Away with Words: In Pursuit of Authenticity

9/11

Frankly, I'm confused. Four years ago, September 11th changed my life. I never made it to work that day and officially resigned my career as an attorney one week later. I never expected that September 10th would be my last day practicing law, nor could I have possibly imagined what the next fifteen months of relief work would entail. Four years ago, September 11th changed my dad's life. After FDNY chaplain Father Mychal Judge died on the scene, my father was the only identifiable clergyman at Ground Zero that day. He arrived on his motorcycle ten minutes after the second tower collapsed, welcomed by a uniformed rescue worker who asked him to bless body parts. Four years ago, September 11th changed our ministry forever as it opened doors for public-private partnerships, interdenominational partnerships, regional and national partnerships and so much more. It created an unprecedented opportunity for churches to be The Church in our city and spawned a season of prayer that, "buried in the rubble are the seeds of revival." We have begun to glimpse answers to those prayers, including the 1300 local churches and ministries that supported this year's Billy Graham Crusade. Most importantly, September 11th, 2001, changed forever the families of the 2,985 lives slain in the most horrific terrorist attack on our country's soil: 265 on the four planes; 2,595 (including 343 firefighters, 23 New York City police officers, and 37 Port Authority police officers) in the WTC; and 125 civilians and military personnel at the Pentagon. Yet today, despite being very conscious of the anniversary, it seemed to come and go without much emotion or fanfare. Sure there were memorials in NY, DC, and PA (and elsewhere); Pastor Roger mentioned it in church this morning; and documentaries and retrospectives aired on television networks and cable. But for me, for the most part, it felt like just another day. As a city, we've done everything possible to return to "normalcy." As a nation, we took out the Taliban and Sadaam and have engaged Iraqi insurgents and Al Qaeda in a protracted "War on Terror" that shows few signs of ending any time soon. As a world, we've moved on to other tragedies, notably the most ferocious natural disaster in global history and now the most expansive natural disaster in US history. Resurfacing wounds that began healing four years ago seems inappropriate when so many have wounds that are still so raw. But is it? I'm not sure. Confused.

posted by Jeremy Del Rio @ 9/11/2005 10:52:00 PM