The Very Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
My sermon this morning is an adaptation of the sermon I preached on this particular Sunday 15 years ago. It has been 15 years since what Pope John Paul II labelled the “unspeakable horror” of the terrorist attacks on this country in New York City, Washington D.C., and on Flight 93. The Sunday after it happened churches across this nation were filled by people seeking comfort and guidance. This church had record attendance for a Sunday in early September.
Predictions were made then that life in the United States would never be the same. Those predictions have come true, not just for the United States, but for the world. President Bush declared a War on Terrorism that has not ended. An entirely new department of the federal government was established, the Department of Homeland Security, and daily acts of terrorism throughout the world have become a regular occurrence.
Our peace was shattered by that first attack on the continental United States since the War of 1812. At the same time we were humbled and inspired by acts of heroism coming to light: people on Flight 93 who thwarted the designs of the terrorists on that plane, causing it to crash in an unpopulated area; rescue workers who gave their lives while trying to save the victims of violence; people who risked their lives in the hope of finding survivors. The comparatively small damage caused by tropical storm Gabrielle in our own area eerily proclaimed the sadness we felt over that great tragedy.
I chose to begin our worship that day with the Great Litany, which has been used for hundreds of years in times of distress. The color purple was chosen, then and today, to proclaim our mourning for those who lost their lives. We called upon the Lord to calm our fears, to strengthen our resolve to live as we pray, to comfort those in mourning, to receive into the arms of his mercy those who died, and to guide and direct our leaders, especially President Bush, and those who gave him counsel.
Dora Thomas, who hosted a Bible study at her home for some of our young people on Friday mornings, said that the question she knew she would be asked was “How can God allow such a thing to happen?” That question has been on the lips of many over the last fifteen years. The fact is that God has given us all free will. We can use the life God has given us to love others and to serve him, or we can choose to live according to our own selfish wills. Whenever we choose the self-centered option, the result is that others get hurt. There is no sin without social consequences. Free will means that God has also given us the freedom intentionally to hurt others, and history is replete with examples of our inhumanity towards our fellow human beings. Terrorists choose to kill innocent people out of the hatred and violence in their hearts.
Thus, the question is not “How can God allow such a thing to happen,” but “How can another human being do such a thing?” That’s a question to which there are no ready answers. What degree of hatred could bring about such devastation? What degree of hatred could cause others actually to rejoice that such a thing has happened?
What should our response be to such evil acts? Our nation has been resolute in bringing the perpetrators to justice. We continue to pray that God will give wisdom, courage, and strength to our leaders. We must pray for the victims of terrorism, for their families, friends, and coworkers. We pray for peace in the human family; that such things will cease to happen. We pray that the love of God, seen most clearly in our Lord Jesus Christ, will so penetrate our lives that every thought, word, and deed will spring out of that love. And finally, we must pray for those who wish us harm.
In his Parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus tells how the shepherd leaves the 99 sheep that are safely gathered, to go after the one that is lost. People who engage in acts of terror are the very definition of lost. They are so lost that many of them believe that God wants them to do what they do and rewards them for it. Like the shepherd seeking the lost sheep, God wants these lost ones to respond to him. We must pray that they will respond to God whom they have put so far from their spirits.
There are many questions without answers, but as Christians, there is one thing that we know and that remains no matter what the circumstance, and that is that God is love and in him is no darkness at all. In these dark days, may we ever remind ourselves of that reality and show it forth in our lives.
Charles Dickens said it so beautifully in his poem “Things That Never Die.”
Let nothing pass, for every hand
Must find some work to do,
Lose not a chance to waken love—
Be firm and just and true.
So shall a light that cannot fade
Beam on thee from on high,
And angel voices say to thee—
“These things shall never die.”
Sermon by The Very Rev’d Fredrick A. Robinson
Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota, Florida
Day of Remembrance
11 September 2016