Elie Weisel was a 15-year-old Jewish boy when the Gestapo packed his family and 80 others in a cattle wagon for a three-day train journey to Auschwitz in the spring of 1944. Upon arrival, the men and women were segregated and he never saw his mother or sister again. In his book titled simply Night, he speaks of the long dark night his life became at that moment.
Perhaps his most horrifying experience of all, he writes, was when the guards first tortured and then hanged a young boy with an angelic face. Thousands of prisoners were forced to watch, while the boy dangled half an hour before dying. Then, they were forced to march past, looking the child full in the face. Behind him, Elie heard a voice whisper, “Where is God? Where is God now?” And he reports he heard a voice within himself answer: “Where is God? He is here—he is hanging here on this gallows…” Where was God on 9/11?
- God was a 45-year-old father calling his wife from one of the doomed airplanes with the message, “I know I’m going to die, but don’t worry, it will be quick.”
- God was a 32-year-old firefighter racing up a stairway to get people out of the World Trade Center before tons of steel and concrete crushed him.
- God was a secretary who worked in one of the towers who couldn’t get down the stairwell because of the heat and smoke and sank to her knees in the hallway gasping her last breaths thinking of her children.
God was everywhere on this day…in every terror-stricken passenger, in every cry of pain and anguish. God’s suffering knew no bounds.
Just as 9/11 had a “ground zero,” so does Christianity. Ground zero of Christianity is just as real and palpable and horrible as buildings crashing down is a historical event. It is the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. The cross of Jesus changed history forever, because it introduced what is inconceivable to both ancient and modern man alike–a God who suffers.
The tendency is to see 9/11 as a clear-cut contest between good and evil, where those who hate us are evil because we are good. God is on our side.
Friends, will you agree with me that “God is on our side” is NOT the hope which the Bible calls us to unswervingly profess? I find no place in the Bible where God claimed America as his chosen people.
For our nation to emerge from this trial into a new and better place, it is paramount that we hold unswervingly to the hope that God is above ALL nations. Indeed, this is our ONLY hope. Surely we’ve watched events in places like Northern Ireland and the Middle East long enough to realize that the cycle of violence will never stop as long as each side demonizes the other. Demonization happens when we assume God is on our side.
And so, I would suggest an additional answer to “where was God?” on 9/11 that you might find challenging, or for a few, even offensive. But I suggest it nevertheless. I believe God was in the cockpit of each of those planes—suffering along with lives so incredibly warped with hate as they drove those planes into those buildings. On 9/11, Satan laughed at what he had done in twisting husbands and fathers and brothers into creatures so grotesque they became unrecognizable as the human beings God created. Their souls were just as precious to God as yours or mine. Satan laughed…but Jesus wept.
In the weeks and months ahead, the rest of the world will watch America as never before. How will we react? Will we emerge from this furnace of suffering refined and purified, or just melted down? A few years from now, will we emerge better, or just bitter? Those are questions that will have to be answered not just by our leaders, but also by every single American.
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The words above were part of a sermon I preached on September 16, 2001, the Sunday after the 9/11 attacks. How might you answer the questions I asked 15 years ago?
For some in our nation, fear or hatred of Muslims—or indeed, anyone who looks or acts different or is “not us”—seems to grow by leaps and bounds. Over the last 15 years, has our nation “emerged from this furnace of suffering” to be more compassionate and sensitive to the suffering of others?
Hatred was not the answer to 9/11 back in 2001. Hatred is still not the answer today. We Christians follow a Savior who taught “love your enemies.” Some say he was naïve. But Jesus gave us the most courageous, most realistic, most graphic illustration possible as he suffered a gruesome death, all the while praying for his enemies, “Father, forgive them.”
On the cross, Jesus was on everyone’s side. Christians in America are called to share this truth with those who seek to goad us into fear and hatred today.
Rich, It is a challenge for me to see Paradoxes in my everyday life. I tend to see it in theology and the Bible. Is there a way you can set up a page to invite your subscribers to add comments and get feedback from each other rather than just giving a comment?
Thanks again for Paradox Lost as it has my whole Christian World View. Sue
Know that is what the comment space is but maybe there could be an open forum page? Do you understand what I mean?
Hi Sue, Thanks so much for your idea of an open forum page to discuss living in the tensions or paradoxes of everyday life. I think this has real merit and will definitely look into it.
Within the past few days I read a blog post from another writer (I apologize, I do not remember his name). In it the writer reminds us that scripture directs not only our gaze but our mission as the church toward the future, a future that is not in our hands. It is the apocalyptic message of scripture, that God is in charge, and our looking to the past, and only to the past for the definition of our identity as the people of faith is “unfaithful.”
September 11, 2001 has become for many Americans the defining moment of our existence as a people. Our response to world events is overwritten by the words “Never again,” while God is calling us forward from death to life. The “never again” is, in Christ, over written by the promise that we will live again, that joy will come in the morning.
Will our lives reflect our choice to live into God’s future with faith, walking humbly before our God, loving mercy and doing justice in the face of that dark and violent memory? Is our hold on the memory of 9/11, and our response to most world events in the shadow of that dark day a faithful or faithless response? Is our speech, are our actions declarations of the hope we have in Jesus Christ because of his life, death and resurrection? Are we defiant before the twisted smile of Satan refusing to live divisive lives bent on vengeance and violence against others who are also victims of his cruel hate?
Larry, great reflections! We so indeed need to be defined by God’s future, not our past. Thanks so much for sharing them.
Hi, Just found another Paradox- read the below article and realize that there is a paradox (pair of truths) regarding prayer and the Word. Some people are Prayer oriented and others Word oriented and the truth is we need both side by side like the Tuning Fork Paradox. Either extreme is not as effective as if both are emphasized at the same time.
Here is the article:
Prayer People vs. Word People
02.03.15 | Prayer | Preaching | by Justin Christopher
Juxtaposition – [juhk-stuh-puh-zish-uh n]
an act or instance of placing close together or side by side,
especially for comparison or contrast.
Today’s juxtaposition: Prayer People vs. Word People.
There is a mystery to the way prayer works. Often the Biblical commands about prayer and the Biblical narratives about prayer seem to be at odds with one another. Prayer often feels like a two-sided coin.
I would like to compare and contrast the different sides of the coin when it comes to the mystery of prayer. In so doing, I hope you can identify ways that you could grow in your own prayer life.
PRAYER PEOPLE
Those who believe prayer is most important find support for their position in verses like these that say revival and awakening come as a result of prayer and consecration. It is clear in scripture that prayer is a vital part of growing the Kingdom.
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. II Chronicles 7:14
They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. Acts 1:14
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Colossians 4:2
Here is a command from the Old Testament, a verse from the birth of The Church, and a New Testament command. Clearly the Bible says that prayer is a vital part of any movement of God on campus, in a city, or in a nation. Prayer people believe this with deep conviction.
TRUTH AND PITFALLS FOR PRAYER PEOPLE
No doubt prayer people are right. The scriptures are filled with commands to pray, fast and repent. We see the revival and awakening in the wake of prayer people throughout the scriptures and throughout history. However, there are also some subtle but devastating pitfalls with those who embrace prayer without the word.
They are sometimes prone to be self-righteous and judgmental. They can get really angry at people, especially leaders, that are not as committed to prayer as they are. They sometimes have a hard time persuading others about the importance of prayer because they do no know how to do so nicely.
They are sometimes prone to not have any unbelieving friends. Their strong belief in living a holy life sometimes lead them to unnecessary places. They often do not have any friends who believe differently than them. They don’t know how to be “in the world and not of it” like Jesus prayed for his disciples in John 17.
WORD PEOPLE
Those who believe the word is most important find support for their position in verses like these that say revival and awakening come as a result of evangelism and missions. It is clear in scripture that preaching the gospel is a vital part of growing the Kingdom.
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Act 1:8
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. II Timothy 4:2
Here is a command from the Old Testament, a verse from the birth of The Church, and a New Testament command. Clearly the Bible says that the word is a vital part of any movement of God on campus, in a city, or in a nation. Word people believe this with deep conviction.
TRUTH AND PITFALLS FOR WORD PEOPLE
No doubt word people are right. The scriptures are filled with commands to evangelize, preach, and go on mission. We see the revival and awakening in the wake of word people throughout the scriptures and throughout history. However, there are also some subtle but devastating pitfalls with those who embrace the word without prayer.
They are sometimes prone to be close-minded and arrogant. They can be so convinced about their approach to ministry that they are not open to anyone who thinks and acts differently than them. A subtle but slow pride begins to develop in them as they begin to think that they have a corner on truth.
They are sometimes prone to work in the flesh and not in the spirit. They can rely on manmade plans and strategies more than they rely on God. They subtly begin to trust in their plans, programs, strategies, and tactics more than they are trusting in God. It’s evident in the fact that they spend more time in planning and studying than they do in prayer.
Justin Christopher is the National Campus Director for Campus Renewal Ministries and the author of Campus Renewal: A Practical Plan for Uniting Campus Ministries in Prayer and Mission. He gives leadership to the Campus House of Prayer and the missional community movement at the University of Texas.