The 10th Anniversary of 9/11

On that brilliant morning in early autumn, I was working at my desk at Forward Movement Publications in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Suddenly, my colleague George stuck his head in the door:  "A plane just crashed into the World Trade Center!"  In that moment I imagined a tiny Piper Cub, flown by an inexperienced sightseer, accidentally veering into one of the twin towers.  But within minutes my co-workers and I were glued to a small TV, watching an unfolding scene so horrible that my mind was reluctant to process what my eyes were seeing.
  

Soon we and scores of others in the downtown area gravitated toward Christ Church Cathedral.  We needed sanctuary; we needed to pray; we needed to be together.  As we walked in a daze along Sycamore Street, I noticed an odd sight – the steel doors of the parking garage across the street had been shut tight and sealed in the middle of a work day.  Nobody felt safe.

The dark consequences of that tragedy have continued to ripple out and shape us all.  But I was affected most personally when my son, who was only 15 on 9/11/01, was deployed to Iraq to lead a platoon providing "force security" for convoys traveling outside the wire.  The evening he returned from his deployment was bittersweet.  We were overjoyed that he had made it home.  But there would be no celebration, for that very night he packed his dress blues and drove to Geneva, Ohio for the military funeral of Michael, his friend and comrade – killed by an IED detonated by insurgents in Muqdadiyah, Iraq on July 21, 2010 – who, like thousands of others, did not make it home.

The tenth anniversary of 9/11 will arouse vivid memories of horror and heroism, and rekindle deeply-felt passions within and beyond the United States.  A multitude of voices will give expression to every conceivable thought and feeling:  from grief, humility, and forgiveness to jingoism, hatred, and revenge.  And, if you're anything like me, you'll suffer from the crossfire inside your own head and heart.  What will it mean for Gospel proclaimers to add our voices to this cacophony?  What will it mean for Jesus followers to not only remember, but to respond?

Our planet is polarized and dangerous.  Yet Jesus commands us to wade into the world and labor to break the brutal cycle of injustice, revenge, violence, and fear.  This is hard work.  It isn't easy to foster healthy dialogue, reconciliation, and collaboration anywhere, from the Church to Capitol Hill to our own circle of family and friends!  But it's necessary work.

On September 11, 2011 we will not be "first responders" but "ongoing responders."  This effort, as poet William Stafford once wrote, "will take us millions of intricate moves."  We have such a long way to go.  The path will twist and turn.  We will stumble and fall.  The light of hope will flicker like a guttering candle.  But we must keep the faith, and keep moving...