AMOS 8:4-12
PSALM 138
1 TIMOTHY 2:1-8
LUKE 16:1-13
Sermon 9/23/01
Before I start, let me ask all of you to (join hands) close your eyes and take some slow, deep breaths as I read Psalm 46:1-4: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be moved, and though the mountains be toppled into the depths of the sea; though its waters rage and foam, and though the mountains tremble at its tumult. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Amen.
I
have read todays passage from the First Letter to Timothy a number of times,
but never have these words seemed so pertinent as they do now: the author says,
I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made
for everyone, for Kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead
a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.
A
quiet and peaceable life. That would
have seemed rather boring two weeks ago to some people, but now it seems like
a dream. Yet it is a dream we must
strive for by our own actions, as we pray for our President, all our law
enforcement agencies and for the leaders of the world.
Yes,
this is a time for patriotism, and rallying around our country, the land of
the free and home of the brave, is both necessary and inspiring. And let us pray fervently for our President
who has shown wisdom and care in starting to build a long-term
effort for safety coordinated with many other countries, rather than
lashing out in blind rage at the first target he could think of on September
12. Our chances for living a quiet and
peaceable life will depend a lot on our countrys actions in the days and years
to come.
Let us make no
mistake, however: the September 11 attacks were not only attacks on America,
they were crimes against humanity, they were acts of war
against the world. The
Secretary-General of the United Nations has said that there were citizens of 62
other nations who worked in the World Trade Center buildings. Truly, this must be a struggle between all
people of good will around the world on the one side, and terrorists on the
other.
Let us remember
that there are estimated to be several hundred Muslims among those dead or
missing-and-presumed-dead, including two members of the Mosque down the
street. This was a disaster that knew
no boundaries of race, religion or nationality. We must unite as if our planet were attacked by another planet.
I hope and pray
that the spasm of bias incidents and crimes which has besmirched America in the
last 12 days will soon end. The
Pakistani who was murdered in Texas a week ago had just moved there and was
about to move his family there - from Milltown. His funeral was at the Islamic Society of Central Jersey, US1 and
Stouts Lane, last week. Two days before
his funeral his brother was pulled over by North Brunswick Police who allegedly
said to him, You look like a terrorist.
And Mayor Spauldings response that day to the incident seemed to give a
blank check to vigilantes.
This is a time
for real Christians to step up and show our true colors sometimes
simply by continuing to live by our principles. Our Parish Administrative Assistant, Aleen
Crispino, held her daughters sixth birthday party yesterday, to which she
invited her daughters friends Christians, Jews and Muslims. Normal life. That is exactly right. On
Thursday evening, over 1,200 Christians, Jews, Muslims and Hindus gathered
together at St. Augustine of Canterbury Roman Catholic Church to pray together
and recommit ourselves to our community. That was exactly right.
Stephen Joseph,
member of our parish family, was on the 94th floor of the South
Tower and never made it out. Stephens
widow Gillian hugged their two-year-old sons day care caregiver and thanked
her for her loving care of Tristan. The
day care caregiver is Muslim. That hug
is exactly right, and very wonderful.
So if anyone makes any remarks in your hearing about the Muslims, tell
them that
someone who was just widowed can
make the distinction between Muslims in general, and those Muslims who
did that. If she can make that
distinction, so can we all.
In the short
run, the nations of the world will have to take decisive and precise action to
defend all people from the enemies of humanity. In the long run, the only solution is to build bridges of understanding, and structures of justice, economic and
political, which embrace the whole world and leave those who reject them as a
tiny minority which can be isolated and controlled more easily than today.
We can get
started on the long-term effort now.
As Christians, we embrace a world view which includes all people and all
history, not just our own lives and present condition. Were in it for the long haul until Christ
returns.
As Christians,
we embrace a world view which declares that every person is made in the image
of God, and is priceless. That
is a far cry from the world view of those who only value things that have
prices. In todays Gospel, Jesus tells
us firmly, You cannot serve both God and wealth. Perhaps those wicked people who destroyed the World Trade Center
thought they were destroying the false gods of America, images of the pursuit
of wealth for its own sake. By our
response to this horrific crime, we can show them to be wrong: by our heroism,
generosity, wisdom, resolve, strength and refusal to stoop to bigotry. By our determination to worship God
frequently, communally, and devoutly.
By praying together,
working together and playing together as the great rainbow that is America, by
having birthday parties with all our kids friends, by loving our
neighbors as ourselves, as Gillian did.
The terrorists
have hurt us deeply, but as long as we do not become haters like them, they
have not won. We shall overcome.
Let us stand and
join together in a prayer attributed to St. Francis, Page 833 in The Book of
Common Prayer.
Lord, make us
instruments of your peace. Where there
is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is
discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be
consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to
love. For it is in giving that we
receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen.
(The Rev.) Francis A. Hubbard
St. Barnabas Episcopal Church