(Colossians 3:1-11; Luke 6:20-26)
“Nine-eleven” – there is no greater date of infamy in the
minds of most Americans than today.
Twelve years ago their nation was traumatized by viewing a jet passenger
plane ram into a New York skyscraper and later seeing that building crumble
like an avalanche. The experience
invited rage and begged revenge – what the reading from Colossians today tells
Christians to avoid.
Colossians describes the Christian mystery of being a new
creation amid a passing world. It urges
the faithful to leave behind inordinate passions and to live in Christ’s
peace. It reminds them that in him no
one or no group has higher status, but all share equal dignity as brothers and
sisters of the same family.
Most Americans have lost the sense of outrage over the attacks
twelve years ago although some whose husbands or children died in the attacks may
still feel enraged. Neither sentiment is
adequate. We should not be forgetful or
seething. Rather as Christ would have
it, let us pray for the dead, those they have left behind, and indeed the
perpetrators of the crime. Let us live
the reality that we are in Christ so that the whole world may find peace in
him.
