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ST. MATTHEW’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
PRAYER SERVICE
On the occasion of the Death and Devastation wrought about by a Terrorist attack.
Tuesday September 11, 2001
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We sorrow - we grieve - we writhe in pain
We grieve at the horrific scope of Human suffering
We weep at the devastation and the staggering loss of precious lives.
We weep at the unbelievable disregard for Human Life.
Our hearts go out to those who have suffered the loss of loved ones.
Our Country has experienced a severe body blow of unimaginable proportions.
However - our Hearts have been wrenched, and torn and broken in a way -
That only God’s Healing Grace can mend and restore.
A catastrophe of such magnitude - is a call to Prayer
It is a call get on our knees and to pray our hearts out in a way that brings down God’s Gracious Healing Balm on a Nation whose Hearts are shattered by such devastation.
The Holy Scriptures we read this Evening -
are God’s Words to us at a time when our
Faith is being tested by the events of such atrocities
that this world has never before seen.
However - along with our Prayers for the Victims and their families -
along with our Prayers for our President and our Leaders -
along with our Prayers for the safety of the Rescue Workers -
The Call to Prayer is also a Call to give Thanks
To give thanks that our God is still in control
The Call to Prayer is also a Call
To give thanks that ours is a God
who is bigger and more powerful than all the Terrorists
this troubled World could ever throw at us.
It is a Call to give thanks that nothing
can ever separate us from the Love of God
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord..
At a time when we are prone to lash out in kind with hate and retaliation
Let us remember the words of St. Paul who urges us:
"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
Repay no one evil for evil.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.
Vengeance is mine, I will repay
says the Lord.
Do not be overcome with evil - but overcome evil with good,."
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This kind of a response is not by any means the way of the World -
However - it is by all means - the Way of Christ.
There is an old Chinese Proverb that says:
When you go to get Revenge -"
You’d better dig two graves."
Our Christian Faith and The Events of this Day
Place upon us the Solemn Charge of
Re-Committing ourselves to
The Sanctity and the Sacredness of all Human Life.
The Teachings of our Lord demand
That we take seriously our Baptismal Vow to:
"Work for Justice and Peace and
To respect the dignity of every Human Being."
St. Paul told His Church at Corinth -
He said - Though others may flaunt
The Will and the Commandments of God -
and live in disobedience -
And then St. Paul says emphatically:
"But it shall not be so with you !!!"
The horrible and evil actions of those who
Try to do us in
Does not give us license to respond in kind.
This is hard - this is not easy-
At a time such as this -
this is almost impossible
But as we said -
The Way of Christ is not the way of the World.
And yet - this is who we are We are
We are People of The Book - The Book of Life
We are God’s Easter People
We are the Community of those who are committed
To follow Him who rejected the principle of
"An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth/"
Isn’t it almost beyond belief ?
That in spite of all the advancements and
the progress of the Human Race -
That in spite of thousands and thousands of
years of progress and evolution
and the miracles of modern science
That we are still hung up on the oldest,
the most ancient and the most primitive
of Human concepts:
"An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."
We cannot change the World -
and we can’t do everything - but we can do something.
The German Philosopher Goethe said:
If everyone swept off their own doorstep
Then soon - the whole World would be clean.
At a time such as this - Instead of us being overcome by anger -
More constructively -
We must continue to work for a World with
The kind of a Social Order -
With a Justice System
With opportunities for all to have a place in the Sun -
That will help make the World a place where
we can all live together in Peace and Mutual Respect.
God help us - God help us
God help us
In our anger - in our bitterness -
In our pain and in our sorrow -
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God help us to
Be still and know that you are God
God help us to trust in you
that you alone are our defense
That our lives and our future are in your
loving and all powerful Hands
That in this time of National calamity
though we may feel unbelievable sorrow and pain
And lest be swept away
by the raging waters of hate and revenge -
Into an unending cycle of violence -
We will cling to You -
We will cling to You with all our might -
We will cling to You
with all our Heart and Soul.
A M E N !!!
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