The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered
Psalm 116:1-9
distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the Lord: ‘O Lord, I pray, save my life!’” vss. 3-4
It’s hard to believe that 23 years have passed since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. It’s a date that hangs on in our memories as a moment in which our realities were shattered. The unthinkable had occurred! What had happened regularly in other parts of the world had come home to our shores, and in some sense we still haven’t recovered. In the days and weeks following 9/11 places of worship were packed as people gathered for prayer and echoed the psalmist’s words, “O Lord, we pray, save our lives!” But soon the flurry of prayers abated and people returned to their old ways, and so it remained–until the next great disaster or calamity! That seems to be how it works for folks in our world. We pretty much ignore our relationship to God until distress and anguish come to visit, and then we’re spurred into action. Our hearts and minds are turned to prayer and we fill the air with our petitions for healing and restoration. Does it make a difference? It seems that it must, for we keep on doing it. In some mysterious way, in the midst of calamity a divine connection is made, and we are lifted up.
Thought for the Day: How did I react on 9/11?
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