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anniversary, Christ, darkness, light, love, memory, prayer, remember, September 11
The anniversary of September 11, 2001 is always one that hits me in unexpected ways. For those of us living at the time twenty-three years ago, our experiences that day are as varied as our humanity is varied. Depending on how close you lived to the three crash sites, whether you lost a loved one or waited long days for them to be found, what your ethnicity is (as those of Middle Eastern heritage had very different experiences that day and in the weeks and months to follow), or what your philosophy of justice was, our reactions to, experiences of, and the aftermath of that tragic day affects us all differently.
Despite those deeply varying differences, one thing always seems to be consistent on this anniversary – we remember. Maybe we spend time in prayer, or maybe we dedicate some time to silence, or maybe we take a long run, or maybe we burn off steam another way, but all of us in some way or fashion remember. As you remember this year, I invite your reflection to be active. There were countless people on that day who did something good for someone else – whether they helped someone out of a burning building, comforted a friend, searched through rubble, helped a stranger search for someone lost, made a meal for someone, or even made the ultimate sacrifice so that others might live. Use those stories and those memories of goodness that punctuated a day of awfulness to be a force for goodness today – to be an agent of Christ’s love in a world that desperately needs love. If you’re looking for motivation, you can find stories here. If you’re looking for a prayer, you can try this resource.
Even twenty-three years out, this day carries with it so much weight. I can’t wait to hear what you do to lighten some of that burden for someone else or yourself. Today we can be a part of shining Christ’s light in the darkness in our time.
Seeking and Serving 
At the time of the attack, I was responsible for a homeland security program for Kentucky, establish 10 months before 9/11. We had just finish a threat analysis, and I sent one of my graduate students to the National Guard commander with the report. Later that afternoon , I told my students who were a bit overwrought that this was the beginning of a very long war. There would not be a Midway, a Guadalcanal, or a DDay. I told them and my large family that to prepare themselves and to fear not.
I had friends in CIA who were in the South Tower. They all got out because their boss order an evacuation after the plane hit the north tower. One colleague told me he looked up to see men and women jumping to their death. He became so horrified that he lost consciousness of time and place until the dust of the collapsing North Tower landed on him and sent him running to safety.