Dark clouds roll across the cities of Washington and New
York caused by the evil acts of cowardly and unknown
people. The victims of this violence were janitors,
secretaries, corporate executives, businessmen and woman,
construction workers, tourists, mom, dads, children, friends
and neighbors. They were everyday people like each of us.
The images of the planes and their impact, the explosions
that followed, and the collapse of the World Trade Center
will be forever etched in our minds. Years from now people
will say, "Where were you when the terrorists struck the
World Trade Center." Sadly, we will all remember.
It was about 10:00AM on Tuesday morning. I turned on the
radio in my car as my wife Jeana and I began a trip home to
the Eastern Shore from Richmond, Virginia. Jeana had been in
an orientation about a mission trip she will be taking to
China in October. That was when we heard the NEWS!
For the next three hours we listened, wept, prayed, and even
shouted in anger. We listened to the unfolding reports with
horror and sadness. I've since seen the pictures of what
happened. In a strange way the radio was more intense. The
descriptive comments and the quiver of emotion in the
reporters' voices caused more shock and sorrow than did the
pictures. And the pictures were horrific.
Like many of you, I shudder with each new video that
surfaces revealing new and more powerful images of airplanes
penetrating the World Trade Center. I still hold my breath
each time I watch the twin towers of the World Trade Center
collapse, forever changing the New York skyline.
Like many of you, I have friends in Washington, DC. I have
friends in New York City. I am praying daily for their
safety and sanity.
It is not an understatement to say that so much has change.
They had to hide my president for a entire day to keep him
safe. That's never happened before. And when I look toward
the heavens expecting to see the gas clouds caused from
commercial airliners, the sky were strangely still and
silent.
Jeana and I arrive at the Bay Bridge Tunnel. We were sent
through one car at a time under the careful watch of police
officials. I don't thing that there was any real danger or
threat. The police were just trying to be cautious. Or
perhaps they were just trying to do something, anything, to
feel like they were a part of the rescue efforts taking
place so many miles away.
When we got back to Nassawadox around 1:00PM, and went
immediately to the school to get our children. We did have
too. We were not exactly afraid for their safety. I think
we just realized that in this world we can't take anything
for granted anymore. We hug them tightly--tighter than they
have ever been hugged before. I weep a little more.
At home I get word that my brother--a Sergeant in the Army,
stationed in Korea--is okay. He's now--like the rest of the
military--is on high alert. We know he's safe, but for how
long? I pray for him--and for others in our military. I
weep a little more.
There are sketchy reports about lights blazing in the skies
over Afghanistan. The thought is that they might be
harboring terrorist responsible for planning this action.
I've since learned that these lights were not the result of
a military action from our country. I know that such an
action will eventually come against somebody someplace. I
weep and pray even more. Now I find myself praying even for
these enemies. They are now my enemies. I know that God
loves them--even if I can't right now.
Finally I paused to take a deep breath and wonder: "How
should I respond in the face of such tragedy?"
As a Christian Pastor I find myself drawn to the teachings
of Jesus. He is the one I believe to be Savior. He is the
one whom I follow as Lord. He is the one whom I trust as my
very Life.
In a time of such tremendous sorrow--a time that will
certainly be followed by tremendous frustration, fear, and
immense anger--it is important that I turn to Jesus
teachings and the presence of Holy Spirit within me to guide
me. It is also important as a Pastor that I try to turn the
thoughts of others to His words as well.
Here's what He said in His most famous address, commonly
called: "The Sermon on the Mount!"
1. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be
comforted."
2. "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy."
3. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called
children of God."
4. "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
5. "Strive first for the kingdom of God and his
righteousness."
6. "In everything do to others as you would have them do to
you."
7. "Everyone ... who hears these words of mine and acts on
them will be like a wise man who builds his house on rock."
These words of Jesus draw my heart closer and closer in this
hour. These notes have stuck a cord in my soul in this so
apparently sinful and evil world. We live in a world where
anger leads to more anger, violence leads to more violence,
injustice produces more injustice, and vengeance produces
nothing than more vengeance.
I don't want to be caught up in that cycle. I need the
words of Jesus to keep me steady. I need the Spirit of
Jesus to break that vicious cycle of violence within me. I
know that without Him I have no hope of breaking free.
As I reflect on these words of Jesus, here are some random
thoughts that come to my mind:
This is not a time for a Holy War. In fact, there is no
right time for such an engagement.
This is also not a time for quick and thoughtless
retaliation strikes.
We must not demonize anyone based on his or her ethnic
heritage.
We must not be too quick to move from our grief to action.
We need to take the time to weep. We need to take time to
really mourn if we are to ever know comfort.
We need to remember that the world is not more evil or less
safe than it was two days ago. The only thing that has
happened is that the violence that entered the heart when
people left God's sight has only become more apparent to our
national and personal consciousness. The illusion of safety
has been revealed for what it really is. Maybe is was the
destruction of this illusion that prompted the Psalmist to
say, "Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we
will trust in the name of the Lord our God."
We must remember that what we are experiencing for the first
time has become a daily way of life for people in Israel,
Palestine, the Sudan, Northern Ireland, and many other
places. The fight to end terrorism must not stop once we
are safe in this country. The fight must continue until ALL
PEOPLE everywhere are safe.
And when the time comes to use force to establish justice in
this world--and that time will come--we must undertake that
task resolutely and definitively, but with a profound sense
of sadness. There will never be anything about this event
that should cause us to rejoice. This event is now and will
always be too tragic.
And finally, we must not abide in our presence the lies of
prejudice that would attribute responsibility to whole
groups of people based on their race, color, or religion.
Already the ignorance of those who attacked us has led some
of our people to ignorantly attack others in our land
because of their ethnic or religious heritage.
The day after the attack I was standing in line at K-mart
and overheard two women talking. One lady said to the
other, "I think we ought to wipe out all those Arabs."
"I think you're right," the other woman replied. Those
Muslims are such violent people. We ought to just kill them
all."
Think about the perverse logic in that statement. "They"
are so "violent" that "we" ought to "kill them."
In case you have not heard, not all Arabs are Muslim. Some
of them practice no religion. Others are my Christian
brothers and sisters. Some of them are Buddhists. I've
even met one Arab person who had converted to Judaism.
In case you have not heard, not all Muslims are Arabs. In
fact, many Muslims are neither of Arabic or African descent,
but are white folks of European ancestry.
In case you have not heard, not all Muslims are militaristic
fundamentalists. The facts are that many of them are just
simple folks like many of us, folks just trying to get by.
In 1986 I visited the Middle East, including Jordan, Syria,
and Egypt. From Egypt we went to Jerusalem. While in the
beautiful city of Damascus, Syria I visited a shop and
purchase this plate.
On which there is a picture of Jesus and His disciples at
the Last Supper. The shop owner sold this plate not because
he was a follower of Jesus, but because it was a top selling
item to western tourists like myself.
The owner of the shop was a Muslim man named Amar. He kept
watch over the shop with his younger brother. His younger
brother seemed especially interested in talking to my two
traveling companions, beautiful young blond-haired women.
After a few minutes of conversation, Amar invited us to come
to his home for dinner that evening. Obviously we were a
little nervous. We'd been conditioned to think of every
Arab Muslim as a terrorist. Our guide told us, however,
that Amar's invitation was a common act of courtesy and that
we should accept the invitation.
We accepted his invitation. When we arrived at their home
we quickly learned that we had no reason to fear. Amar was
not a fanatical Muslim militaristic fundamentalist. Rather
he was a normal, decent human being who was trying to make a
living and provide for his family. We met his children, his
wife, his brother, and even his mother. His mother was just
like good mother everywhere. She cooked the food, loved her
grandchildren, and fuss at her boys.
None of them were demons.
I realized that day that the vast majority of people in the
Middle East were good people--people just trying to get by.
They respected me. I developed great respect for them. I
will not allow these terrorist to rob me of that respect
based on their ignorant and vicious act of violence.
Please understand that those folks in Palestine with the
guns in the streets celebrating the successful United States
attack are really the minority. These folks get the
attention because they have the guns and make the most
noise.
Certainly we must bring to justice those who perpetrated
this atrocious crime, what has been rightly been called an
act of war. And our President was certainly correct when he
said that we must hold accountable those who would harbor
and support such vicious and cowardly individuals. But even
as we seek justice, we must be certain not to allow the hate
to control us.
Somehow we need to allow Christ to work within us to break
the vicious cycle of violence. Somehow we need to be
available for God to use us to work a ministry of peace, and
love, and justice in such a way that such acts of violence
in the world will decrease until they no longer exist.
And there is one more thing. We must not allow the fear to
control us either. We must not allow this act and these
people to rob us of our hope, visions, dreams and
ambitions. We need to live our lives--not like we did the
week before this happened, but even better.
Other than this simple thoughts and reflections, I know
nothing more than that I ought to pray.
I pray for the survivors of this attack.
I pray for the families who have lost loved ones.
I pray for the rescue workers and police on the scene.
I pray for the doctors and nurses caring for the hurting.
I pray for the reporters who work through intense emotion to
bring us the pictures and news of the day.
I pray for the President and other elected leaders who so
desperately need wisdom from above.
I pray for the pastors in Washington and New York who care
first-hand for the spiritual needs of those who have
experienced this great tragedy.
I pray for the intelligence agencies that seek to find out
who would do this so they might be brought to justice.
I pray for the men and women in the various branches of our
military who will probably be called to action in the near
future.
I pray for those who did these terrible acts. I ask for God
to move them to repentance.
I pray also for all those who might be tempted to think that
violence accomplishes anything of lasting value. We've seen
much too much of it in recent years--from school violence,
to the Olympic Bombing, to the Oklahoma City bombing, to
drive by shooting. The list goes on and on and sometimes it
seems so overwhelming.
I pray for our nation--that this event will bring us
together as a people and turn our thoughts toward God.
Lastly, I pray for myself.
May God break the cycle of violence in me and use me to make
a difference for His Peace and Grace in this sinful world.
By Dr. Bill Nieporte
Pastor, The Red Bank Baptist Church, Marionville, Virginia