| |
October 2001
We are changed
I
daresay that the events of these past five days has changed
each of our lives.
Most of us have been living these five days and describing
them in the context of what happened Tuesday morning, Sept.
11, 2001 .Where were you when it happened? Were you there?
Did you know someone who was there? Did they get out? Have
you heard from them? Have they found them? Were they in one
of the planes? What have you been hearing.seeing.reading.thinking.dreading?
How could.why would.we should.! OH, God! Each of us has a
story about these days, and our stories connect us to this
horrific sequence of events and to each other.
My story is about our daughter Rebecca, an attorney in human
resources at the Port Authority, sitting at her desk on the
sixty-first floor of Tower 1 at the World Trade Center. The
first crash caused the building to sway more than usual, and
though thinking the building was going down, Rebecca headed
immediately for the stairwell, and spent the next hour working
her way down the 61 flights to the ground .and safety.
She arrived outside, only to experience the imploding of the
building and the massive dust and debris coming her way. Again,
believing there was now no safe place, she ran east and north,
and is alive today.
Late that evening I witnessed her reunion with her one-year-old
son, Palmer, and her husband, Stephen. I wept with tears of
joy and deliverance, and I sobbed uncontrollably, as I thought
of those would not have this experience of reunion on this
or perhaps on any other night. There are indeed many stories
of rescue and deliverance that warm and gladden our hearts.
Tragically, there are far too many other stories filled with
the pain of injury, despair, loss, death, and stories that
seem to have no end at all. These stories, together with the
vivid pictures planted firmly in our mind's eye, bring gut-wrenching,
heart-rending responses from deep within us. In these past
few days we have seen and heard things which no human being
should ever experience.
In some real way we stand with Rachel, weeping for her children,
refusing to be comforted, because they are no more. And with
Jesus, looking over the city and weeping.
However, in these past few days we have also seen and heard
of things which have gladdened the human heart and given us
a sense of hope and pride and joy in the human enterprise:
the almost unbelievable passion and dedication and commitment
and bravery of the firefighters and police force and medical
professionals and union welders and construction workers with
all kinds of machinery.. and hands and legs and backs and
sweat and tears and love; the huge outpouring of volunteers
from every conceivable corner.the long lines of blood donors,
the services rendered and the money given and the prayers
offered. Indeed God has made us an awesome people, capable
of being bowed.but not broken.
Closer to home, the clergy and lay leaders of this diocese
have raised it up a notch, with extra opportunities for worship;
church buildings open for long periods of time, inviting people
to come in to pause and pray and weep and hope; clergy and
laity offering pastoral care.
As I talked with many of our clergy this week I was humbled
and grateful for their presence and dedication and love for
the ministry of reconciliation to which they have been called.
We are indeed richly blessed.
When the presence and power of evil is unleashed, touching,
indeed invading our lives, we turn to the only source of greater
presence and power, even God alone. The manifestation of that
presence and power for me is especially found in communities
of faith.and in the loving caring of individuals acting in
behalf of each other. This past week we have been witnesses,
perhaps even participants in, the presence and power of these
strong forces.
And how will all of what has happened play out in these days
ahead? There are some who see us on a Monopoly board.who see
all the dangers out there and just want to go back.back to
Go.collect our $200. and try to stay put.but you see, there
is no going back.What's done is done.We have encountered graphically
the presence and power of evil. Monopoly won't work.
The louder, stronger voices seem to want to play Clue.let
us gather all the clues we can find in a reasonable but expeditious
amount of time.and then with a grand flourish make an accusation."It's
Mr. Green, in the Library, with a Candlestick.and proceed
to remove his piece from the board.having removed evil from
the face of the earth! But we know, don't we, that removing
Mr. Green will not remove evil from the face of the earth.because
there is still Miss Scarlett, and Colonel Mustard, and Mrs.
White and and Professor Plum and Mrs. Peacock, and You.and
me.
Simply because your evil is so much more horrible than mine
does not allow me to completely discount mine.nor am I allowed
to believe that there can't be any connection between your
evil and mine. What are we to do?
Within the Christian community we believe that God loved us
enough to come among us, and at that coming the angels sang
of Peace on Earth, Good Will to All. Perhaps this is a time
when we need to rest beside the weary road and hear the angels
sing.in order that we might find the strength and resolve
and courage to rise up and give back the song which first
the angels sang.
A mother was reading the Christmas story to her child.the
child looked up at her mother and said, "Mommy, did the angels
sing when I was born?" Yes, child of mine, the angels did
sing when you were born.and you.and you.and you.and me.
As peace-makers and messengers of peace, we need to affirm
a call for justice, not vengeance, in order that our actions
not become part of the evil we deplore.
May you find the strength and the courage and compassion to
be faithful witnesses to the Glory of God. I am deeply honored
and privileged to serve with you.
(Excerpted from Bishop Croneberger's, homily which he preached
at a the service on Sept. 15 in Trinity + St. Philip's Cathedral).
 |
