WHEN WE DON’T KNOW WHY

Scripture: Job 3, 21, 42; Romans 28

INTRODUCTION

More than a year ago, a close friend of mine in this church gave me a book written by E. B. White back in 1949. The book is entitled “Here Is New York,” and with a prophetic vision that must have raised some doubt and a certain amount of resistance back then, E. B. White put his pen to paper and wrote these words:

“This city, for the first time in its long history, is destructible. A single flight of planes is no bigger than a wedge of geese that can quickly end this island fantasy, burn the towers, crumble the bridges, turn the underground passages into lethal chambers and cremate millions. The intimation of mortality is part of New York now: in the sound of jets overhead, in the black headlines of the latest edition…

In New York, the fact is somewhat more concentrated…because, of all targets, New York has a certain clear priority, in the mind of whatever perverted dreamer might loose the lightning, New York must hold a steady, irresistible charm…

Along the East River…as though in a race with the spectral flight of planes, people are carving out the headquarters of the United Nations…and this race, between the destroying planes and the struggling parliament of humanity – it sticks in our heads. The city at last illustrates both the universal dilemma and the general solution, this riddle in steel and stone is at once the perfect target and the perfect demonstration of nonviolence, or racial brotherhood, this lofty target scraping the skies and meeting the destroying planes halfway, home of all people and all nations, capital of everything, housing the deliberations by which the planes are to be stayed and their errand forestalled…

Whenever I look at it nowadays, and feel the cold shadow of the planes, I think: ‘This must be saved’…” (“Here Is New York” by E. B. White, New York Bound Books, 1949, pages 54-56)

Who could every have imagined in 1949, that E. B. White’s haunting prophecy might come true? But it did happen, as all of us sadly know, on the 11^th of September, just one year ago today. As those jet planes, flown by terrorists, crashed into the World Trade Center Towers in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and a wooded field in western Pennsylvania, which might have been aimed at the United States Capitol Building, we Americans began to realize that the world as we once knew it would never be the same again.

Twelve months later, we are here to remember the men and the women who died, the families and friends who continue to deal with their grief, and the courageous acts of those who did their best to bring help and hope and relief in the midst of that terrible tragedy. Moreover, we are here to affirm beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the God in whom we believe is still working all things out and together for good, no matter how bad and dark and painful this past year has been.

In the Old Testament book of Job, that good and faithful man who lost almost everything in a devastating tragedy, cried out toward heaven, “Why me? Why my family? Why are these bad things happening?” And the mystery of that ancient story is that God never answers the question “Why?” but rather comes alongside Job in his time of trouble to let him know that he is not alone and that there is hope on the horizon.

Just so, since September 11 a year ago, we have not found adequate answers to all of our questions “Why did this happen to America? Why did so many people die? Why didn’t we see this coming? Why didn’t God protect us from this unexpected attack in the sky?”

But as God has come alongside us in our sorrow and pain, there are at least three questions which we can ask and which He will help us answer today, and the first is this: “Since September 11, how has my life changed?”

At first glance, that might sound like a self-centered question, considering the worldwide suffering, the global trauma, and the international repercussions which have afflicted and affected millions of people since September 11.

The truth is, we cannot, any one of us, fix what is wrong with our whole world. But we can look in the mirror and ask ourselves: “Am I more aware now of the needs of others? Have I reached out to help those who are oppressed and poor? Do I pray for the victims of hunger and war, and can I pray for our adversaries who have attacked us on our own shores?” Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount, “You have heard that it was said – love your neighbor and hate your enemy – but I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:43-44)

Do we have enough faith to follow His Word and can we let go of our desire for retaliation and let Him lead us toward reconciliation and peace? Since September 11, how has my life changed?

II.

And that leads to a second question: “Since September 11, what have we learned, as Christians and as Americans?”

Do we understand now, more than before, the sources of conflict and confrontation between religions and nations? Can we overcome our fear of those who are different from us, and in the name of Jesus, find ways to draw closer together instead of pushing and separating ourselves further apart? Have we tried to befriend any Muslims or Arabs or Jews who can help us discern and discover what we hold in common together instead of having to choose one side or the other?

Since September 11, how has my life changed? What have we learned? And, the final question is this: Where do we see and sense that God is at work in our world?

In a New York Times editorial from August 31, Peter Steinfels asked the question that we have all been asking during the past year: “Where was God on September 11?” In part, he replies that “God was right there, in the midst of the horror, especially in the heroism of many and the acts of self-sacrifice.”

I believe that is true and I have seen the evidence with my own eyes. Last month in New York, as I looked through the chain link fence surrounding ground zero, I saw a huge cross standing there in the center of the gaping hole that was once the World Trade Center Towers. It wasn’t put there by a firefighter or a policeman or woman or a rescue worker. No, it was left there after the skyscrapers came crashing down – two steel girders fused together by the heat of the flames, a cross forged in the fire of that infamous day.

That cross reminds us, in the midst of our sorrow, how God came down to earth long ago, to show us His love in the person of Jesus Christ, to suffer with us in the valley of the shadow, to forgive our sin and heal our broken hearts and to give us the courage to start all over again. And wherever we see acts of forgiveness and reconciliation, whenever we experience moments of healing and hope, it is then that we can know God is still at work in this world. “For there is nothing,” said the apostle Paul, “in all of creation that can ever separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.”

That is what we believe as Christians, and that is God’s word to all of us today. Victor Hugo believed it and put into words that offer us hope and can strengthen our faith:

“Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones. And when you have accomplished your daily tasks, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.”

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.