Reflections on 9-11
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
Psalm 46
September 11, 2011
David C. Wright
By this time ten years ago on Sept. 11, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center had fallen, the Pentagon was burning, and United Flight 93 had crashed into a field near Shanksville, PA after brave passengers and crew wrestled the hijackers for control of the plane in the cockpit.
We were just beginning to come to terms with the fact that our nation had been viciously attacked, and we worried about what was coming next. As the shock and grieving began to recede following the attacks, the nation was left to grapple with several issues. We were confronted with the reality and power of evil- the fact that people could hate us so much was a shock to us.
We were also confronted with our own vulnerability. Our nation has rarely been attacked on our own land. We were threatened with such attack during WWII, but except for Pearl Harbor, the threats didn’t become a reality. Our wars in Korea and Viet Nam, as well as the Cold War with the Cuban Missile Crisis, never reached our homeland. Even our military was not prepared for an attack on our own soil on 9-11. Did you know that we had no armed fighter jets available to intercept Flight 93 after it turned toward Washington, D.C.? Not one! We weren’t prepared for such an attack. But 9-11 confronted us with our own vulnerability, right here at home.
A number of years ago, a friend of mine took a group of novice skiers out West to teach them to ski. On the first day, there was a dense fog enveloping the entire mountain. After a couple runs down the bunny slope, Bob took them up the lift to the top of the mountain anyway. Little by little they made their way all the way down the mountain. All of them were excited by their progress! The next morning brought a beautiful clear day. They took the same ski lift up the mountain. Bob pointed them toward the same trail back down. But something was different. This time they could see how steep and long the trail really was. That had all been obscured by the fog on the previous day! Some of them were too afraid to go down the mountain! Bob said it took a lot of convincing to get them to ski down the same trail they had successfully skied the day before!
I wonder if the events of 9-11 are a little like that. Prior to 9-11 we had been living with a false sense of security, blinded to the possibility that an enemy could harm us here at home. After 9-11, the fog lifted, and we could see how dangerous things really are. And that deeply unsettled us!
These events created a spiritual crisis. Some wondered where God was during these attacks. If we are a nation that is special to God, why didn’t God protect us? And, what does it mean to rely on God for our security and safety in a world plagued by persistent terrorism? How can we find a sense of security in such a world? And, finally, what do we do with the fear and anxiety that hangs over us? These are spiritual questions, to which we in the church ought to have answers.
As I thought about these questions, I was drawn to the 46th Psalm, one of my favorites. The Psalmist and his nation, Israel, were grappling with similar issues, and I think we find some answers to our questions in it.
Let’s take the Psalm one section at a time. The first three verses read,
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
The Psalmist affirms that God is our refuge and strength, even in the midst of profound troubles. He states that even if the earth itself would begin to fall apart, God can still be trusted to be our refuge and strength. Notice that there is no promise here that God’s people will always be spared from trouble or attack. The earth will still shake at times, and when it does, everyone will be shaken with it. The promise is that God is sovereign and can be trusted to be our refuge.
Several years ago, my family and I, along with some friends, were hiking high in the mountains of southern Colorado, up near the continental divide. We were enjoying the wildlife and flowers and the spectacular views, when suddenly we noticed a growing dark cloud rapidly moving toward us. We began moving quickly down the mountain, hoping to get off of it before the storm hit. But we were too late. A violent thunderstorm overtook us with heavy rain, strong winds, and lightning all around us. Some of the lightning strikes were so close, we could smell the burning wood on the trees next to us. It was a dangerous situation and we were terrified by the power of the storm. We would have given anything for some kind of shelter from the storm, but there was none to be found, so we continued on down the mountain. By the grace of God, we made it safely to our cars, soaked, cold, dirty, and grateful.
Sometimes life is like that. Unexpected, strong storms come into our lives, some far beyond our ability to cope- that’s the reality of life. But the Psalmist assures us that God will help us in the midst of trouble- that he will be our refuge.
Let’s continue in the Psalm.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns.
6 The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Here, the Psalmist describes the city of God- Jerusalem- as a place of security, because God lives there! It is a place where people could feel safe. I believe the issue of security is perhaps the biggest national and spiritual issue that came out of the attacks on 9-11. As the Gettysburg Times headline asked this week, “Are We Safer?” That is the question that has preoccupied us for the last ten years. As a result, we created a huge bureaucracy, the Department of Homeland Security. The CIA became directly involved in waging war, a new development, and its counterterrorism unit now has more employees than Al Qaeda has members! We entered two wars, which have drained us financially and cost us dearly in lives and injuries. We have compromised our values, engaging in the torture of prisoners. We boosted defense spending to the point that we now spend more on defense than the next 14 nations combined! That is an astounding statistic, isn’t it? Our defense budget is more than the next 14 highest spending nations combined.
All of this is a quest for security, which appears to be becoming a god to us. We seem willing to sacrifice anything to the god of security. But the problem is that it’s never enough. We can never be completely secure. I fear that our unbridled quest for security is an unquenchable thirst that is doing us and others great harm. Yes, we must do what we can to protect our citizens, but the quest for absolute security is a dangerous one.
The Psalmist takes a different approach. Even though the nations are in an uproar and kingdoms are tottering, even though there is no outward sense of security, he recognizes that God is still in control. His ultimate sense of security lies in the fact that “the Lord of hosts is with us.” That word “hosts” means “armies!” The Lord of armies is with us! The Psalmist’s sense of security is not found in the number of chariots or shields Israel has produced. It is found in the fact that God is with them. Where do you find your sense of security in a world such as ours? Where do we find it as a nation?
Let’s finish the Psalm.
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord; see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
10 "Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth."
11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Verses 8 & 9 are a little obscure. I think they mean that God is putting an end to these wars by destroying the armies and their weapons. One of the things we’ve learned from our interventions in both Iraq and Afghanistan is that military power has limits in what it is able to accomplish. All of our superior weaponry and training has not been able to put a stop to the destruction and havoc brought about by the poorly- equipped, uneducated Taliban. And our efforts at rebuilding the nation of Iraq are precarious at best. Now I am not a pacifist. There are times when the use of lethal force is a necessary evil in our world. But I believe that military power must be exercised with great caution, recognizing that it has limits and that its use can bring about unintended consequences. The Psalmist seems to understand that.
So what do individuals like us do in the midst of war and uncertainty and insecurity? I love the counsel of the Psalmist in the last two verses, “Be still and know that I am God!” Let’s stop right there. When was the last time you were still before the Lord? Most of us are so busy that we rarely stop to be still and know anything! And when we have leisure time, we look to be immediately entertained- by TV, movies, books, music, or whatever we can find on the internet. That is not healthy for our souls. We need to learn how to be still and know God. That is where our inner sense of security can be found. You can do that by reading a few verses of Scripture each day- perhaps from the Psalms or the gospels, and then reflecting on them. Then take your concerns to the Lord in prayer. “Be still and know that I am God,” says the Lord.
One time, Oliver Cromwell’s personal secretary traveled to the European continent to conduct some important national business. Troubled by the matters before him, the secretary did not sleep well that night, but he noted that his servant slept soundly. In the morning he asked the servant how he could sleep so well, knowing the momentous matters they faced.
“Did God rule the world before we were born?” asked the servant.
“Certainly, he did,” replied the secretary.
“And will God rule it again after we die?” inquired the servant.
“Yes, he will,” responded the secretary.
“Then why not trust God to rule the present as well?”
I must admit that I’m not always able to act and feel like God is in control. I lose sleep at night sometimes when things aren’t going well. But our hope lies in the One who is more powerful than all the forces of hate and evil in our world. In fact, that hope lies at the heart of Christian faith. On Sept. 13, 2001, an exhausted excavator was working to clear the massive wreckage of the twin towers, when he saw an astonishing sight. A massive 17 foot cross beam, weighing over two tons, had been forced upright in the midst of the devastation with a shorter cross-member still attached. It formed the unmistakable symbol of Christian faith- a cross. The cross reminds us of the day when the forces of evil and hate succeeded in torturing to death the only truly good man ever to live among us. On that day, it appeared that evil had won the victory and that we would be forever under its power. But it was only Friday, and Sunday was still to come. God was still in control. And God is still in control today, working behind the scenes to conquer evil and bring about justice in our world. Can you trust him?
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