A Day Indelibly Etched in our Memories
Friday’s Verse:
From Psalm 46:1 ESV
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
Twenty-five years after the attacks of September 11, 2001, we still remember: the lives taken, the families forever changed, the courage shown by first responders, and the uncertainty that settled over our nation and world.
Indiana, back in 2001, still didn’t have a cogent time zone plan. Half the year they were in the Eastern time zone; the other half in the Central. At 8:46 am in New York, the north tower was struck, but in Indiana, it was 7:46 am. My classmates and I were getting ready for the first liturgy class of our seminary career.
No one came into class to tell us of the attacks. Back in 2001, cell phones were a growing fad, and none of those phones resembled our fancy iPhones or Samsung Galaxys of today, which could send news alerts and text messages. We finished up class around 9:30 am Central, only to learn while standing outside of the chapel about the attacks and the collapse of the World Trade Center towers.
My mind raced. Less than a week earlier, I had been looking out over New York and New Jersey while having lunch with friends at Windows on the World. I immediately thought of those I knew who worked in the WTC and others near Battery Park and prayed desperately for their safety. A quarter-century later, the image that remains indelibly etched in my memory is seeing my friend, FDNY Chaplain Father Mychal Judge, being carried lifeless from the rubble by his fellow firefighters.
Scripture never asks us to diminish tragedy or place an expiration date on grief. The Psalms grant us language for sorrow, fear, anger, and lament. Yet they also anchor us to the God who never abandons us: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
Our deepest comfort does not rest in the illusion that we are immune to tragedy. It rests in Jesus Christ, who entered our broken world and bore suffering in His own flesh. At the cross, He carried our grief; in His resurrection, He shattered death’s finality and secured the promise of eternal life.
Today, we honor those who died, those whose bodies still carry the physical toll of that day, and those who wake each morning with an enduring absence. We give thanks for everyone who responded with sacrificial courage. Above all, we pray for peace, for hearts that resist hatred, and for the grace to pursue reconciliation.
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Even in deep sorrow, we do not grieve as those who have no hope.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Merciful Father, On this anniversary, we remember those whose lives were lost on September 11, 2001. Comfort all who continue to mourn, sustain those who bear hidden wounds, especially those sickened by cancer and other diseases caused by the dust at Ground Zero, and grant peace to all who live in fear. I pray, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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