Today, on 9/11, we remember the horror of the 2001 attacks and reflect upon the innocent lives lost and the grief that struck us as a nation. Twenty-four years later, many of us can still see the planes striking the towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania … and remember how those acts stole some of our innocence as well. And, this morning, we find ourselves again confronted with violence in the headlines, this time in the murder of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University and a shooting at Evergreen High School in Colorado.
These events—though of very different scale and circumstance—are reminders that violence has a ripple effect that wounds deeply. It impacts victims and perpetrators, families and communities, and tears at the moral fabric that binds us. That thread that holds us together has in the past been – for many – our shared beliefs as Americans. However, there is another moral thread which should be even stronger, and that is our calling as Christians.
Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of the inability of hate to drive out hate and noted that “only light can drive out darkness.” Mahatma Gandhi said, “An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind.” Dorothy Thompson wrote: “Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creating alternatives for responding to conflict, alternatives to violence.”
These aren’t easy words to live by, especially when fear, anger, and grief demand responses. But they point toward a higher, more difficult way: a way that reflects mercy, justice, and peace:
Romans 12:17-21: “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God … Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Matthew 5:38-44: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you … Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
So, how do we, as people of faith and as people impacted by these events, respond?
With grief and mourning – for those lost on 9/11, for Charlie Kirk, for the students at Evergreen, for all lives cut short, and for the weight of fear and division in our land.
With nonviolent love – resisting the impulse toward retribution and demonization of “the other.” Let our speech and actions speak truth and seek justice, but without hatred, anger, or an “us vs. them” attitude.
With hope rooted in faith – trusting that God sees every drop of innocent blood; believing that evil does not have the last word; that love, forgiveness, and peace are possible.
With an understanding that to respond in any other way degrades all those made in the image of God, and dims the light of what humanity can be.
John Wesley asked a question: “May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion?” He answered his own question by saying, “Without all doubt, we may.” His words were a challenge then, and remain a challenge for us today.
Prayer: Gracious God, we bring before you our grief, anger, and confusion in the face of violence. Lord, heal the brokenhearted and comfort those who mourn. Bind us together as one people, not divided by fear or hatred, but united in your love. Teach us to walk in the way of peace and to embody your mercy in a world so desperate for healing. As for me, God, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love and where there is despair, let me share words of hope. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who himself bore violence and overcame it with love. Amen.
