September 11

In this morning’s readings (Psalm 137, Ezekiel 11:14-25, Revelation 18:1-8, and Luke 9:37-50), there were several passages that caught my eye. That was because several seemed particularly appropriate for today as we mark the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Several of them (the Psalm, Ezekiel, and Revelation) dealt with issues of dislocation and/or disorientation. The Psalmist definitely captured the sense of bitterness and rage that was felt in the days immediately following the attacks (Psalm 137:8 “O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us...”). The passage from Revelation presented a sort of transitional awareness as we move from a state of the old (Babylon) to the new (the New City). My hope and prayer is that as more time passes, the world will be able to look back on the acts of desperation and pick up the spirit captured in the passage from Ezekiel that reads in part: “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them. I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 11;19 – NIV). May we find new ways of opening ourselves to the softening of our hearts so that we might first acknowledge the pain in our lives and then turn to the One who can bring healing and reconciliation – to our lives and our world. Til next time…