Where were you?

As almost every Sunday, I read the scriptures that Rev. RPM had designated today. I knew that we would be commemorating 9/11 and the losses and the tragedy that changed our lives. So I tried very hard to look at the scriptures today and reflect in them what had happened 10 years ago. All of us who were alive remember, where we were, what we were doing, but this isn't an entry about that day. It is about the scriptures I read and the sermon I heard. It is about what it means to really be hopeful.

I often have a hard time with the lessons in the Old Testament. One they are often very historically exaggerated and sometimes we are confronted with a vengeful God, one who seems to hate His own creation. I read these words at the end of the scripture and I read them through my teeth because I sometimes just don't understand God:

Exodus: 14: 27-31

²⁷So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. ²⁸The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. ²⁹But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. ³⁰Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ³¹Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses. 

It is a familiar story for those of us who have grown up in a Judeo-Christian-Muslim religion. As a Christian, my faith lies in Jesus Christ and I have learned that love is the only thing that saves. When I read the words above, I ask myself... but why? Why would God do this? Why would God strike down His creation, a creation I assume He loved? Why would God let His people fly two airplanes into the twin towers killing thousands of innocent people? 

Luckily, Rev. RPM is blessed in relating the stories of why... God leads those who are oppressed to safety. Here is the beginning part of this scripture I read today:

Exodus 14: 19-20

¹⁹The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. ²⁰It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.  

God gives us all a chance. He gave the Egyptians an entire evening to see his magnificence. He placed a pillar of smoke between two people offering them an evening of respite and peace. God kept the oppressor away for an evening, He offered peace. The next morning after having witnessed God's power to keep His people safe, they pursued. And God protected those who had been oppressed from facing even more oppression. He gave the Israelites a chance at a new life: free from slavery and full of HOPE. 

If you were to put a mirror in front of the Israelites, you would see us looking back at them. God delivered them to the Land of Milk and Honey, He gave them a chance to build a kingdom in His name. But the Israelites within 400 years had forgotten, they had waged wars against those who threatened their lands. King David himself sent Uriah to be killed because he had impregnated Bathesheba, Uriah's wife.  They had forgotten the wonder that God had provided, that He had protected them and delivered them to safety.

That is us today. We have gone from a nation obsessed with actors, gossip and trivialities, to a nation standing in unison, in solidarity, and with HOPE... And only in 10 years we have gone back to being a nation who focuses on the trivial again. We watch in awe at the lives of Brad & Angelina, Jon & Kate plus 8. We wonder which candidate for Presidency is more patriotic based on the flags behind his/her desk. We argue over who should win Dancing With the Stars or whether the Kansas City Chiefs should beat the Buffalo Bills.

We have flooded our lives with the trivial. As much as I believe that we are entitled to rest and relaxation, I also believe that we are meant to be loving towards one another.  We are meant to take compassionate action when our fellow brothers and sisters are oppressed and suffering.

9/11 was supposed to teach us something right? How to overcome? How to be of service to one another? How to live in Hope and Tolerance that one day life on earth will be peaceful? I think it was meant to teach us all of those things. 

But we are like the Israelites, we forget even when we say, "We Will Never Forget."

Instead we have learned to fear, we have learned to hate, we have learned to wage war on those different than us. We have learned nothing. We are the Israelites, setting ourselves for tragedy and suffering once more.

Today on Facebook somebody posted a link to the documentary Loose Change. It highlights a conspiracy that the attacks on America were an "Inside Job."  Their arguments are compelling, but they also lead us to be more divisive, more hateful, less tolerant. They lead us to give up on HOPE. 

We are all entitled to our opinions and our beliefs. However, when terror has taken the lives of so many people, I believe that as a human race we must apply what we are best at: offering compassion. We need to look at the world and where it needs healing. Through love, hope and tolerance, we can be a true healing presence in the world.

We stood in solidarity as the Towers collapsed, we pledged our allegiance together as we began to rebuild, we vowed to never forget, we looked toward the future with Hope. 

I implore all of you, all of us (because I am included in this) to be compassionate, to learn about our differences and to be tolerant of them.  

Our earth will continue to spin even if we push ourselves to extinction through hate and intolerance. I want to offer my (future) children a place where love prevails over everything that ever mattered.