiance to God.
This
morning, I watched a documentary about 9-11 and saw some things that I had
never seen before. Some unfortunate people, who were trapped in the burning
towers, jumped from the windows so that their bodies would be found. People on
the ground were absolutely horrified and helpless. One African American lady was
in tears, but through her sobbing she kept on praying, “O Lord, save their souls. O Jesus,
save their souls.”
That
was all she could do; that was all that she could pray, but it was a prayer of
hope from a helpless person. The people who died in 9-11 on the planes, in the
Twin Towers, at the Pentagon, or in a remote field didn’t deserve to die. They
were just like us and we are still just like them, trying to get through each
day of life safely and satisfactorily.
In
Christ’s time, people who died disastrously were thought to be terrible sinners
who had offended God and therefore they died horribly as a punishment for their
sins. When Jesus came, He changed that way of thinking. He told His people that
accidents happen, disasters occur, and terrible deaths take place but they have nothing
to do with human sinfulness or God’s wrath. People die because we are all human
and frail. However, Jesus did also point out that all of us perish and that our
souls may also be destroyed unless we repent of our mistaken ways.
I
don’t think that anyone who jumped from the Towers on that terrible day did so
without seeking God’s help and forgiveness. And I also believe that the simple
heartbroken prayer of the woman in the street below was also compassionately answered:
“O
Lord, save their souls. O Jesus, save their souls.”
Questions for personal reflection
Where was I and
what was I doing when the Twin Towers were hit on 9-11? What was God doing on
that day?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, let Your Spirit of
Compassion be near to those who lost loved ones on this day in 2001. Comfort
them as they quietly and painfully relive those terrifying moments on that
awful day. Help us to do what we can to commemorate and cherish those who were
lost. Keep us mindful of our own mortality and enable us to embrace Your forgiveness
and love. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.
John
Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. if
you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to traqair@aol.com.
Today’s
image is John’s latest 9-11 tribute drawing called “Still There.” It features
some of the firemen at Ground Zero raising a US flag to show the world that we
may have been wounded painfully as a nation, but we were not defeated. If you
would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8178/7974965148_1b1e34a867_b.jpg
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