People of Faith CT

by Rev. Sarah Flynn
September 12, 2011

Yesterday, September 11, Vermont Public Television showed a program interviewing family members of those who died in the 9-11 tragedy. In particular the program focused on the frequently expressed questions of the meaning of this event. I was not able to watch the program in its entirety, but saw enough to realize that many of these people who were being interviewed were facing a crisis of faith in which they could not reconcile their losses with a belief in the goodness of God, or a belief in a God who would allow such a thing to happen.

I am sure that this question arises in other tragedies as well, and while it is certainly understandable that people should have these doubts and questions, it does require people of faith to wrestle with these questions also. Just because tragedy has not struck us personally does not mean we are exempt from such concerns.

For myself the question of where is God in this terrible evil requires of me a degree of honesty in admitting that in the first instance I don't know with certainty any answer to that sort of question. One could say it remains a mystery, but that is an insufficient answer. It is insufficient because we as Christians believe in a crucified Savior, so obviously we must have some familiarity with tradgic dimensions of evil in our world. To say Jesus is Lord in spite of his torture and inhumane execution means we have a faith that somehow overcomes the evil he experienced. We point to the Resurrection as a sign of this ultimate victory of God over the evil powers of this world.

So what does this mean for 9/11? What does the Resurrection look like for those who experienced this loss first hand through loss of their family members? What does it mean for us a society who have endured this lost indirectly as a loss of innocence about how secure we are in this country?

Again, for myself, I have to say that the tragedy of 9-11 was not something God allowed or condoned in any way. I do not believe with the Westboro Baptists that 9-11 and other similar terrible events are a form of divine punishment upon a sinful people. A wrathful God who is portrayed in the Hebrew scriptures is a fatally flawed attempt to find some sort of meaning in human disasters. When God is believed to be a god of vengeance and violence we end up confusing God with the source of evil in the world. Everything we know of Jesus is that he did not accept such an understanding of God whom he addressed in loving terms as "Abba". In fact, Jesus set himself against those who held to such a view of God and who insisted upon rigid adherance to the Law as a way of avoiding tragdic outomes in the future. Jesus' acceptance of his own death as a martyr was not to appease a wrathful god, but rather to bear witness to the God of love who seeks to overcome such evil with goodness, love and forgiveness. In short, God was at work in his death not to make Jesus a scapegoat for the sins of others, but rather to show another way, that of nonviolent faithfulness in the face of those who sought to control others by intimidation and terror. Yes, they could and did kill him, but his death ignited a movement which eventually overthrew the Roman Empire!

Where is God in 9/11? Initially, i would say that God was to be found in the suffering of the victims and the response that led others to risk their lives to save them. Secondly, God was to be found in the communities of people who sought to comfort and support the survivors. And thirdly, God is to be found in seeking to understand and forgive those who are led to do such terrible acts. That does not mean that they are not to be held accountable and brought to justice for thse cruelties, but it does mean that we don't overreact--- as we most certainly did in launching not one but two wars that took the lives of many innocent people on both sides of the conflict in our haste to exact revenge upon the perpetrators of 9/11. Jesus forgive the ones who crucified him and prayed for them on the cross because 'they do not know what they do.' Indeed, people blinded by fear and hate and the obsession to control others are basically clueless as their own motives for such acts. And when we srike out blindly against those whom we perceive to be even remotely connected to those who have acted to hurt us, we have become our own worst enemy. We have become the same as the ones who struck us, dominated by the same irrational fear and hate and committing atrocities which we justify--- just as the hijackers did--- in the name of our religion and our way of life.

I am convinced that what God seeks out of 9-11 is a profound repentance and forgiveness and reconciliation that will restore the human community. It will not be helped by a blind loyalty to one's nation and flag. The hijackers had that too. No, we must go further than that and learn to listen to one another and pray for one another that we not be led into the temptation to violence and evil, but rather to mutual understanding, forgiveness and respect for one another.

So instead of killing Osama bin Laden on the spot, how much better it would have been to capture him, put him on trial and let him explain his actions so we might understand what drove him to such extreme measures, and by acting justly and with mercy, seek to convince him and others like him that we can listen and attempt to meet his concerns half way. He certainly would have to be jailed for life for his role in this act of extreme terrorism, but killing him only made him a martyr for those who share his cause. Imagine if he over time came to moderate his views and we moderated our policies of blind support for Israel at the expense of the Palestinians? That, my friends, is the true road to peace and reconciliation. And without it there will never be peace or reconciliation or security for anyone.

Where is God in 9-11? God is where these efforts toward healing, forgiving and building human community go forward in spite of all the hellish acts done to prevent that from happening.

Rev. Sarah Flynn is engaged in education and advocacy for justice and peace.