A Light in the Window
Susan Hoyle, pastor Trinity UMC
How can it be the 10th anniversary of 9/11, we wonder? Like other critical events in our lives, most of us remember where we were and what we were doing 10 years ago. When tragedies occur, they are imprinted in our memories. We’ve watched the specials on TV and thought about it all. Perhaps we also thought about other critical events such as December 7, 1941 or November 22, 1963. Maybe we thought about critical events in our personal lives such as the death of loved ones and friends or tragedies in our hometowns. Terrible times of grief and loss happen, they just do.
So how do we get thought those critical events? Some folks retreat from life, at least for a while. Others are filled with so much rage and some people cope with substances that are not healthy and can even be life threatening. Many people are filled with anxiety and fear and they become almost paralyzed. What are we supposed to do?
As followers of Christ, we know our answer is through Jesus. He is our rock, our anchor. We look at the critical event of His death on the cross. What did His followers do after His death? They came together in their grief, in their anger, with whatever emotions they felt, they came together. Somehow being together gave them something they needed, people who understood what they were feeling. Do you remember that on September 16, 2011, the first Sunday after 9/11, houses of worship were filled to overflowing? People came together to be together. As I heard over the weekend, we came together with one hand over one heart.
We learn so much as we read our Holy Scriptures about how to live our lives and how to cope with critical events. We are given stories and verses that are our conduit for the power and strength of God for us to hold onto. He is our anchor, our foundation, during terrible times in our lives. What is your anchoring passage of Scripture? What verses have become a part of who you are that you remember during everyday difficulties and even during those terrible times in life?
One of my anchoring passages is Isaiah 43, “Do not fear for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned and the flame shall not consume you. I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” Perhaps the passage that is imprinted in your memory is the 23rd Psalm, the Lord is my shepherd or John 3:16, for God so loved the world or the Lord’s Prayer. Perhaps you can’t think of any passage at all.
Perhaps now would be just the right time to find your anchoring passage and begin to practice using it in everyday life when the kids are fighting or you’re mad at your spouse or parents or someone at work has angered you. As we use these verses during normal everyday difficulties, they will become a part of who we are. Then during those critical events in our lives, they will come to our awareness and we will be open to the power of the Lord our God through them. Not that they take the pain away, but they draw us closer to the One who will hold our pain for us. So we remember, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height or depth nor anything in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Nothing…amen.
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