(Power Point available--email author)
SLIDE 1
“WHAT DOES 9.11 MAKE OF US?”
8:30 with Video presentation
(adapted from Leonard Sweet’s message on 9.11)
Slide 2
“Night fell on a different world.”
These are some of the first words President George Bush used to reflect on September 11, 2001.
Slide 3
How prophetic they now appear. Is it possible not to see everything through this ashen cloud and fireball of
· around 3000 deaths,
· 10,000 children with a lost parent,
· $40 billion loss of buildings,
· $40 billion in cleanup costs,
· $40 billion in initial war preparations,
· $15 billion in bailouts for the unfriendly skies,
· trillions of dollars of damage to the world economy, hundreds of thousands of job losses (236,000 the first month),
· billions of dollars of losses in economic convulsions, especially relating to consumer and tourist ($15 million a day losses) skittishness?
And that’s just the beginning. What a year it’s been
· We’ve lived through Enron,
· Arthur Andersen,
· the crisis in the Catholic church,
· power/energy crises,
· economic recessions,
· bear markets,
· Worldcom,
· the clanging of handcuffs on Imperial CEOs (with more to come),
· unstoppable forest fires
· and West Nile viruses.
Need I continue?
The devastations of this one year will reshape our world and revise our expectations of the future—both in the short-term and the long-term.
Slide 4
In spite of the tragedy, what “man meant for evil, God used for good”, or the way it reads in Genesis 50:20 God turned into good what you meant for evil. (NLT).
How will people know that we’re Christians? How do people know that we’re Christians? Or good American citizens?
September 11, 2001—Nine-One-One—gave us one answer to that question.
Are we as citizens and/or Christians people who open their doors, hearts, and minds for others?. Especially in times when tragedy occurs both near and far to us?
In Romans Paul, the guy who wrote most of the NT of the Bible, calls Christians to a specific attitude of love but leaves open the specifics of actual loving behavior.
Slide 5
Pay all your debts, except the debt of love for others. You can never finish paying that! If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill all the requirements of God’s law. For the commandments against adultery and murder and stealing and coveting—
Slide 6
and any other commandment—are all summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to anyone, so love satisfies all of God’s requirements. Romans 13:8-10 (NLT)
Slide 7
Jesus’ own encapsulation of the law, to “love your neighbor as yourself,” (Luke 10:27) leaves a virtually unlimited range of loving possibilities.
Never seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. Lev. 19:18 (NLT)
This love never lets up, never plays out, never is paid-off like any other debt we might owe. That’s Paul’s point as it is paraphrased in The Message:
Slide 8
Don’t run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. Romans 13:8 (TMNT)
Basically what I want to challenge you to do today is think about not what do we make of 9.11 BUT what does 9.11 make of us?
The people who were directly involved in the September 11 tragedy—both the survivors and those who knew they were going to perish made that choice. They took control of the circumstances as they best knew how as you will see in some of the video clips this morning.
Hear are some suggestions that I want to share today about what 9.11 could make of you.
I Will Open My Heart, Mind, and Door for….
Slide 9
A. The poor and needy
We live in a culture that too often slams the door in the face of the poor.
Listen carefully to this event that happened in the life of Jesus on one occasion:
Another day, a man stopped Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
Jesus said, “Why do you question me about what’s good? God is the One who is good. If you want to enter the life of God, just do what he tells you.”
The man asked, “What in particular?”
Jesus said, “Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as you do yourself.”
The young man said, “I’ve done all that. What’s left?”
Slide 10
“If you want to give it all you’ve got,” Jesus replied, “go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me.”
That was the last thing the young man expected to hear. And so, crestfallen, he walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn’t bear to let go. Matthew 19:16-22 (TMNT)
July 4, 1776 produced the Declaration of Independence. This was our nation’s first birthday.
Might not September 11, 2001 produce a Declaration of Interdependence. Might this not become our nation’s second birthday?
Can I have an open door, heart, and mind for the poor and needy—not only economically poor but the poor in spirit—but for people who are hurting because of all kinds of circumstances of life?
Slide 11
I Will Open My Heart, Mind, and Door for….
B. My enemies.
I am not naïve.
There are true enemies out there. There are people out there who want to kill us.
And US means the U.S./Western civilization.
There are people out there who want to kill us—and “us” means JesUS’ followers.
You have people out there who are trying to kill you, not to mention take away your freedoms.
What does it mean to have open doors, hearts, and minds, even for our enemies?
How many of you here believe Jesus was the greatest teacher ever, the most wise man to ever live on earth? Do you believe we should follow his teachings?
Well listen to these words of Jesus:
Slide 12
But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!… If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Matt. 5:44-46
Now you say, wait a minute Don. That’s not for us in these modern times. I mean Don you don’t expect me to love binLaden do you? No I don’t I don’t love him either…but Jesus said it not me. I’m guilty too.
Slide 13
Remember the story of Dayna Curry (30) and Heather Mercer (24)? Both children of broken homes; both members of the Antioch Community Church, a nondenominational church in Waco, Texas; both relief workers/missionaries taken captive by the Taliban for more than 100 days.
Their crime, punishable by death? Spreading Christianity.
Did they love their perscutors, their enemies? Watch this and decide for yourself.
(SHOW DVD CLIP of Curry and Mercer experience [North American Mission Board])
Their small church had a 24-hour prayer vigil the entire time of their incarceration. Those prayers help them survive imprisonment by the Taliban and US warplanes bombing Taliban targets.
Can I open my heart and mind and the door of my church, even for my enemies?
Slide 14
I Will Open My Heart, Mind, and Door for….
C. Repentance
Many decades ago a columnist in the London Times often ended his articles with the words, “What’s wrong with the world?” According to a commonly told story, the Christian essayist/author G. K. Chesterton finally sent in the following response.
Dear Editor:
What’s wrong with the world?------ I am.
Faithfully yours,
G. K. Chesterton
(As referenced by Dwight Edwards in Revolution Within: A Fresh Look at Supernatural Living [Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook Press, 2001], 43.)
Is it time we repented of our own waywardness?
The United States of America has a lot of repenting to do.
One-third of the world’s right-wing hate sites come from the USA. (As cited in Gary Anderson, “A Lesson in Modern Terrorism,” Vital Speeches, LXVIII [1 December 2001], 120.)
Christians have our own sticky-fingered past. We love to compare the worst in other religions with the best in our own. You can pick and choose passages in the Bible that are as violent and misleading as those in the Qu’ran.
Check out Psalm 94, for example:
Slide 15
O LORD, you God of vengeance, you God of vengeance, shine forth! Rise up, O judge of the earth; give to the proud what they deserve! Psalm 94:1-2 (NRSV)
On many occasions Bible passages have been misused and taken out of context to promote our own agenda.
Can I open the door of my church, my heart and mind . . . for real repentance?
Look at what our attitude should be:
Slide 16
The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 (NRSV)
Slide 17
I Will Open My Heart, Mind, and Door for….
D. Life
After Nine-One-One, is there anyone among us who doesn’t appreciate life more, who doesn’t try not to take any day for granted? After Nine-One-One, is there anyone among us who doesn’t have renewed appreciation for how precious life is, how important human life is?
We hug our kids tighter.
We tuck them in bed longer.
We kiss our spouses good-bye in the morning harder.
Or do we?
Slide 18
You planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see right now—life for many people. Genesis 50:20 (TMOT)
Slide 19
Tower Two. When the plane slammed into Tower One, Ron Fazio made one of the best decisions of his life. He ordered his employees to evacuate the building. Even though the south tower where their offices were had not been hit by the second plane, he insisted that all Aon Re employees get away from the windows, leave their desks, and get out of the building.
When others were bolting their door, he helped people bolt out the doors. He stood there and held the door, yelling for everyone to hurry, and held the door open until everyone from his company had started down the stairs.
They all made it down. So did he. But he remained outside Tower Two, helping others out the building, talking on his cell phone. The last anyone saw of him, he was giving his cell phone to someone else, after which the tower collapsed and no one ever heard from Ron Fazio again.
Ron Fazio’s wife (Janet) and three kids (Lauren, Rob and Ron Jr.) have started a foundation to honor their father’s heroism. It’s called “Hold the Door for Others, Inc.” (For other firsthand accounts of Ron’s heroism, see www.holdthedoor.com) --symbol on front of outline.
In son Rob’s words, “My dad was a quiet, humble man who died after holding the door open for others. As a family, we’re trying to do the same thing, to help people move through the pain so they can begin to dream again.”
So as we prepare to celebrate the anniversary of September 11, 2001, the question for me is less, “What do I make of 911?” than “What does 911 make of me?” Can it bring me to an open heart, open mind, open door?
In the midst of evil acts, of man’s inhumanity to man, God opened doors as we will see in this video clip:
Slide 20
(Show Video clip “What Man Meant for Evil….” [NAMB DVD])
Will you be a part of the reshaping of the world that God has already begun?
It’s time to open the door, church. It’s time to open your hearts and minds, those who call yourselves followers of this man Jesus.
And there is hope—God has already opened the door to bring good out of evil. All you have to do is say to God, “Yes I want to help open those doors. I want to be the Lord’s doorman. I know you will give me the power to do it—just like the people in the video clip--because Jesus promised:
Slide 21
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts1:8 (NRSV)
Slide 22
What has 9.11 Made of you?
PRAYER
God, we know you have called us to love you and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We confess our anger toward those who harm our nation’s people and property. We pray for grace to care not only for our nation, but for all peoples on earth. Forgive us when we see others as irredeemable when we know that in Christ you so loved the world. Be merciful to us as we try to understand who we are and what we are to do. Receive our individual prayers of confession.
SILENT CONFESSION
Dear Father and Lord ao all mankind, We remember those who lost their lives at the World Trade Center.
We pray for comfort and strength for their families and friends.
We are thankful for the heroic actions of firefighters and police.
We honor all public servants who helped the suffering and dying.
We recall how tragic events brought people of our nation together.
We are grateful for how God’s love was made known in words and actions.
We struggle to understand the reality of evil in terrorists and others in our world.
We try to understand what our reaction should be as Christians.
We have heard many times the singing of "God Bless America."
We sense our need also to sing and say, "God bless our world."
Jesus taught us to love our enemies and pray for those who harm us.
We will continue to pray for God’s kingdom to come and God’s will to be done.
We will continue to pray that you will open the hearts, minds, and doors of everyone of us here.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Benediction
As we leave this place, may God bless our door opening and door holding in the coming days. May we hold the door for our friends, our neighbors, our enemies and others that God places in our path. May we truly be at peace as we work and live with our brothers and sisters. May we serve the Creator, welcome the Redeemer, and move as the Spirit leads. Amen and Amen.
Recognition of the Honored Guests, those who protect, defend and serve our community. As we remember the great acts of heroism in New York we are reminded that these types of acts are repeated in our community. Romans 13 tells us to give honor to whom honor is due. It is our desire to thank and honor those who serve our community as fire fighters, police officers and those serving in the military. Please stand with your families and let us honor you today.
Praying a Psalm (9/8 services)
Following Psalm 23 as a guide for pastoral intercession.
authored by M. Craig Barnes
Good Shepherd, we are like sheep, easily frightened. We want to see that you are beside us, leading us in the right paths; but our eyes cannot turn away from our broken bodies, broken families, and broken dreams. But today we have enough faith to believe, at least, that we are your sheep. So to you we cry out, asking you to restore our souls.
Find all in your sanctuary today who are passing through the dark valley of grief. We pray for the Smith family who has just placed their father, John, in your arms. Comfort them in their sorrows, bring them to the still waters of peace, and renew their belief in the joy of dwelling in the house of the Lord forever.
May your Spirit anoint all who are sick, especially those who are in the hospital today: _____________________. Heal that which is broken; cleanse that which is diseased out of the bounty of your goodness and mercy that follows us all the days of our lives.
When we lift our eyes beyond our own needs and concerns, we see a world that is plagued by the diseases of racism, poverty, and violence. We dare to remind you that this is your world, so do not be slow with your coming kingdom. Protect our missionaries, statesmen, soldiers, and everyone who works in the presence of the enemies of that kingdom. Seeing that you are with them, may they fear no evil, but continue to serve your mission of bringing all people to the table you have prepared—a table that has room for us all.
Bless our young parents who daily face the huge needs of small children. Bless those who return tomorrow to offices and schools where your name is not honored. Bless all who are in leadership over difficult people. Bless them so abundantly that their cup may overflow with your goodness and mercy for the world. Amen.
