September 11, 2001

This was a piece I wrote shortly after the tragedy of 9/11. It came from my personal struggle with the age-old problem - why does a good God allow such things to happen? While I have no immediate answers to that, there are two verses that intrigue me when it comes to this question that seems to have no answer. 

Lamentations 3:32-33  Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.

 

9-11

By Nici S. Meyer

 

The unbelievable happens

The unshakable suddenly becomes shakable,

And we are left wondering, questioning,

Why, how,

How could this happen?

 

A nation mourns and

a people gather together

to sift throught the ashes,

To make sense of the madness

And to question once again,

Why and how

How could this happen?

 

In the midst of the rubble,

Remnants of memos and

faxes of the day’s business are buried.

 

In the places where important business

And international affairs

Were moments ago being carried out,

Important business is now

Reduced to dust and ashes .

 

Human lives are buried here now.

In light of this, faxes and memos

Don’t seem so important anymore.

And still a nation mourns asking

why and how

how could this happen?

 

We are left with wounded hearts

And crushed spirits.

We lift our eyes to the heavens, seeking answers,

Mourning the loss that echoes across

the centuries:

Loss of human life,

Loss of certainty,

Loss of peace,

Loss of Paradise and a world without evil.

 

For the first time in a long time,

We realize as a nation that we are not unshakable,

We are not immovable;

That we truly are frail and vulnerable,

Because we are human.

In that vulnerability, we ask

Why, how, how could this happen?

 

Who or what was the cause of this unspeakable act?

Could one being alone have masterminded,

Plotted and schemed

To bring about this destruction,

This terror, this evil?

 

Evil is not prejudiced.

It does not dwell in the hearts

Of only one people,

Nation, culture, or creed.

It dwells in the hearts of us all.

 

Our own hearts condemn us when

We turn our mourning and sorrow

Into an excuse for bitterness and

Build up walls of hatred,

Rather than learning how to love,

How to forgive.

 

Still, the age old question rings out.

How could God, allow this to happen?

where was He?

 

Our God is not a God of the past.

He is right here, right now.

 

Perhaps, could we climb to the highest heavens today,

We would stand with him in his Sanctuary

And witness tears of

Anguish rolling down his cheeks.

Tears of grief, tears of emotion,

Tears of a parent,

Mourning this fallen and sinful world,

In which evil sometimes

Appears to be the conquering hero.

 

But evil is not the conquering hero.

Our conquering hero is Jesus Christ, himself.

God’s Son, sent to suffer and

Die for the evil that has dwelt

In every single human heart,

Except his own.

 

His heart’s blood was

Spilled out for our own tainted blood.

He was the world’s original blood donor,

And by his wounds we are healed.

 

His resurrection assures us of our salvation and

HIS VICTORY

RINGS OUT ON EVEN

THE DARKEST OF DAYS,

IN EVEN THE DARKEST OF PLACES.

 

So we can set our questions,

Our anxieties, and even our fears aside

And we can say with assurance,

Death is swallowed up in victory.

O death, where is your victory.

O death, where is your sting?