What God Would Say to America
In Light of the Terrorist Attack on America
September 16, 2001
Rev. Gary A. Shockley
Cornerstone United Methodist Church
Those of us old enough to remember can tell you exactly what we were doing the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Most recently in our nation’s history we experienced the tragic bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma by one of our nation’s own citizens. And now an entire new generation will have fixed in their memories the events of September 11, 2001 or 9-11.
I was with a realtor looking at prospective property for church when news came of the first jetliner to hit Tower One of the World Trade Center. You remember where you were and what you were doing when you first heard the news.
When we awakened on September 11th we thought we knew exactly how our day would unfold. In an instant what we thought to be important--meetings we had scheduled, activities we had planned, tasks we looked forward to-- evaporated away into nothingness as we came face to face with our own mortality.
It is uncanny, maybe even prophetic, that the text I had planned weeks ago to preach on this morning is from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount--the second beatitude, from Matthew 5:4, “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” This verse came on the heels of last Sunday’s Word from God, “God blesses those who realize their need for Him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them.”
What WOULD God say to America--a nation in mourning right now? I’ve thought of little else all week. I purposely went out and mulled around Cranberry to talk to people and hear their stories. I confessed to one stranger during the interviews we taped, “I am the pastor of a local church faced with difficult task of preaching this Sunday. What do I say to the people who come to worship?” I felt I needed to begin by listening both to God and the people in my community before I committed anything to paper.
I wish I had something profound to say to you—maybe all that is profound has been said already. So let us turn our hearts again to God and consider in these next few minutes what God might say to America?
1. You seek to blame---but you need to trust.
It’s only natural that we would want to find the people who did this and strike out at them. It’s only human to want to find those responsible for this evil act and seek vengeance on them. But God calls us beyond what is “only human” and elevates our lives to a higher standard. God says in His word, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay those who deserve it. In due time they will slip. Their day of disaster will arrive and their destiny will overtake them.” (Deut. 32:35)
Vengeance is best left in the hands of a holy God. What we are to pray for is justice! We ask God to guide our nation’s leaders who have a responsibility to seek justice and do what is necessary to stand against this kind of evil. We ought to be praying that the actions they take will be wise, calculated, accurate, and strong.
It’s only natural for us in the face of such an event to ask, “Where is God? Why didn’t He stop this from happening? What didn’t He do something?” The answer is—we don’t know! This whole juxtaposition of human suffering and a loving God is beyond us. How can both exist?
The Bible says, “For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And even we as Christians also groan to be released from pain and suffering.” (Romans 8:22) The Bible is clear that God is not the author of the evil and suffering of this world. These things entered our world through sin, through our disobedience to the will and ways of God. The Bible says in Genesis 3:18, “Because of sin, nature itself was corrupted and thorns and thistles entered into the world.” God created us with free will and with that comes the freedom to choose what is right and what is evil. And because God loves us will not take that freedom from us.
Because of their sin 19 men were bent toward doing things out of their own free will, on September 11th, that would bring pain and suffering to our world.
Why didn’t God do something? How do we know He didn’t? Though the death toll in this is staggering we know it could have been far worse. God was present. God is present in the awesome display of heroism and love we hear about more and more each day. Out of the ashes of destruction God is bringing forth acts of mercy and compassion unlike anything we have ever seen!
In light of all this--It’s painful to hear the racial profiling—as it’s called—going on in our nation and around the world that would condemn an entire race or culture for the acts of a few of it’s members. To despise, threaten and even strike out against Muslims or people of Arab descent simply because of their faith or the color of their skin is a sin and will not be overlooked by God.
“Those who trust in the Lord are as secure as Mount Zion; they will not be defeated but will endure forever.” (Psalm 125:1) God would say to us: Put your trust in Me!
2. You feel alone---you need each other.
As soon as I could I drove to the conference center on Tuesday to be with Kim. There everyone was crowded around a television in shock at the horrors we were seeing. I remember, strangely enough, feeling very much alone. Even though the room was filled with people I felt lonely.
I cannot begin to imagine the terrible pain and loneliness the people of New York are feeling right now as they wander through the streets, in and out of hospitals, searching for their missing loved ones. Thousands of households have been devastated—forever changed-- by the loss of someone they love. Today they are lonely.
But one bright light in the midst of this darkness has been the unity people are experiencing all over the nation and around the world. Could you ever imagine the former Soviet Union standing with and working for the recovery of our nation? Or the verbal support and sympathy extended to us by Iran or Pakistan? In your wildest dreams could you ever think of politicians so fiercely divided over so many minute things unified in their leadership of our nation?
When tragedy strikes we may feel alone—but the Spirit of God draws us to each other and brings out the best in us! The petty things that once divided us no longer matter. The Bible tells us in Galatians 6:2, “Share each others troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ.”
Many of you have asked me, “What can I do to help?” We have been called upon by the United Methodist Church to respond with prayer and with our financial gifts through the United Methodist Committee on Relief. Through UMCOR 100% of what we give goes right to the need. Nothing is taken out for administration. The very day of this tragedy UMCOR representatives were on sight in NY and in Washington DC offering help to those communities. Beginning today and over the next several weeks we’ll be collecting your financial gifts to UMCOR. There is information in your worship folder about what you need to write in the memo section of your checks. I encourage these gifts to be over and above what you currently give to God’s work so we don’t diminish in any way the ongoing ministry of our church in our own community.
God would say to us: You feel alone…You have each other.
3. You want to feel secure…you need to have faith.
This tragedy has pointed out our own vulnerability as a nation. Our own naïve sense of security has been taken from us. Everyone of us wondered if we might be seeing the end of the world—the end of our own lives.
God would say to us, “If you want real security you have to have faith!” We have to build our life on something that can’t be taken from us—faith in God and in His Son Jesus Christ!
The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:13, “I have learned the secret of being happy at any time in everything that happens. I can do all things through Christ, because He gives me strength.” God wants us to:
a. Lean on Him for stability: “You, Lord, give peace to those who depend on You.” (Isaiah 26:3) “Such a person will not be overthrown by evil circumstances…He does not fear bad news, nor live in dread of what may happen. For he is settled in his mind that God will take care of him. (Ps. 112:6-7)
b. Listen to Him for direction: “I know what I am planning for you.” Says the Lord. “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
c. Look to Him for salvation: “We were really crushed and overwhelmed, and feared we would never live through it…we say how powerless we were to help ourselves; but that was good, for then we put everything into the hands of God, who alone could save us…And He did help us and saved us and we expect Him to do it again and again!.” (2 Corinthians 1:10)
We seek to blame…but we need to trust.
We feel alone…we have each other.
We want to feel secure…we need to have faith in God.
Let us meet God in silence…
Let us pray together the prayer Jesus’ taught us…
