Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. All around the globe people stopped to commemorate the violent attack on American soil that ended the lives of nearly 3,000 individuals. I remember exactly where I was that day. I walked into a lecture hall at Xavier University of Louisiana and my professor immediately dismissed class. His words to us were simple, “Go home and be safe.” I rushed back to my dorm room, turned on my cable news show, and watched with sheer amazement as the Twin Towers crumbled before my eyes. Although I was hundreds of miles away, my heart was gripped with fear and dismay as our country suffered from such a coordinated attack against the institutions that we held dear.
Now 25 years later, I wonder are we any better? Have we, as a country, learned anything from that moment that brought such unrest to our collective consciousness? The prophetic book of Amos offers a warning that shakes me to my core: “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria, the notables of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel resorts” (Amos 6.1, NRSVuE). Amos levied his critique against the temptation of arrogant satisfaction. Instead of doing the difficult work of promoting justice and operating from a place of righteousness, the leaders of Israel became lulled into feelings of satisfaction, as if they had arrived– as if their position and status made them untouchable from the perils of reality. Sadly, we are not far from this thinking today.
Take a hard look at ourselves here in America. We bully our way through this world, taking what we want, believing that we are above all others, and masquerade it as being “proud” of our country. We have no consideration for the humanity of others. We simply take what we want and will use any mechanism that we deem necessary in order to bend the desired outcome in our favor. And disgustingly above this, we slap God’s name on our efforts, as if we have divine approval for the harm we cause.
At some point, America must face what we as a country are doing in the name of God. When we withhold aid to help those that are destitute, is that truly operating as God would in the world? When we deny the legal protections that prohibit active discrimination of others, are we doing the Lord’s work? When we do evil in order to fulfill our imperialistic desires, does God smile on that behavior? I think not.
The way of the biblical Jesus stood opposed to the harmful tactics of the Roman empire and the religious aristocracy. Both empire and religion were critiqued because they had forgotten to protect the most vulnerable within their communities. Wealth and status intoxicated those at the top with power to the point that those who needed saving the most were crushed, never to recover. Jesus, just as Amos, understood that ease and satisfaction overwhelmingly mutes the cries of the poor and disenfranchised. The divine-no matter the form- cannot smile on that behavior.
In 2001, we prayed together, wept together, and promised that we would never forget. But somewhere along the way, we have forgotten everything that moment was designed to teach us. We have built walls to protect ourselves from one another instead of examining our shared humanity. Amos testified that ease produces blindness; Jesus demonstrated that standing with the crushed is our responsibility.
May we move beyond the ceremony and find solidarity with our fellow brothers and sisters.
Stay unsettled.
Graced and grateful,
jsb