God Bless the Dead

Today is we pay homage to those whose lives were cut short on that tragic day that jarred the minds and hearts of Americans and the world community at large. Those towers that we held so close to our hearts will never lift themselves from the ashes at Ground Zero. The classic literary device known as a Phoenix is one that burns every night and rises from the ashes every morning. The Twin towers a we knew them will never exist again. In Genesis chapter 11 the people of earth built a tower called Babel, the aim of his tower was to reach the heavens so that they could “make a name for themselves.” The Creator came down and saw this and was quite disappointed, so angels were sent down to scatter the height of the tower and send the people confused so that they didn’t understand one another. The creator may delight in our hard work, and diligent effort but I am sure that the Divine frowns on those who take shortcuts.

Having lost those close to me in the past, my heart goes out to all those who lost a loved one. But I offer this the constant toiling of those who passed on the dreadful day will not alleviate the wounds we suffer as a people. I believe that they are on a much more peaceful plan of existence, their suffering was hash, but like time it has passed and they have moved on. If we really want to honor and pay homage to our fellow Americans, we could keep our tea bags in cups of hot water; and urge our lawmakers to legislate universal healthcare, and peace to our brothers and sisters across the globe. Memorials that force us to carry the baggage days like today remind me of an instance in the gospel of Matthew (8:22) where Jesus is asked by one of his disciples if he could go bury his father. Jesus responded “let the dead bury the dead.” The only reason I offer this is because of what drove the offenders of Islam to do what it is that they did on that dreadful day. They were what us People of the Book call “dead in their transgressions.” Their crime was baseless in that they involved innocent souls in a quarrel they had with others. If one examined the holy book known as the Qur’an it is one bringing a message of peace and prosperity.
There is no right or wrong climate for recovery from mourning, the morbid nature of death on any scale small or large drives the human spirit to take drastic measures in order to make things right. As we memorialize our dead on this day I also ask that we take time to consider our brothers and sisters in the hills and mountains of Afghanistan and the sandy Oasis that is Iraq. Our response to our tragedy has caused them great harm too. While we as a people have uprooted a very unjust regime in Afghanistan we have created new wounds, and given way to fresh tears of mourning. The best thing we can do to honor our fellow Americans is make right some of the things that are wrong, and make right some of our collective sin that our legislators have created. We are all capable of mistakes and making rash choices in the heat of the moment, but the creator didn’t pull us out of the dust to continue on this disastrous trail.