Yesterday was normal. We went to [REUNION], Ian studied for his licensure exams, we went out for ice cream with John and Erin, and had our every-other-weekend Burn Notice double feature double date with Brett and Emily.
Yesterday was different. We remembered, Ian watched old footage online, and we talked about where we were ten years ago when we first heard. Ian was eating cereal and watching TV before school when the coverage began. I was in class and couldn't believe the odds that two planes would accidentally hit the World Trade Center. I got to my next class and my accounting teacher told us, "You have lost your innocence" — I knew then it was no accident.
We were young, and far away in Kansas. I don't think it ever seemed quite real until we saw Ground Zero on our trip to NYC three years ago. And now, in Boston, it is closer than ever. We took time to remember those who were needlessly lost, those who sacrificed everything for others, and those who continue to serve. At [REUNION], we also prayed a prayer written ten years ago in response to 9/11.
“When the world spins crazy,Yesterday, today, and always, in this broken world, may this be our prayer.
spins wild and out of control,
spins toward rage and hate and violence,
spins beyond our wisdom and nearly
beyond our faith,
When the world spins to chaos as it does now among us...
We are glad for sobering roots that provide ballast in the storm
So we thank you for our rootage in communities of faith,
for many fathers and mothers
who have believed and trusted
as firm witnesses to us,
for their many stories of wonder, awe and healing.
We are glad this day in this company
for the rootage of scripture,
for its daring testimony,
for its deep commands,
for its exuberant tales.
Because we know that as we probe deep into this text...
clear to its bottom,
we will find you hiding there,
we will find you showing yourself there,
speaking as you do,
governing,
healing,
judging.
And when we meet you hiddenly,
we find the spin not so unnerving,
because from you the world again has a chance
for life and sense and wholeness.
We pray midst the spinning, not yet unnerved,
but waiting and watching and listening,
for you are the truth that contains all our spin. Amen.”
—Walter Brueggemann