September 16, 2001 — Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Sixth Day of National Tragedy
Christ Lutheran Church of Columbia
Pastor Jeff Samelson
The Tragedy Reveals Us
with reference to
Romans 8: 31-35,37-39
I. "The Human Spirit"
II. What We Are
III. What We Need
IV. What We Do with What We Have
Show us your unfailing love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation. [We] will listen to what God the LORD will say; he promises peace to his people.… The LORD will indeed give what is good [Psalm 85:7-8,12a, NIV]. Amen.
Dear Americans, Dear Humans, Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
One of the comments that is frequently made about World War II and Adolph Hitler is that he made one very large miscalculation that ended up losing him the war. That error in judgment, people say, was to grossly underestimate the effect of the United States of America entering the war against Nazi Germany. He thought we were too far away to play much of a role. He thought the American people wouldn’t have much interest in defending foreign soil. He thought our armed forces and our industry were too weak to fight and support a war against his mighty Nazi Wehrmacht.
Whatever Hitler thought about us, he thought wrong. The bombing of Pearl Harbor by Hitler’s allies, the Japanese, woke up a sleeping giant. It gave this nation the resolve and determination to not only enter World War II, but to win it — in Europe and in the Pacific. We had the means, we had the men, and we had the character. The tragedy that began the war revealed us for who we were.
Now the tragedies we sum up with the name "World War II" revealed us in other ways, also. Most of us would sooner forget than remember them, but history records them too clearly — Auschwitz, the Rape of Nanking, the massacre in Poland’s Katyn forest, the bombing of London, the bombing of Dresden, the Bataan death march, Nagasaki, and many, many more. Tragedy reveals us more than we like to know.
Our lives have all been shaken by a new tragedy — really, a multitude of tragedies — coordinated, compounded, and continuing. All of a sudden the shock and horror of national loss, misery, and anger is not part of our history but today’s reality. It will be a long time before we’re really ready to look back and reflect on it all, but even now there are truths which stand out — scream out — for us to understand, hold on to, and remember. The tragedy reveals us.
I. One thing which Tuesday’s events and aftermath have revealed is that spirit and determination that just make you proud to be an American. Tears come to our eyes when we think about the heroism of those police and firemen who risked — and lost — their lives to the crashing towers while rushing to save the lives of others. Or the passengers on United Flight 93 who attacked their hijackers, determined that their plane would not be used as a weapon, knowing that their bravery guaranteed they would never see their families again. Or the seemingly limitless energy of the rescue workers in New York, struggling and toiling to move a mountain of rubble in the faint hope that even just one more father might be returned to his family, one more husband might see his wife’s smile again, one more… one more… just one more life.
And we share the steely, angry resolve of our President that justice be done. We applaud the spirit of sacrifice and unity of purpose that has gripped people all across our nation — rich and poor, black and white, young and old — did you see the flag waving and the crowds trying to flood the Red Cross with their blood? We know — we know — that we will pull together and rise above this tragedy. They won’t beat us; we will beat them. These acts of terror will bring out the best in us, and the world will learn again about what makes us the nation that we are.
I guess a humanist might call this the "triumph of the human spirit". That’s really what we’re celebrating. I don’t know how particularly American it might be, but it’s definitely human. Men, women, and even children are capable of acts of incredible courage, sacrifice, and heroism — and it really doesn’t matter that much what their nations, politics, or religions are. Truly, when God made man the crown of his creation, he made man a remarkable being, capable of wondrous acts of love, courage and beauty. With their response to these tragedies, the people of this country have clearly demonstrated the best that man can be.
II. I wish that that were a more cheering thought. There might be some people, somewhere, trying to cling to it for hope and comfort, or for meaning amidst the chaos, but it won’t help much. It’s not enough. It’s nowhere near enough, and you know it.
Because no matter how many acts of human love and heroism you might accumulate and celebrate, they all fade in the face of the awful fact that other human beings planned and perpetrated these despicable acts of horror. They weren’t escaped mental patients. They weren’t strung out on drugs. They were men like you and me — and look — look what we humans are capable of. The tragedy reveals us.
As shocked and horrified as we are by these wicked, amoral — indescribable — acts of terror, we Christians can’t really say we’re surprised. St. Paul in Romans brings together a collection of damning descriptions from the Old Testament:
“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:10-18, NIV)
The Holy Spirit’s not just describing our enemies with those words — he’s describing us — all of humanity — in our natural condition. We are all his enemies, Paul reminds us: "The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so" (Romans 8:7, NIV). In Ephesians he describes man’s natural state as "dead in [our] transgressions and sins, … we were by nature objects of wrath (Ephesians 2:1,3, NIV). Of himself, Paul says, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature" (Romans 7:18, NIV). David, in Psalm 51, confesses, "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me" (Psalms 51:5, NIV). And it’s all summed up in Romans 3:23: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God".
In short, we’re all sinners and all corrupted by original sin. We’re capable of doing all kinds of evil, and incapable of doing the right thing — and there’s nothing we can do to change it. Dead is dead, and people dead in their sins can’t suddenly wake up and decide to do good. We are slaves to sin, and unable to serve any other master.
We Christians understand this — about ourselves as well as others — and so we’re not surprised by acts of unprecedented evil. We know what we’re capable of. We know what we are.
III. And so this tragedy reveals in extreme contrast our need for a solution to the problem of sin. It reveals our deep and unyielding need for God, and for his salvation — which he gladly and freely gives to us.
Gives to us. Remember that, because that’s the only kind of salvation that can comfort us — now, or any time. Romans 6:23 — "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Ephesians 2:8,9 — "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast." If we were relying on some natural human ability to do good and get to heaven, we’d be lost, but God so loved the world that he gave his Son to save us. From Romans 5:
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6-8, NIV).
Got that? Do you believe it? Will you hold on to it and live by that faith? Jesus lived for us, died for us, and rose from the dead so that we too can live with him in heaven. If we die in an instant tomorrow or in a hospice 70 years from now, we can have confidence and joy. We know we’ll be with Jesus, because he took away all our sins, removed all our guilt, gave us his holiness and perfection, and promised that all who believe in him will rise just as he did on Easter morning. We preach Christ crucified; we confess a resurrection faith; we have the only true peace in the face of personal or national tragedy — we know that our Redeemer lives. [Job 19:25-27] What comfort that sweet sentence gives!
IV. Combine that knowledge and faith in Christ with the tragic events of the last week, and something more is revealed: we have something valuable that needs to be guarded, and needs to be shared.
There’s a bigger tragedy than having your life snuffed out in a ball of fire or the crush of a crumbling skyscraper. Going to hell is an even bigger tragedy — and to have had saving faith and lost it is damning foolishness. We are told countless times in the New Testament to hold onto, guard, and protect the faith that we have been given — it’s too valuable to risk losing. We dare not even set it aside for a moment, because we do not know when our last moment or the world’s end will come. Consider Jesus’ warning:
"Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back — whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the cock crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” (Mark 13:33-37, NIV).
How do you guard and hold onto your faith? You know: You nurture it with a rich diet of Bible study and Sunday worship. You strengthen it through the exercise of prayer. You protect it by avoiding false doctrine and its teachers. You reject sin and flee temptation. You partake of the Lord’s body and blood. And you keep on trusting God in all things. Keep watch.
And something too precious to risk losing is also too valuable to keep to yourself. Even if we didn’t have the Lord’s commission and his love in our hearts, we’d know that the gospel is a thing of priceless value that must be shared — and shared now, before it’s too late. Tuesday’s tragedy provided an awful and unexpected illustration to these words of last Sunday’s sermon:
Jesus [says]: "Work while it is day. Night is coming, when no one can work." … We can’t really know if we have a year left ahead of us. We can’t predict death, disease, accidents, or the end of the world. We don’t know how much time we have to do God’s work.
Neither do we know how many opportunities we have left. You may have 50 years left to share the Gospel with people, but tomorrow may be your friend’s or neighbor’s last chance to hear it. … We just don’t know what time or opportunities are left us, and so we work. We work because that’s what believers do, and we work now because night is coming, and then it’ll be too late to work.
There may be nothing left for anyone to do for the thousands of people who lost their lives on Tuesday, but we can still show our love — Christ’s love — for friends and strangers, for brothers and enemies — yes, even for Arab and Afghan Muslims — by sharing the gospel of their Savior from sin. Instead of being witnesses to the tragedy of their loss, we can witness to the grace and mercy of Christ — the good news that brings peace and gladness to every soul that trusts it.
The tragedy of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, has already revealed many things, but there is one thing still being revealed — our response. Beyond the initial terror and shock, anger and sorrow, and with the knowledge of our sin and God’s grace, what will we do? How will we show ourselves to be the church of Christ crucified? How will each of us live his or her life of faith?
That’s for you to answer. But in the meantime, and to strengthen your faith, the Holy Spirit wants to assure you that nothing can stand in the way of your life of faith. No terrorist can come between you and Christ, and no tragedy can disturb the peace or gladness of your soul. Listen, trust, and rejoice with what God reveals through Paul in Romans 8:
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:31-35,37-39).
This is the Word of God. Amen.
I ask you also this morning to listen and think about these words with which I end the sermon. You may have heard them many times before, but they are Scripture — they are God’s words. This is Philippians 4:7, and it’s not a wish, or a command, but a promise. It’s a statement of fact for all believers:
"The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Amen.
