Do This in Remembrance

September 11, 2001, is without a doubt one of the most significant dates in United States history. The loss of life, the suffering, the anxiety of that day is without parallel. Yes, D-day, Pearl Harbor, Gettysburg and Bull Run matched or surpassed the casualty numbers of 9/11, but the immediacy and stunning reality offered by modern media coverage made the events of that September morning garish and dramatic in a way not known before.

When the four hijacked planes had wreaked their havoc on our collective senses, we were driven to our knees in more ways than one. We had the wind knocked out of our arrogance, arrogance bred by an adolescent feeling of invulnerability. Something more than a geopolitical hubris was shattered that day. People who had previously used the name of God only in vain suddenly took it more seriously. Certainly, some still cursed with an added vehemence. But millions of other Americans bent their knees in earnest prayers: prayers for the victims, for the families, for our leaders. And many prayed for understanding: what can this mean.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on 9/11. It falls on a Sunday and the church I attend will be celebrating the Lord’s Supper. I am struck by the parallels between these two memorials. The shock, the pain, the utter senselessness of the violence must have been predominant in the days immediately following both events. Fear edged in as people wondered if more death and destruction would follow. A strong sense of community and shared suffering flooded the American people on 9/12 as it must have those distraught followers of Christ the day after “Good Friday.” For many there was a foreboding that an era had come to a close, that the future was shrouded by gloom.

When Jesus told his little band at the Last Supper that they would henceforth see the cup and the loaf in a new way, it was like the evening of 9/10/2001. They did not grasp the import; they had no idea what was about to descend upon them. Twenty-four hours later, then especially fifty days later, they began to understand. The horrors of that one awful day would never be forgotten, and the true significance of it was cemented in their hearts and minds by the trauma.

I am not suggesting for a moment that 9/11 has equal historical significance to the day Christ died. I am saying that believers would do well to seek that sense of community, the shared suffering, the renewed sense of purpose that dawned with 9/12. Just as it would do our country good to remember that, it would do the church good to hear, “Do this in remembrance” as a call to that. When we, “Remember his death until he comes again,” let us remember what a traumatic, world-shaking thing it was. If we really believe, we must see that the world still trembles from the effects of that wonderful, terrible day. Although our fear has been replaced by hope, we must never lose the urgency of the drama; we must not forget the eternal significance of the event. That is why we have memorials.

Crisis of Faith 2

It is not unusual for me to be asked why I believe so firmly that I am right about my faith. In answer I will offer a brief explanation why I believe what I do. First to philosophy. I know I am very Western or occidental in this, but I cannot get comfortable with the Eastern (oriental) mystics' concept of a universe without reason and logic. Most of the religions from the East are based on the idea that the world humans experience is meaningless: there is no point trying to figure things out, because there are no answers. The height of human experience in the Eastern way of thinking is to empty the mind of everything -- reason, emotion, memory, everything. This, they say, is the path to true fulfilment. That just doesn't work for me.

After the philosophical reasons come the historical. There is no other figure in history quite like Jesus. There have been many good teachers and other charismatic leaders, even some who claimed to be divine. But none can match Jesus' performance: he came back from the dead to validate his claim of divinity. You don't have to rely on the Bible alone to believe this astounding fact. Many secular sources confirm that people who were Jesus' contemporaries swore to the death (literally) that he was alive. It's hard to argue with an eye witness if you weren't there too. (And no, none of the theories against the resurrection hold water.)

Another historical fact that is just about as miraculous as the resurrection is the Bible itself. Name one other book that can make any of the Bible's claims. Written across a thousand years in 66 books with 40 different authors, the Bible contains one unified message from Genesis to Revelation: God made humans for Himself; they turned away; He is driving history to bring His people back. And you can't ignore the hundreds of fulfilled prophecies; the statistical probability of chance fulfillment is staggering beyond reason. (No, I don't buy the detractors' argument that the prophecies were written after the events and predated. Archaeology soundly rebuts that canard.)

Finally there is the spiritual proof. This one is difficult to present because it is the strongest argument to the individual who experiences it, while being the weakest defense against those who have not. One can point to thousands of transformed lives over the centuries as proof that Christianity "works." Yet doubtless there are Buddhist, Muslim and Zoroastrian conversions which seem to contradict Christianity's exclusive claims. All I can say is that I know that I know that I know that the Spirit of God dwells in me and that He feeds me, leads me and gives me a sense of peace and assurance that is undeniable.

When it all comes down, the choice of a belief system will necessarily involve faith. (That was redundant.) Whether you choose Christianity, Hinduism or Voodoo, you will come to a point where you must give yourself over to faith. The real choice then is whether you will choose to place your self in the hands of Jesus, Vishnu or Satan or whomever. I choose Jesus. It is not a blind choice (like some say, "Blind faith.") It is faith in a set of revealed propositions which satisfy my requirements for a world-view. In other words, it works for me.