Reflections on tragedy and recovery

No surprise to anyone that we just passed the 10th anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.  Our country has been building up to this memorial observance, and not surprisingly, controversy has surrounded celebrations.  And yet, as I watched on television and attended local worship services and remembrances, I am struck by the level of spiritual depth that surrounded the days' proceedings.

I love that ceremonies at the three crash sites public officials and ordinary people shared scripture, songs, prayers and personal reflections, most of which were deeply rooted in the spiritual language and meaning.  I was touched and moved by the silences, which allowed those watching to remember the day in their own ways.  I love that in interviews with architects and builders and project managers they talked about an  investment in helping the country heal and recover from the tragedies, but never at the expense of sweeping the horrible facts under the rug.

I love that when I went to an interfaith service in my DC suburb, we prayed in English, Hebrew and Arabic.  We listened to reading from the Old and New Testaments, the Talmud and the Koran. We heard testimonies from those who survived the Pentagon attack and wonderful poems written espeically for the occasion.  We prayed in unison and read responsively.  And in the end we sang together, "God Bless America"... all of us - Christian, Muslim and Jew.  It was just right.

I want so badly to be able to say something profound... to be able to quote scripture or a famous author that would make all that has happened in the world make sense.  But all I can think of is having the feeling deep in my soul that I was not meant to understand it all at once - the pain, the suffering, or even the solutions to the problems we share.  Gradually the question, "Why did this happen?" is replaced with "How do I respond?"  And in the meantime I have come to believe that I can only live life one day at a time, and be ready to be an instrument of God's love and grace in all things.  Believe me, it's a work in progress.

Peace, Deb

2 Peter 3: 8-13 "Don’t let it escape your notice, dear friends, that with the Lord a single day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a single day.  The Lord isn’t slow to keep his promise, as some think of slowness, but he is patient toward you, not wanting anyone to perish but all to change their hearts and lives.  But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that day the heavens will pass away with a dreadful noise, the elements will be consumed by fire, and the earth and all the works done on it will be exposed.  

         Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be? You must live holy and godly lives, waiting for and hastening the coming day of God. Because of that day, the heavens will be destroyed by fire and the elements will melt away in the flames.  But according to his promise we are waiting for a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness is at home."