Latest / Voices Of Life / 25 Years After September 11, 2001 — America Remembers

Transcript

25 Years After September 11, 2001 — America Remembers · Voices Of Life

• 0:00
  This is the Voices of Life podcast, a ministry
• 0:04
  of the Church for Life. Today, we remember, we
• 0:11
  reflect, and we honor. Your host, Pastor David,
• 0:15
  guides us through faith, history, and the moments
• 0:19
  that shape our lives. Join us now as Voices of
• 0:26
  Life begins. Welcome to this very special Voices
• 0:31
  of Life podcast, a ministry of the Church for
• 0:33
  Life. I'm Pastor David. 25 years, a quarter of
• 0:38
  a century, and still, September 11th, lives in
• 0:42
  the American soul. Today, Voices of Life pauses,
• 0:47
  remembers, and reflects on the defining moment
• 0:51
  of modern American history, a moment of unimaginable
• 0:55
  evil, and an extraordinary courage. A moment
• 0:59
  of national trauma and a national unity. A moment
• 1:05
  when the church became a refuge, a counselor,
• 1:09
  a healer, and a light. This is our September
• 1:13
  11th remembrance, 25 years later. It was the
• 1:17
  morning that changed the world. It was Tuesday,
• 1:21
  clear skies, normal routines, children going
• 1:25
  to school, workers commuting. Planes taking off.
• 1:29
  I remember well, I was a school resource officer
• 1:32
  at a high school at the time. Just doing my stuff,
• 1:35
  walking through the halls, interacting with children.
• 1:38
  That's what we did. And then at 8 .46 a .m. Eastern
• 1:44
  Time, everything changed. Al -Qaeda terrorists
• 1:49
  responsible for severe harm, loss of life, and
• 1:52
  human rights violations hijacked four commercial
• 1:55
  aircraft. Two struck the World Trade Center.
• 1:59
  One struck the Pentagon. And United Flight 93
• 2:03
  crashed near Shankville, Pennsylvania after passengers
• 2:07
  fought back. They were brave. They were courageous.
• 2:12
  But altogether, nearly 3 ,000 lives lost and
• 2:16
  thousands injured, millions traumatized in a
• 2:21
  matter of an hour. America was shaken. but not
• 2:26
  broken. The towers, the Pentagon, the field,
• 2:31
  the images are burned into our memory. Smoke
• 2:35
  rising from the North Tower, the South Tower
• 2:38
  collapsing, the Pentagon in flames, a quiet Pennsylvania
• 2:45
  field scarred by heroism. These were not attacks
• 2:50
  on buildings. They were attacks on innocents,
• 2:55
  freedom, and the American spirit. But even in
• 3:01
  the horror, courage erupted. Firefighters ran
• 3:05
  upward as others ran down. Police officers shielded
• 3:10
  strangers. Ordinary citizens became extraordinary
• 3:13
  heroes. And on Flight 93, passengers said, let's
• 3:18
  roll, and saved countless lives, but to the sacrifice
• 3:23
  of their own. The church responded. In the hours
• 3:28
  and days that followed, churches across America
• 3:30
  became sanctuaries of hope, sanctuaries of prayer,
• 3:34
  sanctuaries of grief, and sanctuaries of unity.
• 3:39
  People lined up to donate blood. Pastors opened
• 3:43
  their doors day and night. Counselors sat with
• 3:47
  the grieving. Communities held vigils, memorials,
• 3:51
  and service of lament. Three days later, on September
• 3:55
  14, 2001, the Washington National Cathedral hosted
• 3:59
  a historic national prayer service. The nation
• 4:03
  bowed its head. The church lifted its voice.
• 4:09
  And God met a broken people. So you may ask,
• 4:15
  where was God on September 11? This question
• 4:22
  echoes. every year, where was God? The answer
• 4:28
  is not philosophical. It is personal. God was
• 4:34
  with the brokenhearted. God was with the firefighters.
• 4:38
  God was with the wounded. God was with the grieving
• 4:42
  families. God was with the nation that refused
• 4:46
  to surrender to fear. Psalm 34, verse 18 declares,
• 4:52
  is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those
• 4:56
  who are crushed in spirit. God did not cause
• 5:00
  the evil, but God entered the suffering, and
• 5:04
  God carried the nation through the valley. There
• 5:09
  is a theology of tragedy. Scripture never hides
• 5:13
  tragedy, it confronts it. Cain and Abel, Herod
• 5:18
  and the infants, Judas and the betrayal. The
• 5:21
  cross, the greatest injustice in history. The
• 5:25
  Bible teaches us that evil is real. But God is
• 5:29
  greater. Darkness strikes, but light prevails.
• 5:33
  Terror wounds, but God heals. Jesus himself wept
• 5:38
  at Lazarus' tomb. He did not rush past the grief.
• 5:42
  He entered it. And he enters ours. How 9 -11
• 5:47
  changed America forever? The attacks reshaped
• 5:51
  our nation in so many different ways. National
• 5:54
  security. We have now a Department of Homeland
• 5:58
  Security. We didn't have that before. Foreign
• 6:01
  policy, military operations, airport security.
• 6:05
  You have TSA, which is part of FEMA, which is
• 6:09
  now part of, of course, Homeland Security. Emergency
• 6:13
  management, cultural identity, and, of course,
• 6:17
  religious life. September 11th changed how America
• 6:22
  thinks, travels, prepares, and prays. But it
• 6:26
  also changed how America comes together. For
• 6:29
  a moment, a powerful moment, we were not divided.
• 6:34
  We were one nation, one people, one family. Unfortunately,
• 6:39
  through the years, it has worn off. But stories
• 6:42
  of light in the darkness, in the ashes of ground
• 6:46
  zero, There were some stories that emerged. Firefighters
• 6:50
  carrying survivors. Strangers helping strangers.
• 6:53
  Churches overflowing with volunteers. Communities
• 6:56
  donating supplies faster than they could be used.
• 6:59
  Flags flying from porches across the country.
• 7:03
  These stories remind us evil may strike, but
• 7:06
  goodness rises. Darkness may roar, but light
• 7:10
  shines brighter. President George W. Bush declared
• 7:14
  a national daring of prayer. And then there was
• 7:17
  the Washington National Cathedral service. A
• 7:21
  nation on its knees, the National Day of Prayer
• 7:24
  and Cathedral Memorial, in the wake of the attacks,
• 7:29
  when the smoke still rose over New York, when
• 7:31
  the Pentagon still burned, when the field in
• 7:36
  Pennsylvania was still quiet, America turned
• 7:40
  to prayer. On September 14, 2001, just three
• 7:44
  days after the attacks, President George W. Bush
• 7:47
  proclaimed the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance.
• 7:49
  It was not a political act. It was a spiritual
• 7:53
  one. A call for the nation to bow its head, lift
• 7:58
  its eyes, and seek the comfort only God can give.
• 8:03
  That same day, the Washington National Cathedral
• 8:06
  became a spiritual center of the United States.
• 8:11
  Inside that sacred space, history gathered. President
• 8:16
  George W. Bush, former presidents Jimmy Carter,
• 8:20
  Bill Clinton, and George H .W. Bush. Members
• 8:24
  of Congress, military leaders, first responders,
• 8:27
  families of the victims, pastors, priests, rabbis,
• 8:31
  and MMs. A nation in mourning, united in prayer.
• 8:37
  The cathedral's great arches. echoed with scripture,
• 8:42
  hymns, and lament. The choir sang words of hope.
• 8:47
  Clergy prayed for healing, courage, and national
• 8:51
  unity. And President Bush delivered a message
• 8:54
  that steadied a grieving nation, reminding Americans
• 8:59
  that faith is stronger than fear and that God
• 9:02
  is near to the brokenhearted. It was one of the
• 9:05
  most significant religious gatherings in modern
• 9:08
  American history. A moment when America paused
• 9:12
  not to argue, not to divide, but to pray. It
• 9:16
  was so much reminding of how our country started.
• 9:22
  When our founding fathers prayed before passing
• 9:28
  the Constitution, they were looking for providence,
• 9:31
  just as President Bush was. on this day churches
• 9:36
  across the country followed suit sanctuaries
• 9:39
  overflowed candles were lit names were read tears
• 9:44
  were shared and the people of god carried the
• 9:48
  nation in prayer 25 years later that day still
• 9:52
  stands as a reminder when america is wounded
• 9:55
  america prays and when america prays god hears
• 10:00
  25 years later Many listening today remember
• 10:04
  exactly where they were. Some were children.
• 10:07
  Some were young adults. Some were already serving.
• 10:11
  Some lost loved ones. Some still carry invisible
• 10:14
  wounds. I mentioned in the beginning, I was a
• 10:18
  school resource officer. I was at a high school
• 10:20
  in Columbia, Tennessee. I know exactly where
• 10:23
  I was. I remember teachers turning on the television
• 10:29
  channel, showing the students. what was going
• 10:33
  on and i remember specifically one teacher that
• 10:38
  got in trouble for doing it because the principal
• 10:40
  told him not to and he told him not to because
• 10:43
  the central office told him not to and i say
• 10:45
  this story was hiding the truth especially from
• 10:50
  our children is wrong that teacher stood with
• 10:55
  courage stuck to his convictions and showed the
• 10:59
  children and his high school students these are
• 11:01
  not Students in elementary that might not understand
• 11:04
  it. These were high school students that clearly
• 11:06
  understood and they needed to understand before
• 11:09
  rumors took over what the reality was. I praise
• 11:13
  that teacher today for standing up at the risk
• 11:17
  of his employment. He did the right thing and
• 11:22
  he did the right thing for the children and that
• 11:23
  was the most important part. But wherever you
• 11:27
  were, God was with you. And God is with you now.
• 11:32
  Let us pause. Let us breathe. Let us remember.
• 11:39
  Let us have 30 seconds of silence. Thank you.
• 12:13
  Let us go ahead and have a prayer for those who
• 12:17
  were lost, the families that have had to endure,
• 12:20
  and those that were affected by the materials
• 12:25
  in the building that caused illness later on
• 12:29
  and have illness today or have passed away in
• 12:32
  recent times. I want to pray for them. I want
• 12:36
  you to pray with me. This is a prayer for the
• 12:39
  nation. Heavenly Father, we remember the lives
• 12:44
  lost. We honor the heroes. We pray for the families
• 12:48
  still grieving. We ask for healing for those
• 12:52
  still hurting. We pray for unity in a divided
• 12:56
  time. And we thank you for being near to the
• 13:00
  brokenhearted. Comfort us. Strengthen us. Guide
• 13:07
  us. and most of all, keep us faithful. In Jesus'
• 13:12
  name, amen. 25 years later, we still remember,
• 13:19
  we still honor, we still grieve, and we still
• 13:22
  hope. September 11th changed America, but it
• 13:26
  did not destroy America, and it did not silence
• 13:30
  the church. May we continue to be people of prayer.
• 13:35
  people of compassion, people of courage, and
• 13:39
  people of light. This is Voices of Life. I'm
• 13:44
  Pastor David. Thank you for joining me in this
• 13:47
  remembrance and this hope. Until next time. Thank
• 13:54
  you for listening to the Voices of Life podcast.
• 13:57
  Pastor David will return with more teaching,
• 14:00
  more truth, and more hope. Until then, may faith
• 14:07
  strengthen you, may courage guide you, and may
• 14:11
  God bless your life. This has been Voices of
• 14:16
  Life.