Today is September 11, 2015. 14 years ago, a major act of terrorism struck our country, and the whole nation mourned over the tragedy of the lives lost.
I am sure that those of us who are old enough to remember, even if we were very young, are thinking of the fear and disbelief that fell upon us as we kept seeing those horrible repeated scenes on our TVs as we sought an answer to why this was happening.
A lot of us will feel anger and pain when we think back on this time for the years to come. But it is in these times that we must remember something else:
The pain of the terrorism that struck us is experienced throughout the world on a more frequent basis. There are communities and families who fear EVERYDAY of being killed, bombed, or crashed into.
This is not to minimize in any way the pain that we experienced from this event, but it is to say that Anger and Prejudice are worldwide afflictions. Normal people can become so angry towards a particular person, or group of people, that they start creating stereotypes, start dehumanizing them, and they start to see everything they do as inherently evil. Eventually, this hatred can breed evil action.
As Christians, the Gospel calls us to Love others, to forgive others, and to not harbor hate in our hearts towards anyone. Each one of us has the potential to become a hateful and evil person if we let anger take hold of our hearts and vision. Germany was once taken out of poverty by a leader they trusted and admired, and then that leader led the whole nation into evil, prejudice, and racism. Normal people became supporters of an evil reign because of fear, anger, and frustration.
So on this September 11th, as we mourn those lost, as we reflect on where we were 14 years ago, as we are still completely confused how the terrorists could be so angry and hateful against us, let us remember to continually fight against anger and hate in our own lives, and in our communities in which we call home.
Never Forget – September 11, 2001
Lamb Theology 