But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.  He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.  So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.  May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.  Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.  And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith.  But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.  We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command.  May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.
(II Thessalonians 2:13-3:5) (NIV)

   This has been a week of great sorrow.  It has been a week of death, a tragedy beyond imagination.  All of us have been affected by Tuesday's horror.  It has affected us all, as we saw the plane ram itself into that second tower and kill thousands of people who were simply going about their daily routine.  It has affected us all, as we have watched loved ones carry pictures of those who are unaccounted for, hoping against all hope that someone - the rescue team, the media, the hospital workers - will recognize the photo.  We all mourn the loss, and we are all shocked at the horror of it all.  And once again we realize that this can be an awful world to live in.  Death and decay and sin are all around us and it is gut-wrenching.

   And in the midst of such pain and tears, all the world is asking, "What can we do to help?"  Nations have asked the question; Prime Minister Tony Blair of England has offered his nation's help, and sworn to fight beside the U.S. against terrorism.  Prime Minister Jean Chretien has offered our nation's help, and as a result we welcomed stranded aircraft in our Canadian airports.

   What can we do to help?  Even individuals have asked the question and so the line-ups at the blood banks have been record-breaking and Canadian fire fighters and health care givers have all volunteered their services to New York.

   But how can we, as individuals at Markham Baptist Church, help in this crisis?  How can we, as Christian men and women, help in this time of need?  We want to help, and we want to do something to bring comfort to those who mourn now, strength to those who continue to fight the fires and dig through the rubble, and wisdom for those who will lead us into the future.  How can we help in this crisis?

   To be sure, there are several things we can do.  One is - we should keep on doing the important things we are doing, only we should try to do them more urgently, more passionately.  Worship, Bible Study, Evangelism, the making of disciples.  All the functions of the Christian church are not less valuable because we are in a time of crisis, but more valuable.  Our message of hope and peace is needed more now than it was last week.  Our service of mercy and compassion is needed more now than is was on Monday.

   But, let me focus my answer a bit on three practical actions.  What can we do to help in this crisis?  First we can remain steadfast in our faith.  In the midst of crisis and persecution the Holy Spirit instructs the Thessalonians to, "Stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter." (2 Thessalonians 2:15) (NIV)  That is, remain steadfast in your faith.

   Let us remain steadfast in our faith in God's love and compassion.  Many in the face of suffering and tragedy discard their faith.  Albert Camus, the brilliant and sensitive philosopher, said that he became an atheist because of mass cruelty in the world.  He said that he hated God.  "If God is God he is not good; if God is good, he's not God."

   It has been pointed out that the problem with Albert Camus is that he credited God with all the cruelty and credited himself with all the compassion.

   The truth is, God is good; his love endures forever.  For there is nothing - any being, any circumstance, any situation - that is able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

   John Gossip, who, after the sudden death of his wife, delivered a sermon that has become a classic entitled, "When Life Tumbles In, What Then?" and in it he confesses, "I do not understand this life of ours; but still less do I understand those who, when faith is hard, run away from the Christian faith altogether.  In God's name," he asks, "run away to what?"

   Why run from the only person who can throw any light at all on the mystery of suffering?  It is only in Christ that we find compassion to carry on in the midst of sorrow.

   It is only in Christ that we know that God understands the weight of heartache and suffering, and the sting of death itself.

   Let us remain steadfast in our faith in God's compassion.

   Let us remain steadfast in our faith in God's sovereignty.

   Because of the magnitude of the tragedy, and the proximity of the tragedy - I mean, New York is only a day's drive away - and the fact that the event is always before us in the media, it seems as if what happened on Tuesday is the only reality that exists.  It's as if we are looking at a picture this close [hand right in front of his face].

   All we can see is the hatred and the horror, the tears and the grief, the sorrow and the pain.

   But that's not the whole picture.  There are greater truths at work in this world.  There is a greater power at work in this world, greater than any terrorists, greater than all the power of the United States, greater than the power of NATO and Russia and China combined.

   Do you know how God thinks of the nations?  In Isaiah 40 we have this wonderful picture of sovereignty of God.  And do you know how it speaks of the nations of this world?  Do you know to what he compares the nations of the world?  A drop in a bucket.  Dust on the scales.

   "Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing." (Isaiah 40:17) (NIV)  He is not saying that God doesn't care about the nations; he is saying that, compared to the greatness of God, they are nothing.  And, as much as President Bush would like to believe that, "This conflict will end in a way and at an hour of our choosing," he is wrong.  There is one in heaven who is sovereign and this conflict will end in a way and at an hour of his choosing.

   Understand this truth.  We have seen throughout history how the nations of the world do indeed have power, and in the past week we have seen how many have the power to take life.  But we worship the one who has the power to give life and there is no greater power.

   As Billy Graham reminded the world at the national prayer service, the centre of the Christian faith is a cross - where God takes the sin of the world and offers his forgiveness.  But beyond the cross is an empty tomb, a risen Lord who now sits at God's right hand so that our two greatest enemies have been defeated - sin and death.  And now for those who believe there is life, life now and life in the future.

   How can we help in this crisis?  Let us remain steadfast in our faith.  The world is questioning.  They say, "The world is spinning out of control," and they need Christian people to assure them of God's compassion and God's sovereignty.

   How can we help in this crisis?  Here's the second way we can help.  Remember to react with grace to those around you.  So we read in 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, "May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word." (NIV)

   Because of his love we have received grace from God.  In the resurrection of Jesus Christ we have an encouragement - an assurance of eternity.  We have a good hope, one that will not fade with time or circumstance.  Now, as people who have received grace, respond to those around you in grace.

   I was disturbed to hear Franklin Graham on CNN suggest that the United States should not hold back in its response to this tragedy.  Many would agree with him.  One man held a sign outside Washington's National Cathedral that read, "Today we mourn; tomorrow we avenge."

   I do not agree.  We must realize that we Christians have our citizenship in a different kingdom, and the laws for that kingdom are opposite to the rules of this world, and the world does not understand them, and even mocks them, for the rules of the Christian kingdom are these:

   "The last will be first, and the first will be last." (Matthew 20:16) (NIV)

   "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matthew 5:44) (NIV)

   "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies it produces many seeds.  The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." (John 12:24-25) (NIV)

   Our Lord is speaking of dying to self-interests, in our case, of wanting revenge, of wanting to get even.  Listen carefully; justice and revenge are two different things.  The guilty must be caught, given a fair trial, and punished.  But that language and that feeling is characterized by bravado, and levelling a country into a basketball court has no place in the Kingdom of God.

   As we were reminded last week, we follow one who conquered the world by taking a towel and tying it around his waist and washing the feet of those who would desert him, betray him, and deny him.  We follow one who conquered the world by going to the cross and praying for those who were killing him saying, "Father forgive them."  That is the way to victory, and it is the way that God calls us to respond in this crisis.

   We need to keep alive those attitudes and ideas that help make a constructive and just peace possible in this world.  And that is only possible through the idea, the reality, of grace.  Peace is not possible through the idea of revenge and retaliation.  History has proven it - revenge and retaliation only bring more revenge.  And I can tell you that unless forgiveness and grace is practised among our world leaders, we will be plunged into an ever-increasing cycle of revenge and death.  Indeed, I hope we are not too late already, for the cycle of revenge is escalating.  The cycle of revenge has no end.

   But, closer to home, we need to react with grace to those around us.  There are many in our country who are afraid for their lives right now, Muslims, sheiks.  They fear persecution, and we as Christians can help in this crisis by standing by them at this time, by practising grace.

   How can we help in this crisis?  Remain steadfast in your faith, in God's compassion, in God's sovereignty.  React with grace to those around you.  Finally this, and most importantly, remember to pray.  I am not talking about something very trivial, or naive.  It is the most profound thing we can do, and it must not be dismissed lightly.  It is in prayer that the real work of the Kingdom is done.  It not preparation for the work, it is not even asking for blessing after the work is done, it is the very work itself.  It is the highest and best way that we can participate in what is happening in New York, and in Washington, and in Pittsburgh, and around the world.

   It is the supreme activity by which we can offer strength to those who are involved in the rescue efforts, and by which we are able to bring comfort to some grieving soul, where in some mysterious way we are able to release all the power of heaven to transform this horror.

   Nothing can aid the progress of the Kingdom more than believers uniting and agreeing together in prayer.

   Paul knew it to be true, so he encouraged the Thessalonians, "Pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honoured, just as it was with you." and he continues, "And pray that we may delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith." (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2) (NIV)

   The Holy Spirit assures us of the power of prayer in the book of James, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (James 5:16) (NIV)

   Your prayers are powerful and effective.  I'm talking about something that has more power and more effectiveness than all the missiles in the world.  And one day we will discover that the greatest thing we ever did on this earth was to pray.

   How can we help in this crisis?  Remain steadfast in the faith, react with grace, and remember to pray.  In this way we truly will be salt and light in the world, making a difference for goodness and the cause of Christ.

Copyright MBC and Tom Cullen - September 2001