I grew up hearing my grandparents and parents reminding me where they were when they got the word about Pearl Harbor. I was only one-year-old back then. However, I distinctly recall where I was and how I felt on November 22, 1963 when the news came forth from Dallas, Texas. Don’t you?

     Now we all have another horrific event to remember. I have received many messages with a clear indication of a huge mix of emotions, thoughts, and questions.

     Like Billy Graham, I have no unambiguous statement about the why of the terrorist actions. However, as a pastor, I do have some thoughts. On August 19, I was substituting at a local church in Lancaster County. Preaching on the Old Testament lection, I was led to preach a sermon on, yes, terrorism. God had used a kind of “holy terrorism” to call the nation of Israel to repentance. Israel’s neighbor was allowed to invade and carry the people into captivity because they had forgotten God.

     Consider how much we have tended to ignore God in our time, abandoning worship, Bible reading, and care for our neighbors. In a time of unprecedented prosperity, Americans have forgotten our perpetual need for God. Now God has partially lifted the hedge of protection that has been around us for so long and we have suffered a terrible calamity. (Read Isaiah 5:1-7). 

     Yet we know that anger and revenge are not the answer. Rather than to seek vengeance, we must forgive the ones who have acted. This does not mean that we do not take action against the director(s) of the campaign. We must return to seeking God’s direction for us, blanket the world with prayer and reclaim God’s desire to love and care for us. 

© 2001 Rev. Ron Jones All Rights Reserved