Remembering...

     It seems appropriate to share some thoughts about this day in history.  I have been dwelling on it a little this morning and decided to go back and see if I wrote anything about it last year.  It turns out that my thoughts are much the same.  I am reproducing them here with some minor adjustments.  I hope it's a blessing to you.
          Today marks the 11th anniversary of a day most Americans remember vividly. I know exactly where I was when I heard the news of the first tower being hit. I remained glued to my TV all day long, wondering what would possess a person to perpetrate the murder of more than 3,000 people. I visited ground zero some months after the attack and was stunned once more by the significance of the event. In a matter of a hours, and over the course of the next days, thousands of people were thrown into their worst nightmare as they received news confirming their fears; their loved one had died on 9/11. On 9/10, I had received a phone call that told me about a personal tragedy in someone's life and it occurred to me in the next couple of days after that, that 9/11 was a national tragedy because of more than 3,000 personal tragedies happening all at once; in the same place. We shared so many mixed emotions and struggled with our own response and reaction to the experience of terrorist actions on American soil.  Even to this day, I find it difficult to wrap my my mind around the whole thing.  Thousands of lives...irrevocably altered in a matter of hours.  No warning; no time to prepare.

      Much has been said about the first responders on 9/11. Movies have been produced and documentaries have been aired describing the heroism of those who ran into the towers while everyone else was running to safety. These brave heroes purposely headed toward danger for the sake of others. We rocognize their heroism because they were selfless.  They weren't just "doing their job;" they were sacrificing themselves for other people. 

     John 18 is the passage that records Jesus' arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane just hours before he was murdered by people who thought they were doing the world (and their religion) a favor.   When Peter reacted boldly, albeit foolishly to draw his sword and defend Jesus; our Lord compassionately healed the man Peter wounded and told him to put up his sword. His reasoning was "shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?" Jesus was a responder. He went purposely toward danger, knowing ahead of time it would mean his death. He gave his life so others could live.

      Interestingly; there were few that seemed to be aware of the terror that awaited them. Jesus ran in, so to speak, when most people were oblivious to their danger. The same is still true. God asks that I be a responder of sorts; helping people to escape the danger they face. In many cases, they are unaware of their perilous state, but that doesn't change the reality of their condition or my mission.

      I want to mirror the kind of courage that those brave heroes showed us 11 years ago (and continue to do in many "smaller" instances every day) as they go toward danger for the sake of others.

      Do you have any lessons you have drawn from your experience of 9/11? How are you seeking to learn from our shared experience on that fateful day?