Eight Years after the Bombing of the World Trade Center

As we all know, on 11 September 2001, terrorists drove planes into the World Trade Center in New York, killing approximately 3000 people. We watched in awe and terror about these events on TV. A few years later, Evelyn and I went to Ground Zero and observed the remains. Many people were milling around; everything was very silent and quiet.

Tragedy of every kind is very sobering. Life is short. All human beings are very fragile, no matter how strong and wise they seem. We need to be caught up short when events like this occur.

On 17 September 2001, Walter Brueggemann penned this prayer at Lay school on the Pentateuch:

When the world spins crazy,
spins wild and out of control
spins toward rage and hate and violence,
spins beyond our wisdom and nearly beyond our faith,
When the world spins to chaos as it does not among us . . .
We are glad for sobering roots that provide ballast in the storm.
So we thank you for our rootage in the communities of faith,
for many fathers and mothers
who have believed and trusted
as firm witnesses to us,
for their many stories of wonder, awe, and healing.
We are glad this night in this company
for the rootage of the text,
for its daring testimony,
for its deep commands,
for its exuberant tales.
Because we know that as we probe deep into this text . . .
clear to its bottom,
we will find you hiding there,
we will find you showing yourself there,
speaking as you do,
governing,
healing,
judging.
And when we meet you hiddenly,
we find the spin not so unnerving,
because from you the world again has a chance
for life and sense and wholeness.
We pray midst the spinning, not yet unnerved,
but waiting and watching and listening,
for you are the truth that contains all our spin. Amen.

How are YOU allowing God to deal with YOUR life? Yes, the world is spinning almost out of control in our lives. BUT, God is there--at the core--at the center--of all life. Trust in God. He alone is our strength and our future.

Let me hear from YOU. Share your thoughts with all around you.

John Willis