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This Sacred Day – A Remembrance of 9/11

This Sacred Day – A Remembrance of 9/11

by Rev. Alexandra Robinson on September 11, 2024


Readings:  Genesis 4:1-26 and 7:17-8:22, 10:1-20 and Psalm 22 

Today is a sacred day in the United States- it is a hallowed space in which those who lost their lives in the tragedy of 9/11 are remembered:  the heartbreak and holy unite.  I believe these days are marked as sacred, because in grief we are connected to God in a time unlike any other. In grief and the anticipation of it, God is near to us, as we call out in love hoping to be heard, known, understood.  Life has a different perspective in these moments, and anyone who has ever been through the pain of saying goodbye to a loved one knows.  In grief - no longer do the petty details of life bother us and no longer are our to-do lists important.  Materialism melts away and personal worries dissipate.  Families once distant, and friends disconnected, come together to honor the place of that loved one in their lives.  It is a time to hold still, to hang on, to soak up every moment, in the tenderness of a relationship cherished. 

Grief and the anticipation of it is throughout Scripture,  and as heard in the early chapters of Genesis: the murder of Abel by Cain, the destruction of life around Noah’s Ark, the plagues upon Pharoah in the travels  of Abram and Sarai.   Grief and loss is a part of life, and yet, we wonder today just as much as the ancients about the mystery of life and death.  When in grief, I encourage people to read the Psalms: poetry as real and raw as humanity’s pain: assuring us we are not alone in these days of sorrow.  

Today, I encourage you to listen to the Psalms sung by Rabbi Irwin Kula as he chants the recordings of persons saying goodbye from the Twin Towers.  Though painful to hear, as we listen, we realize this is a holy word.  Voices connecting life and death, the secular and the sacred, in the promises of God that we will never be separated from love.  And so when we say goodbye to those we love, may we be assured that the words and moments shared unite heaven and earth together in a promise:

The promise of the resurrection - love never dies.  

We Remember Them... 

In Christ’s love,  

Pastor Alex

Tags: genesis, resurrection, grief, flower mound united methodist church, fmumc


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