I know you understand why “Bar Chat” will be a little different
for a while. Starting Wednesday, however, I will try and work in
a little story or two, that is more a reflection of things outside our
New World. I may even throw in some of my lame humor. For
today, recognizing that most of you were at work on Friday and
missed the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance service in
Washington, I wanted to share the Reverend Billy Graham”s
speech. He is a national treasure. Please understand this is not
presented as my way of pushing religion. Rather, at this moment
in time, it is part of our history.
—
President and Mrs. Bush, I want to say a personal word on behalf
of many people. Thank you, Mr. President, for calling this day
of prayer and remembrance. We needed it at this time.
We come together today to reaffirm our conviction that God
cares for us whatever our ethnic, religious or political
background may be. The Bible says that he”s the God of all
comfort, who comforts us in our troubles.
No matter how hard we try, words simply cannot express the
horror, the shock and the revulsion we all feel over what took
place in this nation on Tuesday morning. September 11 will go
down in our history as a day to remember.
Today we say to those who masterminded this cruel plot and to
those who carried it out that the spirit of this nation will not be
defeated by their twisted and diabolical schemes. Someday those
responsible will be brought to justice as President Bush and our
Congress have so forcefully stated.
But today we especially come together in this service to confess
our need of God. We”ve always needed God from the very
beginning of this nation. But today we need him especially.
We”re facing a new kind of enemy. We”re involved in a new
kind of warfare. And we need the help of the Spirit of God.
The Bible words are our hope, God is our refuge and strength
and ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear,
though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of
the sea.
But how do we understand something like this? Why does God
allow evil like this to take place? Perhaps that is what you are
asking now. You may even be angry at God. I want to assure
you that God understands these feelings that you may have.
We”ve seen so much on our television, heard on our radio;
stories that bring tears to our eyes and make us all feel a sense of
anger. But God can be trusted even when life seems at its
darkest.
But what are some of the lessons we can learn? First we”re
reminded of the mystery and reality of evil. I”ve been asked
hundreds of times in my life why God allows tragedy and
suffering. I have to confess that I really do not know the answer,
totally, even to my own satisfaction. I have to accept by faith
that God is sovereign and he”s a God of love and mercy and
compassion in the midst of suffering.
The Bible says that God is not the author of evil. It speaks of
evil as a mystery. In First Thessalonians 2:7, it talks about the
mystery of iniquity. The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah said:
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who
can understand it?” He asked that question: Who can understand
it?
And that”s one reason we each need God in our lives. The lesson
of this event is not only about the mystery of iniquity and evil,
but secondly it”s a lesson about our need for each other.
What an example New York and Washington have been to the
world these past few days. None of us will ever forget the
pictures of our courageous firefighters and police, many of
whom have lost friends and colleagues, or the hundreds of people
attending or standing patiently in line to donate blood.
A tragedy like this could have torn our country apart. But
instead it has united us and we have become a family.
So those perpetrators who took this on to tear us apart, it has
worked the other way. It”s backfired. We are more united than
ever before.
I think this was exemplified in a very moving way when the
members of our Congress stood shoulder to shoulder the other
day and sang “God Bless America.”
Finally, difficult as it may be for us to see right now, this event
can give a message of hope; hope for the present and hope for the
future. Yes, there is hope. There”s hope for the present because
I believe the stage has already been set for a new spirit in our
nation.
One of the things we desperately need is a spiritual renewal in
this country. We need a spiritual revival in America. And God
has told us in his word time after time that we”re to repent of our
sins and return to him and he will bless us in a new way.
But there”s also hope for the future because of God”s promises.
As a Christian I have hope not just for this life but for Heaven
and the life to come. And many of those people who died this
past week are in Heaven right now. And they wouldn”t want to
come back; it”s so glorious and so wonderful. And that”s the
hope for all of us who put our faith in God. I pray that you will
have this hope in your heart.
This event reminds us of the brevity and the uncertainty of life.
We never know when we too will be called into eternity. I doubt
if even one of those people who got on those planes or walked
into the World Trade Center or the Pentagon last Tuesday
morning thought it would be the last day of their lives. They
didn”t – it didn”t occur to them. And that”s why each of us needs
to face our own spiritual need and commit ourselves to God and
his will now.
Here in this majestic National Cathedral we see all around us
symbols of the cross. For the Christian, I”m speaking for the
Christian now, the cross tells us that God understands our sin and
our suffering. For he took upon himself in the person of Jesus
Christ our sins and our suffering. And from the cross God
declares: I love you. I know the heartaches and the sorrows and
the pains that you feel, but I love you.
The story does not end with the cross, for Easter points us
beyond the tragedy of the cross to the empty tomb. It tells us that
there is hope for eternal life, for Christ has conquered evil and
death and hell. Yes, there is hope.
I”ve become an old man now and I”ve preached all over the
world. And the older I get the more I cling to that hope that I
started with many years ago, and proclaimed it in many
languages to many parts of the world.
Several years ago at the National Prayer Breakfast here in
Washington, Ambassador Andrew Young, who had just gone
through the tragic death of his wife, closed his talk with a quote
form the old hymn, “How Firm A Foundation.”
We all watched in horror as planes crashed into the steel and
glass of the World Trade Center. Those majestic towers built on
solid foundations were examples of the prosperity and creativity
of America. When damaged those buildings eventually
plummeted to the ground, imploding in upon themselves. Yet
underneath the debris is a foundation that was not destroyed.
Therein lies the truth of that old hymn that Andrew Young
quoted: How Firm A Foundation.
Yes, our nation has been attacked, buildings destroyed, lives lost.
But now we have a choice: whether to implode and disintegrate
emotionally and spiritually as a people and a nation; or whether
we choose to become stronger through this struggle to rebuild on
a solid foundation. And I believe that we”re in the process of
starting to rebuild on that foundation.
That foundation is our trust in God. That”s what this service is
all about. And in that faith we have the strength to endure
something as difficult and horrendous as what we have
experienced this week.
This has been a terrible week with many tears. But also it”s been
a week of great faith. Churches all across the country have
called prayer meetings. And today is a day that they”re
celebrating not only in this country but in many parts of the
world. And in the words of that familiar hymn that Andrew
Young quoted it says: “Fear not. I am with thee. Oh, be not
dismayed for I am thy God and will give thee aid. I”ll strengthen
thee, help thee and cause thee to stand upon my righteous,
omnipotent hand.”
My prayer to thee is that we will feel the loving arms of God
wrapped around us and will know in our hearts he will never
forsake us as we trust in him.
We also know that God is going to give wisdom and courage and
strength to the president and those around him. And this is going
to be a day that we will remember as a day of victory. May God
bless you all.
—
But I have to add an incendiary comment concerning Father
Robert Drinan, one of the heroes of the anti-war movement
during Vietnam. I was watching him on CNN Sunday afternoon
and found him to be absolutely revolting. “Love (the terrorists)
as brothers,” he said.
I am a churchgoing Catholic, and I tolerate all faiths. What I like
about Reverend Graham, and his son, Franklin, is that they have
a firm grasp on the reality of this horrible situation we now find
ourselves in. Whether you are religious or not, all of us need to
pray for the victims.and pray for the men and women in our
armed forces. I will be addressing the clergy, in general, in my
next “Week in Review.”
This, my friends, is a war between good and evil. It is not a war
against Islam. It is a war against terrorists, who, in this modern
world, are capable of using weapons of mass destruction to
destroy civilization as we know it. It is hoped the Father
Drinan”s of the world will exit the debate, quickly.
We return on Wednesday.
Brian Trumbore
*If you saw “60 Minutes” on Sunday, I can now let you in on
something I have purposefully kept secret (save one time). Summit,
NJ is where I grew up (I live next door now). Summit, NJ is the
home of StocksandNews. They profiled the search for Todd Rancke,
a great guy who was a year behind me in high school. Everybody
loved Todd. He will be missed.
I didn”t want to say much in my “Week in Review” because I haven”t
seen all of the lists yet.
