Twenty-five years ago, I was starting my senior year of seminary at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. On the Tuesday of the second week of classes I began my dayby finishing a paper before heading to class. It was a bright sunny morning … the sky was blue … all was normal …
And then the world changed.
Images of pain and destruction filled our television and computer screens. Unthinkable horror unfolded before our eyes. Planes crashed and buildings collapsed in clouds of ash, smoke and debris.
I personally didn’t know any of the 2,977 people who died in the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. Nor have I known any of the countless numbers of first responders and recovery workers who have since died from toxic exposure and illnesses contracted at Ground Zero. What I do know is that the world changed that day.
Twenty-five years later …
–hundreds of millions of travelers around the world continue to be subjected to enhanced post-911 security screening in airports.
–the rate of anti-Muslim hate crimes recorded by the FBI is now five times higher than before 2001. Specifically, in the year 2001, the FBI recorded 481 anti-Muslim hate crimes compared to just 28 in 2000.
–families continue to mourn the absence of those who died on, or as a result of, the 911 attacks, and families continue to mourn the 2,461 U.S. service members killed in the war in Afghanistan in retaliation for the terrorist attacks.
In response to horrific violence and sin, Christians proclaim Jesus Christ as God’s announcement of peace and reconciliation in the world. The crucified Christ announces God’s refusal to enter the cruel cycles of violence and death into which we humans are locked. The resurrected Christ proclaims God’s ultimate victory over the violent forces of death that claim so many lives.
Where was Jesus on 911? I remember Professor Tim Wengert’s answer: “In the rubble raising the dead.” Jesus leads us to life.
In response to horrific violence and sin, we proclaim Christ, because the truth is:
Sin begets sin.
Violence begets violence.
Death begets death.
Christians are not pushovers. Evil exists in the world and must be confronted. Christians can serve nobly and honorably as law enforcement officers and in the United States military, and both are important tools in restraining evil. At the same time, as followers of Jesus, we know that while meeting force with force may be necessary, it is not the peace and salvation offered by God. Even as Dietrich Bonhoeffer weighed the implications of participating as a Christian in the assassination plots against Adolf Hitler, he knew he was choosing to participate in a violent system of death and that his death, and the death of his co-conspirators, was a likely consequence.
Sin begets sin.
Violence begets violence.
Death begets death.
As I sat in my local coffee shop typing the first draft of this September Bishop’s Bulletin, four ICE agents walked in to get their morning coffee. According to the NY Times, 96% of people detained by ICE have no criminal record. The two persons recently killed by ICE, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas and Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine, were not even the subject of ICE activity when they were killed. While ICE does play an important role in enforcing immigration laws, especially along our borders in controlling drugs from coming into the country, I couldn’t help but see these ICE agents as participants in a system of violence, founded on racism and xenophobia, with a 96% chance of destroying the lives of law abiding children of God who have come to this country, just like my German immigrant ancestors and just like the Swedish ancestors of so many members of congregations of the New England Synod, to work hard and make life better for themselves and their families. The daily arrests by ICE of nearly 1,500 of our neighbors, again 96% of whom have no criminal record, is a cycle of violence that morally impoverishes our country and does not make us safer.
In a world of sin, violence, and death, our only true salvation is found in Jesus Christ. Our salvation is found in Jesus because he refused to participate in the sin of the world even as it led to his death. He could have called down heavenly angels or rallied his earthly supporters to save himself from the cross, but in so doing would have perpetuated the cycle of violence. Instead, in his death on the cross, Jesus offered his very body as proof that sacrifice and service are the way to life.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote that “true peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.” The peace Christ offers is not a peace imposed by force to stifle dissent and eliminate opposition. The peace Christ offers is the presence of love, welcome, and understanding for all people. It is the way of service and sacrifice. It is the way of love made public in justice for all people.
As we observe the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on this country on 911, may we recommit ourselves to Christ’s call to serve as ambassadors of reconciliation and peace. As disciples of Jesus, may we be people of justice as we get to know our neighbors, as we commit to building relationships and understanding those who think, pray, and live differently than ourselves. As we build relationships with our inter-faith neighbors may we explicitly reject and denounce anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish rhetoric, activity and hate-crimes. May we break out of the endless cycle of violence by being people of compassion, forgiveness, and mercy.
Yours in Christ,
Bishop Pipho
