There has been a lot of emphasis recently on “remembering” in light of the
fifteen year anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when
Americans watched in real time the downing of the Twin Towers of The World
Trade Center in New York City, massive damage at The Pentagon, and a
downed airliner in Pennsylvania headed for Washington D.C. It was an
attack that could only be compared to the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
Many, as they reflect today, still are in disbelief that something like this
could have really happened right here on our own soil.
Many inspirational stories developed out of this tragedy including the heroism
of countless individuals helping their brothers and sisters to safety,
firefighters and police officers sacrificing their lives for the sake of
others, people standing in line to donate blood, people wearing patriotic
ribbons, communities quickly organizing local memorial services, churches
spiking in attendance, Congressmen of both parties standing
shoulder-to-shoulder on the steps of the U.S. Capitol singing “God Bless
America,” and much, much more.
All the partisan bickering that goes on in our nation was laid aside, and the
deepest convictions were quickly formed to bring justice to those responsible
for this national nightmare. Only a few short days later, we began
bombing terrorist training camps in Afghanistan where the Al-Qaida terrorists
were groomed to destroy lives and wage jihad against what they believe was “The
Great Satan,” the United States.
Many believed this was the wake-up call, albeit tragic beyond description, that
America needed to get back to its spiritual roots. Our nation had drifted
slowly but surely to where it was unrecognizable by the founding fathers and
all early Americans. But in the subsequent years following this tragic
day the divide in the nation is bigger than it has ever been and few would deny
the fact our nation has become much more secular and humanistic than it has
ever been.
If we do not work at “remembering” something we tend to forget. This is
why we have lists, photos, scrapbooks, journals, diaries, and other meticulous
records. Dementia and Alzheimer’s are fearful things because we are
frightened at the prospect of forgetting things we want to remember. We
all grieve when a loved one forgets the things they once knew. It is
tragic when a nation forgets what it once knew, as well. We now suffer
from a condition I would term “Spiritual/Historical Alzheimer’s,” meaning we
are moving through stages of spiritual deterioration and lack historical
remembrance that will ultimately lead to death if left on its current
trajectory.
Whether we realize it or not no one younger than their early 20s has any memory
at all of the events of 9/11. And no one younger than their late 20s
has any clear memories. There are now people graduating from
college, are voters, and otherwise adults that do not remember what happened
first-hand. Those who did not see it unfold first-hand cannot
remember, but many who did, are choosing not to remember. These
events, like all others before it will eventually just be a few pages in a
history textbook.
God heavily emphasized the necessity of remembrance throughout his Word.
The events of Israel’s history were chronicled for future generations to
discover and know. Several feasts were recognized to commemorate the
great things God had done. At these feasts, scrolls were read publicly
so as to remind everyone the purpose for the day. God commissioned many
of the most notable people in the Old Testament to build altars and/or erect
stones at various places so they would never forget.
Sadly, our nation seems to forget more and more with each passing year.
No one could have imagined in the days following 9/11 that on the fifteen year
anniversary that churches would be more empty than they were before it all
happened. No one could have imagined that NFL players would set or kneel
during the playing of the National Anthem somehow opposing what they perceive
as systemic racism built into police departments who supposedly target people
of color. No one could have envisioned political rhetoric being as poisonous
and bitter as it has become. No one could have envisioned a match-up
between the two major party candidates and the gutter sniping that we see going
on, not to mention the flagrant and overwhelming corruption of one of the
candidates in particular. Perhaps the one thing that is the most utterly
shocking of all is that after all that our nation went through, all the pain,
destruction, and death on 9/11 and then in the years of war which have
followed, to have a President of the United States repeatedly express sympathy
for the same radical terrorists who hate us, while repeatedly expressing
vigorous contempt for many of his own fellow countrymen. The truth is
often stranger than fiction. Our country now is nothing else, if not
“Orwellian.”
The period of the Old Testament Judges was an ugly and, almost unexplainable at
times, period in the history of Israel. There was a cycle that played out
over and over after the nation entered the Promised Land and the generation who
saw first-hand the mighty works of God began to die off, their children made
such peace with the land, and its deeply imbedded sinfulness, that they began
to join in Baal worship and gave their daughters to be married to the
Canaanites and allowed their sons to marry Canaanite women. They even encouraged
the practice. God would raise up another nation to take them captive
to teach them a lesson. They would suffer under the oppression then call
out to God for help; God would hear and would raise up a judge/deliverer to free
them, then there would be peace for a time. Then repeat cycle. It
began with Othniel, the first judge, and it continued the nearly exact pattern
through the days of Samson with several major and minor judges in
between. What we take away from Judges in its totality is that God takes
sin seriously, God will not allow sin to go unpunished, judgment is certain,
God’s requirements for His people are certain, as long as God’s people do not
follow God’s ways then all will be chaotic, and God will not allow the cycle to
continue forever. The beginning indictment, at the top of every cycle in
Judges, is that God’s people “failed” to remember, they forgot, they lost sight
of, they got busy with other things, they trusted other things, enjoyed
other things, put other things in place of God, took God for granted, etc.
It is easy to forget, no matter who we are. It takes effort to
remember. We live in a land of amusements. We have countless ways
to occupy our time and bury our minds. But no excuse holds any
credibility with God. September 11, 2001 will always be remembered, at
least as a historical reality, but it must be remembered in a deeper way than
mere factuality. It must be remembered in our hearts, thereby leading our
nation back to the Holy God that our founders wrote about, prayed to, spoke of,
and relied on as they set forth to build the framework of, what in time would
become, the greatest nation on earth.
In Christ,
Dr. Allen Raynor, Pastor
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