The Attack on America
What happened on September 11, 2001 is incomprehensible! Unimaginable! Unpredictable! Unparallel! Unbelievable!
The whole nation ckhas talked nonstop for a week. I too have looked at the pictures in stunted disbelief. I have listened to the chatter. I have read, read, and read some more. I have felt grief for the victims and their families and friends, fear for the country, and anger at the barbarians that did this.
What do you say? After listening and saying a few things myself, I have one question? If He were here as He was before the ascension, “What would Jesus say?” What would He say about foreigners shedding blood on our shores? What would He say about towers collapsing killing innocent people?
We do not have to guess about what Jesus would say, because something similar happened while He was here and we know what He said and did.
There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Lk. 13:1-5)
The parallels between what happened when Jesus walked on the earth and what happened in New York on September 11, 2001 are unmistakable. A foreigner, Pilate (Lk. 13:1), killed people on Israel’s soil in a violent act (Lk. 13:1). In another case, a tower in Siloam fell, killing eighteen innocent people (Lk. 13:4).
In the first century, the people thought that in both of these cases, the ones who died were killed because of their sin and that their sin was worse than their own. Jesus took what they thought and turned it into a discussion of their salvation (cf. “Repent!” in Lk. 13:3, 5). In other words, Jesus used a travesty and a violent attack for an opportunity to evangelize. Be Christ like; use the tragedy to proclaim the gospel.
Be like Christ, who came to seek and save the lost (Lk. 19:10). Which picture lingers in your mind? The planes hitting the towers? The building becoming a bomb? The towers burning? The towers crumbling to the ground? The searching through the rubble? The image that should be burned in our brains is of so many seeking to save people.
© G. Michael Cocoris, 9/17/2001
The whole nation ckhas talked nonstop for a week. I too have looked at the pictures in stunted disbelief. I have listened to the chatter. I have read, read, and read some more. I have felt grief for the victims and their families and friends, fear for the country, and anger at the barbarians that did this.
What do you say? After listening and saying a few things myself, I have one question? If He were here as He was before the ascension, “What would Jesus say?” What would He say about foreigners shedding blood on our shores? What would He say about towers collapsing killing innocent people?
We do not have to guess about what Jesus would say, because something similar happened while He was here and we know what He said and did.
There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Lk. 13:1-5)
The parallels between what happened when Jesus walked on the earth and what happened in New York on September 11, 2001 are unmistakable. A foreigner, Pilate (Lk. 13:1), killed people on Israel’s soil in a violent act (Lk. 13:1). In another case, a tower in Siloam fell, killing eighteen innocent people (Lk. 13:4).
In the first century, the people thought that in both of these cases, the ones who died were killed because of their sin and that their sin was worse than their own. Jesus took what they thought and turned it into a discussion of their salvation (cf. “Repent!” in Lk. 13:3, 5). In other words, Jesus used a travesty and a violent attack for an opportunity to evangelize. Be Christ like; use the tragedy to proclaim the gospel.
Be like Christ, who came to seek and save the lost (Lk. 19:10). Which picture lingers in your mind? The planes hitting the towers? The building becoming a bomb? The towers burning? The towers crumbling to the ground? The searching through the rubble? The image that should be burned in our brains is of so many seeking to save people.
© G. Michael Cocoris, 9/17/2001
