Five Years Later

Judges 7:13 Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. "I had a dream," he was saying. "A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed."

I can remember on one of my Sunday School teachers flannel-graphing this part of Gideon’s story in church. She had colorful cartoon characters of the Midianite army, with Gideon and his friends hiding behind a rock. And then she placed a small round barley loaf on top of a hill and rolled it down into the Midianites. Then she quickly replaced the Midianite army with a picture of them all running away in disarray. We all cheered in the classroom because we knew that Gideon was going to win the battle.

I wonder if some people, some school-children in the Middle East also experienced the same kind of exhilaration when they saw televised pictures of the two planes hitting the Twin Towers. Did they feel as though they had struck a blow at the heart of the mighty US empire? Did they cheer and praise God for what they had achieved? Sadly, I guess that some of them did and no doubt they will grow up with that “victory” and use it in their folklore, personal stories, and great Islamic achievements for generations to come.

Things changed for all of us after 9/11. The world hasn’t been the same. We live under the shadow of terrorist attacks, military occupations, and the loss of some of our constitutional rights in our zeal to protect ourselves with homeland security. Sometimes we can be our own worst enemies and as we remember the atrocities that took place five years ago, we may once again feel the burning anger and intense fear of that fateful day.

But how do we respond as Christians? Should we remember the devastation, the terror and the injustice? What should we be doing to make this a part of our folklore, tradition, and history? For followers of Christ, there’s only one real answer.

“Love your enemies,” said Jesus. On September 11, 2006, are we willing to accept His words and practice them?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, our hearts and minds are still wounded from the events of 9/11. Our national pride and American spirits were severely dented by the horrific violence that took place. At some point we will have to come to terms with all of this and learn how to cope with such a disaster. We’ll also have to re-learn to read and receive Your challenging, radical, and disturbing call of loving our enemies. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.