Today is the 10th
anniversary of the September 11th attacks . . . what do you
remember? Where were you? I remember.
I had just finished taking some entrance exams for my Masters degree in
Cincinnati when I saw a couple of people watching a TV. There were crowds on the screen and it looked
like they were in New York.
I
remember coming home and turning on the news.
The next thing I remember was two weeks later when I turned it off. I remember crying. I remember being scared to death. I remember being angry. I remember just sitting with Kristy and
hugging and talking in shocked voices about how the world just seemed so weird
now. I remember going to church and
talking to people from New York who had friends who had died. I remember seeing the pictures again and
again. The smoke, the planes, the body
counts, the president addressing the nation.
I remember the feelings.
We
still remember. 10 years later we are
still remembering. It’s so awful that we
can’t forget. When you witness a
tragedy, the moment is imprinted on your brain just from the shock. But there is something worse about witnessing
evil. It would have been one thing if a
plane had lost control and hit a tower.
It would have been a tragedy that we would have remembered distantly in
the past. Like the bridge on 1-35 in
Minnesota collapsing or the Tsunami in Japan or where a child dies in an
accident. But the memory of September 11th
is different, isn’t it? Because it was
more than a tragedy—it was a tragedy caused by sin, by evil, by the wicked
desires of a few to deliberately kill many.
I remember thinking that the worst part of it all was that, on this day
that I was sobbing and glued to my television, somewhere in the world a crowd
of terrorists was cheering and glad. I
remember feeling sick to think about that.
If
you remember how you felt on September 11th, 10 years ago, then you
have a glimpse of how God has felt every day since Adam and Eve fell into
temptation and allowed sin to enter the world.
God sees murders, adultery, disobedience, gossip, drunkenness, lying and
idolatry every moment of every day. And
how often are these sins accomplished in us and we are cheering. At a party, in a secret bedroom, over the
phone or, at the very least, in our hearts.
How often does God remember seeing you or I sinning against each another
and laughing about it. Feeling like we
have gotten away with something and feeling smug. Making excuses for why we were justified in
our favorite sin. You know what, I don’t
think that it is a surprise that God remembers. How could he forget seeing people hurt one
another with a smile on their face? I
remember September 11th and I know that I can’t forget it.
So
that is why I admit that I do not understand God. He is a mystery to me. I can’t fathom his actions or his mind. His ways are so much different than my
own. God surprises me. Do you know why? Listen to what he says in today’s reading
from Jeremiah 31:31-34 . . . For I will forgive their wickedness and will
remember their sins no more.” “For I
will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” How can that be true? Is he just saying that to good people? To goody-goody Christians? No. He
says it again in Isaiah 43, “You have burdened me with your sins and wearied me
with your offenses. I, even I, am he who
blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no
more.” The book of Romans says that “While we were still sinners, Jesus died
for us.”
Can
you imagine a day when you didn’t remember September 11th? If you didn’t remember, you couldn’t be angry
anymore. You would forgive those who
murdered husbands and mothers and children and sisters because you couldn’t
remember what they had done. Can you
imagine what it would mean to never remember those sins again?
But
now, here, we come to a dilemma.
Because, today, on the 10th anniversary of September 11th,
we remember those who died and can relate to them. We felt victimized on that day too. But, when God enters the picture, we realize
that we cannot relate to just the victims anymore. In God’s world, we are the terrorists. As I said before, we are the ones who hurt
others with smiles on our faces. And, no,
people haven’t just gotten worse. In the
sixth chapter of Genesis, we’re talking 4000 years ago, we read, “The Lord saw
how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on
the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.”
The problem is that people haven’t changed. Even when God sent his only Son Jesus to give
us life abundantly, to heal our diseases, to forgive our sins, we nailed him to
a cross—the blameless, innocent lamb of God.
To
other men, both criminals, were also led out with Jesus to be executed the
gospel of Luke explains. One of the
criminals who hung there hurled insults at him:
'Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself
and us!” Do you remember ever doing
that? Getting angry at God who allowing
the September 11th attacks to happen in the first place? But the other criminal rebuked him, “Don’t
you fear God, “ he said, “Since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting
what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you
come into your kingdom.” And here we
thought it was the fact that God DIDN’T remember that was his greatest gift to
us.
The
book of Galatians says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by
becoming a curse for us.” The first
letter of Peter says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so
that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have
been healed.” He nailed our condemnation
to the cross. The fact is, while it
seems, at first glance, that God’s mercy lies in his forgetfulness—or in his
not remembering our sins; I believe that we will only find God’s mercy when he
remembers every single one of them so he can die for them all. I don’t want him to forget a single one of my
sins. The hidden ones, the obvious ones,
the wicked ones, the little mistakes and faults—because if he forgets to die
for a single one I am lost forever. He
must remember every single one of your sins, so that he can die in your place
and then, only then, will God be able to forget them completely.
This
is why, in the book of Colossians, we read this great news in chapter 3 verse
3, “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” The penalty for sin is death. There is no hiding from this truth. You terrorize this world and those around you
with your sins and God must painfully watch you do it again and again with a
smile on your faith, with self-justification, with blissful ignorance. He must remember each one so that he
remembers why his Son, Jesus had to die.
But then, as he stares at the cross, he remembers his promise, “I will
forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” God remembers so that he might stop
remembering.
“Since,
then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where
Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”
It’s hard, on a day like today, to not remember . . . so stop
trying. Remember. Remember the pain, the anger, the fear and
the sadness. Because the September 11th
attacks can never be forgotten. Instead,
we pray for God’s spirit to enter our hearts and minds and do something in us
that we cannot do on our own. We pray
that God gives us the ability to remember and then to forgive. To have the heart of God who says, “I will
forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” We must remember in order to stop
remembering. To put our minds on things
above: love, forgiveness and joy rather than on the anger, sadness and revenge
so uplifted in this world.
When
you come to Jesus Christ and acknowledge him as your Lord and your Savior you
realize that we are all alike on this earth.
The same wickedness is in all of us.
And when you realize that your sins have been remembered and forgotten,
there is a chance, that you might find that same freedom here on earth in your
relationships with others. I remember
wondering that day 10 years ago, were the people who died ready? The attacks of September 11th were
such a surprise. Did they have faith in
Jesus? They had plans just like we do
today. They had important things to do
just like us. At the end, no matter when
that end comes, we will all be in the same predicament. Crying out just like that thief on the cross:
“Jesus, though I do not deserve you, please, remember me when you come into
your kingdom. Remember my faults,
remember my inadequacies and remember my sins.
Remember me. ” And when a sinner cries out in faith, God
remembers all that he created you to be and he remembers to forget everything
that pulled you apart from him.
Remember. When you cry out to
Jesus, you can count on Him answering. “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me
in paradise.” Amen.
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