Sermon by Dr. George Bryant Wirth

September 23, 2001

Scripture: Psalm 143; Romans 5:1-5

On the 12^th of September, the day after the terrorist attacks on our nation, the headline of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said "OUTRAGE!" I sat in a meeting that morning with a group of clergy and lay leaders from all around our city, and as we talked about the tragic and traumatic destruction in New York, Washington, D.C. and southwestern Pennsylvania, we struggled to find the words that matched our emotions.

"Outrage" was surely one of those words and "shock" was yet another. A minister in the group said that he, that we all felt "violated," and a businesswoman said that she was "numb" and "afraid." One of us had told his family that he was "confident" we would be all right, and someone else expressed a sense of "confusion" about why it had happened and "grief" for those who had died and for those who lost family members and friends.

As the flames and smoke still billowed out of the pit in lower Manhattan, as the sirens pierced the air around the blazing crevice in the Pentagon, as the rescue workers searched for clues in the wreckage of an airliner in the woods and fields below Pittsburgh, we, like all Americans and citizens of most other nations throughout the world, were trying to find, were looking for the words that described our reactions to the devastating horror which invaded our lives on the 11^th of September, 2001.

I.

In our Chimes newsletter this past week, I lifted up the questions which many of us are asking across America: "Is there any word about those who might have survived? Is there any word about who masterminded and carried out these evil and deplorable acts? Is there any word from our leaders about what we will do now to protect ourselves and to strike back at the enemy?"

Since President Bush’s address on Thursday evening, we have more clarity now than we did before about how we plan to respond, and I am proud of him and our national leaders for their courage, wisdom and firm resolve to pull together for what will surely be a long and difficult campaign here at home and abroad.

But the ultimate question which we as people of faith are asking is pointed toward heaven: "Is there any word from the Lord?" It was that same question which the people of Israel and Judah asked their prophets long ago as they were besieged by enemies who threatened to destroy them (Jeremiah 37:17). And over and over and over again, the first word which came back to those people was "trust" – trust in God, and He will guide and provide you with all that is needed to see this storm through.

Centuries before, King David faced the same situation, and as he got down on his knees, he looked up toward heaven and offered a prayer which is recorded in Psalm 143:

Those ancient words now resound in churches, synagogues and mosques, in homes, office buildings and schools throughout America, and the first word which has come from on high is "trust" – trust in God and He will help to see us through.

I re-discovered that word a week ago on Wednesday night, as we gathered here to pray, to read the scriptures and to sing the great hymns of faith. The verses of the 46^th Psalm stirred deep down in our souls as we read God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear…though the nations rage and the kingdoms totter…for the Lord of Hosts is with us.

And when we stood to sing "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," written by Martin Luther in the midst of the Reformation, I heard it as never before:

"And though this world with devils filled,

should threaten to undo us,

we will not fear, for God has willed,

His truth to triumph through us.

The prince of darkness grim,

We tremble not for him;

His rage we can endure,

For lo! His doom is sure,

One little word shall fell him."

At that moment, as this sanctuary was filled with praise and the presence of the Holy Spirit, I realized that the "one little word" Martin Luther had in mind was "trust" – trust in God, and He will lift us up from the pit, even from the gaping hole in lower Manhattan where New Yorkers will someday rebuild again. Trust in God, and He will strengthen our hearts, even those hearts that are full of sorrow and pain. Trust in God, and He will empower us to go on instead of giving up, which is the resolve we now feel every time we hear the grand and glorious refrain:

"Our Father’s God, to Thee,

Author of liberty, to Thee we sing;

Long may our land be bright,

With freedom’s holy light,

Protect us by Thy might,

Great God our King."

Christian friends and fellow Americans: the time has finally come for our generation to believe that the words "In God We Trust" are far more than a catchy slogan printed on our currency. "In God we trust" is the affirmation of faith and sacred promise which our forbears made when this country was founded, and we need to take hold of and stand firm upon that promise today.

II.

Is there any word from the Lord? If we listen carefully and prayerfully, the first word which He has given to us in this time of trouble and hour of need is "trust." And the second word I think we are hearing now, echoing out of heaven and reverberating all across this land is "unity."

As little children, we learned to recite at the beginning of every school day with hands on our hearts: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Somehow, in the twilight years of the 20^th century and at the dawn of a new millennium, we in America found ourselves struggling to stay focused on that vision. What we once pledged to be "indivisible" in this nation shifted toward protest and separation during the Viet Nam War. Political and ideological divisions between conservatives and liberals in Washington, D.C. became sharper and more intractable, and as all of us remember, our last presidential election reflected a country that was split right down the middle.

Sad to say, our religious institutions have been leaning in that same direction over the past 30 years. We have been caught up in controversial issues, embroiled in theological and biblical battles and have developed as "we versus they" mentality that has divided congregations and entire denominations into groups that seem to care more about their "cause" than joining hearts and hands with one another as the body of Christ.

But something happened on the 11^th of September that has suddenly and dramatically pulled all of us together. The terrorist attack which intended to divide us and destroy our national spirit has instead united us, revived our faith and called forth the best in America.

Our political, military and corporate leaders have rallied around the President and his Cabinet and pledged to them their full support. Congress isn’t arguing any more about tax cuts and protecting Social Security. Rather, they voted with firm resolve to put 40 billion dollars toward national and international security and to help get our economy going again. Firefighters, rescue workers and policemen and women, some of whom lost their lives as they tried to save others, they have rekindled the courage of a nation and become heroes before our eyes.

And just as it was after Pearl Harbor and the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, his brother Bobby and Martin Luther King, Jr., people of every race, color and creed have been pouring into houses of worship across this land to pray, to seek and to find the presence of God and to sing the great hymns that have inspired people down through the ages.

A week ago Friday, when the President called for a National Day of Prayer, more than 2500 people gathered in this church, filling the sanctuary, chapel and hallways, spilling out onto the front steps and sidewalks along Peachtree Street. (I must confess at that moment I wondered what would happen if we took up an offering!) But we weren’t here to offer our money. We were here to offer our praise to God and to come together in unity. And I saw it and felt it, as never before, and so did everyone else – unity! United we stand, divided we fall. That is and always has been the word from the Lord for the church, for all people of faith, for our nation and for the whole world. We as Arabs and Jews, as Americans and citizens of every other land, we belong to God’s human family on earth. And it is God’s intention, His will, that we live together in unity and in peace.

Which leads us to one final word which God speaks to us especially now, and the word is "hope." The apostle Paul, writing to the church in Rome, put it this way: We know that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us (Romans 5:3-5).

If we as Christians really believe that hope has been given to us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and that His Holy Spirit has the power to keep our hope alive, then all we have to do is receive it and hold onto it as we face the difficult days ahead.

Rudy Giuliani, Mayor of New York City, standing in the rubble of what was once the World Trade Center, looks into the TV camera and says with firm resolve: "We will rebuild!" That’s hope!

President George W. Bush, just 11 short months following his election, focuses his eyes, sets his jaw and speaks to the Congress and entire nation: "In our grief and anger, we have found our mission and our moment…We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail." That’s hope!

Christians, Jews and Muslims gathered in Washington’s National Cathedral, together with our leaders and representatives of many other nations, to pray to one God who loves the whole world. That’s hope!

Long lines of people, waiting to give blood. Truckloads of food, clothing and medicine headed for New York and Washington, D.C. The possibility of giving the Medal of Honor to those men who rushed the terrorists and probably diverted that fourth airliner from its destination of destruction. And a cartoon by Mike Lukovich in the Atlanta newspaper, depicting New York firemen at the gates of heaven with halos over their heads as one of them says, "We’ve reached the top!" (September 13, 2001). All of that, and so much more, is hope!

Is there any word from the Lord? Listen America, for He is speaking to all of us today. Trust in Him to see us through. Come together in unity as one nation under God. And hold onto hope, for just as the future is in His hands, so are we, and we need not be afraid.

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