My God, my God,
why have you
forsaken me?
The Rev. Carlton Kelley (Sermon
preached on the day of tragedy 09/11/2001)
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Today we have experienced a profound and prolonged moment of terror. This senseless and gratuitous violence carried out, no doubt, in the name of some twisted and perverted sense of revenge has struck at the very heart and center of our national life. Our minds reel as the loss of life continues to climb, as health care resources are stretched to the breaking point, and as transportation systems are revealed to be the fragile things they are. The safety and security we once thought were ours, as citizens of the most powerful country in the world, have vanished, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Tuesday, September 11, 2001, will forever live in our nation’s memory, a day in which sadness has built upon sadness, loss upon loss, grief upon grief. The kingdoms of this world have been shaken to their very core.
The anguished words of the Psalmist come to mind. . . "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me and are so far from my cry and the words of my distress." The husbands who will never again see their wives, the wives who will never again see their husbands, the parents who have lost the joy of their children, the lovers and companions who will never again embrace, the brothers and sisters who have been parted too early, the friends whose laughter will be sorely missed. . . all these cry out to God—Why? Why? Why? Why does hate seem to rule in your world? Where is your promised kingdom of justice, freedom and peace? What answers can we supply, what comfort can we hope to these, the sorrowing, the afflicted, the poor, the maimed and the dead?
As people of faith, we ask why the wounds of Jesus continue to be inflicted? We ask why his Body, Church, must continue to suffer and why his Body, of all those he has made and redeemed continues to experience pain? We ask what is the purpose and we demand to know where is the redemption?
It is an all too common and tragic misunderstanding of the Christian faith that our all-loving and self-giving God somehow conspires to plan these terrible events to teach us, his sinful children, a very important lesson. While one is never quite sure what that lesson might be, it is said, by some, that these events and others like them, are part of God’s plan for us. These horrible events, which the mind cannot understand, are usually thought to be God’s punishment upon someone else---upon those we hate, those we despise, those we have successfully demonized. But, then, the tragic events strike us, and all we can do is wonder, why?
It is times like these that we must listen most closely to the voice that comes from the Cross. We must once again grasp the eternal message of our salvation and redemption, won for us upon the Cross-, that God is in the very midst of our suffering. God does not cause us to suffer, but it is the Good News of our Faith, that God is in the very heart and center of our misery, suffering with us, crying with us, ever leading us on through the misfortunes of life.
Many of you may recall reading of the experience of one of the many untold victims of the Nazi concentration camps. As a dear friend was being hanged, slowly swinging on the gallows, he asked where God was in the midst of the horror unfolding around him. Another friend, standing next to him, gently replied---God is there with him. God is there with him. That is the only answer that faith can give. God is there with him. That is the only answer that faith can give. God is there with him. God is there with the thousands who now suffer in New York, in Washington, in Pennsylvania and wherever hate is allowed to flourish through sin. God is with them, and with us, in all the fullness of his infinite love.
While we must never cease to renounce hate and violence, we must never forget first to proclaim love, to proclaim an unconditional love that embraces even those people who committed these despicable deeds. It is never given to us to seek revenge. It is never given to us to return hate for hate. While we may never understand why certain people do certain things, it is our part, as a priesthood of believers, to continually make intercession for all the world remembering that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. It is our part to believe that the love of God may yet save those who committed murder this day. May our trust always be place in the peaceful reign of Jesus Christ and never in the monuments and kingdoms of this world.
The Rev. Carlton Kelley
Priest-in-Charge
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Richmond, Indiana
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