Sept 16, 2001
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September 16,2001 Psalm 23:"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me." Grace and peace! This is the greeting to all of us that we all need now. It is good to have a coming together and supporting of one another. It is good to reach out to one another in Christ’s love. As we face the tragedy that occurred in New York and Washington DC, Tuesday 11th of September we pray for America and the world. This date will forever mark our lives. We feel very strongly about this. This is evil. This is pain and human suffering. At the very beginning we thought the first TV pictures were like a movie, but they were real. Today we are gathered here at Mindekirken to express our grief and anger and fear. The Bishops of the Church of Norway have sent a greeting: "Tuesday 11th of September is forever marked in our history and in our mind. The terror that on this day hit the heart of the United States of America has touched the entire world and shocked all of us. Can life be the same after this? During these days our thoughts reach out to the American people and all those who so brutally have theirs lives changed through loss and suffering. But life has changed for all of us. This has to mark the entire world society in its effort for safety and peace. We can hardly imagine how the Tuesday wrongdoing might produce fear and lack of courage. From this horrible experience we are reminded how easy it can be for human evil to hurt life. During this time of grieve we are challenged as a Church and as Christians to walk along "with faith in darkness" so that neither hate or mistrust overpower us. This is about a long term perspective and hard work for the sake of peace, step by step. In this the church also has an important task together with all people of good will. As bishops we will encourage people to gather at church this Sunday and participate in prayer for all those who are effected by this tragedy, for the entire American people and the leadership of the nation. Let us pray for all those who have the great responsibility of taking care of peace in our world, those who fight for basic human rights as freedom and safety. We greet you all with the following words: God is calling the entire humanity to fight the powers of injustice, bondage and tyranny. In following Christ we are called to serve God by initiating peace and building justice. His love is calling us to break off from the bondage of hate and mistrust and to love those who are called our enemies." The Bishops prayer: "Lord, our heavenly Father, We come before you our refuge in times of trial and on the day of disaster. Be our rescue and come to our salvation from evil, which face we have seen through what happened last Tuesday. We lift up before you all who mourn because of loss of their loved ones and those who suffer of their body or soul for lifetime. Be present with your relief and comfort. Encourage and empower all those participating in the difficult and dangerous work of rescue. Encourage all those who strive with discourage and fear. We pray for all those who are in position of taking care of the peace of the world. Let not hate and revenge take the lead. Especially we pray for the President of the USA and his advisers. Strengthen them in a way that their action may provide safety for the people of the nation as means for your good will. Help us all that we also in this time of darkness keep on going the good way of love as your Son taught us. Merciful Lord, may your peace that surpasses our mind keep our hearts and thoughts in Christ Jesus. Amen." In this way our worship service today is an opportunity to relate what has happened to Christian faith. We weep with those who weep. We can hardly find adequate words for the suffering and pain. But we borrow words from outside, from the Bible and Hymn Book As a fellowship of faith we find courage and strength from God. Larry King asked: Why can such bad things happened to good people? Does God make any sense? We do not have all the answers, but we can support one another. Wrongdoing like this has no good sense. God is not behind everything but he does want something out of everything. Millions have turned bad into good many times. It happens again today. If our respond is hate we do the same as they did who committed this terror. This was not God’s plan, but all the help and care is according to God. Therefore let us again in this time of evil turn to God and trust our Lord. The people who keep on in steadfast faith in God and walk in his love is strong. In his first address to the American people President Bush quoted from Psalm 23; "Even though I walk in the valley of shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me." Let us listen to God’s word from Psalm 23; The Lord is my shepherd… Amen.
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The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church · 924 E. 21st St, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2952 · (612)874-0716 |