Never Forget

Eight years ago today we witnessed the truly horrific. I was working for a manufacturing company in northeastern PA and my wife was working for a government office outside of Philadelphia. That morning I was helping some folks who were having computer problems. When I overheard someone say something about a plane flying into a building in New York City. Seeing that we were only 90 minutes or so from the city, I went to watch the television coverage of the morning events. At first we thought it was just an accident ... and then the second plane hit. We knew then that our country was under attack.

Today, we remember those who were senselessly killed. We honor those heroes who gave their all to help save some knowing full well that they themselves might not be saved. And we also reflect on the aftermath of those events: the wars that they have led to, the over-reaction of hating all things Muslim, the insistence of some religious leaders that this was God's judgment on our nation for tolerating certain sins, my own initial reaction of wanting justice (or was it vengeance) to be brought to those responsible.

In that reflection we must begin with the understanding that nothing we say or do can erase the past. Things have been done and decisions have been made and we must deal responsibly with the consequences of those actions. And while we can't change the past; hopefully we can learn from it. I will not take the time to expound upon that which I think our government should have learned from these events ... that would take way too long and I don't think Uncle Sam reads my blog. Instead, I'm going to focus on what the Christian Church should ponder.

In the days and weeks after the attacks I heard Christians say that we should turn the Middle East into a parking lot. I heard sermons preached on the "Just War Theory". I heard television preachers say that this was God's judgment upon this country because of its acceptance of various sins including homosexuality and pornography. I perceived that some Christians were truly fearful that we might one day become the United Muslim States of America. I heard the indirect questions of "Where is God, and whose side is He on anyway?"

It's actually that last question that is the most dangerous for a Christian. Once we begin to ask that question, we have already imposed so many assumptions on God that it's no wonder that it feels like we are drowning in an ocean of doubt. And doubt we did. But the problem is that we were asking the wrong question from the get-go.

This morning Professor Jerram Barrs preached to the Covenant Seminary community on Joshua 5:13-15.

13When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" 14And he said, "No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, "What does my lord say to his servant?" 15And the commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

This episode in the life of Joshua comes just before the famous battle of Jericho. But notice that Joshua, on the very verge of a battle that God had instructed him to fight, asks the same question this pre-incarnation of Jesus that we ask of God today, "Whose side are you on?" And the answer is "No." God does not exist to serve our interests, even when we are acting on his behalf. Instead our focus should be on holiness of God and our worship of him.

Let there be no mistake. The events of September 11, 2001 were evil. I am not calling into question the subsequent actions of our government - enough people are already doing that to serve their own agendas. But as the chosen people of God, we need to learn from our immediate reactions to that event. We need to see, in our own lives, where we did not respond with a heart of worship. The emotions of that day and the days following were fraught with intensity. But in those raw emotions, we dare not ask, "Whose side is God on anyway?" Because God's answer is, "No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come." He calls us first to worship. Joshua still went to battle, but Joshua did not make the walls fall down - God did.

So on this day when we remember the fallen heroes, let us also remember that even in the midst of evil, our first calling is to worship God.