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HOMILY FOR THE EUCHARIST FOR PEACE AND REMEMBRANCE
Trinity and St. Philip's Cathedral in Newark
The Rt. Reverend John Palmer Croneberger, Ninth Bishop of Newark
Saturday, September 15, 2001, 10 AM
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, September 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 sixty-one 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 the children and spouses and partners
and parents and friends who 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 within the congregation and the local community; 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 to those in need.
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. May I remind
you of your own need to be fed, and to find rest and refreshment in order that you might continue the good work
you have begun. We need to hold each other up in prayer as we work through this critical time in the lives of so
many. 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 .I want to close with the prayer I stumbled across in the Book of Occasional
Services: "Almighty God, by the radiance of your Son's appearing you have purified a world corrupted by sin:
We humbly pray that you would continue to be our strong defense against the attacks of our enemies; and grant that
whatsoever has been stained or defiled through the craft of Satan or by human malice,
may be purified and cleansed by your abiding grace; that this place, purged from all pollution, may be restored
and sanctified, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen."
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