Psalm 46
On September 12, 2001, we all woke up to a world that was vastly different than the one we greeted on the morning of September 11. The United States had suffered an attack by foreign terrorists, who hijacked four passenger jets and used them as missiles to strike targets in New York City and Washington, D.C. One of those jets was forced to the ground near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, as a result of an attempt by the passengers to take back control of the plane when they knew what had happened in New York and D.C. There were 2,996 people who died on September 11. People who had boarded planes to travel for business or pleasure. People who had gone to work in the Twin Towers or the Pentagon. Firefighters and police officers and other first responders. People who were watching from too close to the Twin Towers when they collapsed. And at the end of the day, the rest of us were haunted by the images we had watched on TV: planes crashing into buildings; people jumping from the buildings to escape the flames, some of them holding hands; buildings crumbling to the ground in a matter of seconds; people covered in dust and ashes; people running from the scene; searchers combing the wreckage for signs of survivors; flyers posted on fences and walls with pictures of the missing; and American flags flying at half-staff.
On September 12, we began trying to make sense of it all. For some people, it became a time to express our patriotism. There were flags flying on homes and on cars (if you could find one; stores quickly sold out). Mugs and other commemorative items were sold with the slogan “United We Stand;” I have a Christmas ornament that goes on my tree every year. People cried when they heard the national anthem or “God Bless America” being sung.
For other people, it was a time to look for the perpetrators and get revenge. It didn’t take long to identify the ones who were responsible for the attacks: a terrorist organization known as al-Qaida headed by Osama bin Laden. The President vowed to hunt down bin Laden and al-Qaida and make them pay for what they had done. And thus began the longest war that our country has ever been involved in. Not only did we go into Afghanistan, where it appeared al-Qaida was based, but we also ended up in Iraq for a while. We didn’t end up finding and killing Osama bin Laden until May 2, 2011, where he was hiding in Pakistan. And still our troops were in Afghanistan for another 10 years.
Back in America, some people took out their revenge on innocent Americans who just happened to look like the terrorists. Attacks on Muslims – and, indeed, on anyone who looked Middle Eastern, were on the rise. Even people from India or other countries were not safe. It is a sad commentary on the depths of people’s fear and anger that they would turn to violence against people who had nothing to do with the September 11 attacks in order to take out their own hostility.
For many of us, the days after September 11 were a wake-up call as to how people in other parts of the world really felt about our country. I was shocked at the images of people cheering when they heard what had happened, shouting and raising guns in the air and chanting “Death to Americans!” Many of them were, in fact, Muslims. And the reasons for their hatred are many: the wealth of our nation, seemingly at the expense of other nations; the consumerism of our country; the decadent lifestyle of many Americans; the way America inserts itself into the affairs of other countries around the world; and the arrogance of America. (These are not my opinions, these are the opinions of our enemies.)
Some people noticed how Americans came together as a country in the days after September 11. People were – or seemed to be – kinder to each other, more concerned for each other. Perhaps it was because so many people were connected to someone who was killed on that day. I was serving two small congregations in the rural part of South Carolina, and yet a cousin of one of my church members died in the World Trade Center. Not only did Americans come together, but more of them came together in churches. Pews were filled in the first weeks after the attack. People were looking to their faith and to God for help as they tried to deal with what had happened.
For me, as I tried to make sense of it all, I kept searching through my Bible, trying to find words to comfort myself and my parishioners, trying to find something that would help me understand it somehow. And I kept coming back to Psalm 46.
God IS our refuge and strength and is an ever-present help in trouble. I knew then and I know now that God is always with us. No matter how it feels or how it looks, God never leaves us, God never abandons us. Where was God on September 11? God was with the passengers and crew of American Airlines Flight 11 bound from Boston to Los Angeles. God was with the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 175 bound from Boston to Los Angeles. God was with the passengers and crew of American Airlines Flight 77 which took off from Dulles bound for Los Angeles. And God was with the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93 which left Newark for San Francisco. God was with the people in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. God was with the people in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. God was with the people working in the Pentagon. God was with the first responders in New York and Washington, D.C. God was with the families of those who died that day. And God was with all of us as we watched and prayed and wondered and grieved.
The psalmist proclaims, “Therefore we WILL NOT FEAR,” even though the very earth gives way beneath our feet. That is what it felt like on September 11, wasn’t it? Like the ground beneath us just gave way. Like the things we had always counted on just fell apart, like it was safe to go to work; it was safe to get on an airplane; it was safe to live in America; it was safe to be here. And just like the ground gave way, it almost felt like our faith gave way, because I admit it, I was afraid as I sat there in front of my TV for days on end. I was afraid for the first time in my life that I could be the victim of an attack by a foreign power in my own country. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be safe traveling anymore. I was afraid that no one could keep us safe. And yet, AND YET, my faith tells me not to fear. Why? Because God is present and is strong and is my refuge.
The psalmist wrote that God has the power to make all wars cease on the face of the earth. He will destroy the weapons of war. And then he will be exalted among all the nations and in all the earth. That is a wonderful vision for the ultimate future of our world. And it is the hope that I hold in my deepest heart. It is what brings tears to my eyes whenever I sing, “Let There Be Peace on Earth.” It is my dream for humanity. And one day, I believe it will come true.
But in the meantime, what gets me through, what makes sense of it all to me, is the instruction, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Eventually in 2001, I was able to quiet my spirit enough to sense the presence of God with me, the presence of God within me. I got still enough to hear God say to me, “Do not fear; I am with you. I am still God. That has not changed. That will never change. There is still something – someone – you can count on.” And that made all the difference to me then as I tried to make sense of it all. And it has made all the difference to me in the 20 years since then.
“Be still, and know that I am God.” No matter what is going on in our world right now, that sentence can still help us to make sense of it all. Many people are struggling with the ramifications of the decision to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan. While some are grateful that the 20-year war is ending, at least in some ways, others are angry that it seems we are abandoning the Afghanis who built a different kind of nation in these two decades. Some are grieving the loss of American military personnel in the war and wondering if their sacrifice was in vain, while others are grateful that no more lives will be lost. And there is the awareness that many other countries are now sheltering terrorist groups who would do us harm if and when they could. We also have a greater awareness of the terrorists who live among us, Americans who believe in white supremacy to the point of violence. But no matter what, may we remember the words, “Be still, and know that I am God,” and let them give us courage to face the future without fear. It may feel like the ground is falling out from under our feet, but the truth is we are standing on solid rock.
