“The crowds followed Him, and He welcomed them, and spoke to them about the Kingdom of God, and healed all their diseases.” Luke 9:11

“Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”  Jill Jackson-Miller, and Sy Miller

“Where were you when Kennedy was shot?”  Some of us over the age of 70 might be able to answer that question. 

“Where were you on 9/11?”  Most, if not all of us, are able to answer THAT one.  The images of hellish fury unleashed as two planes slammed into the Twin Towers are seared into our minds, like the molten steel girders which melted into each other.  The conflagration of flames, the crowds fleeing, people covered in ash and others jumping from windows, first responders rushing to the scene like salmon swimming upstream against the tide of terrified humanity . . . we can’t unsee those things!

“Where were you on 9/11?”  I was in a small library in Chapelhall, Scotland.  My family and I had moved there a month earlier so that I could pursue a Master of Theology degree from Glasgow University.  I had stopped by to peruse the book selection on my way to the convenience store which ironically was owned and operated by a Muslim by the name of Ali.  As I entered that little library, a uncanny silence met me.  It was immediately apparent that no one was there.  Granted, it was mid-afternoon, but certainly the librarian at least should have been present.  “Good afternoon,” I called out, “I’d like to get a library card.”  In short order a “wee Scottish Lass” materialized from a back office. 

“I’m sorry,” she said in her lilting Scottish accent, “We were watching the attack on America.”   

Taken aback by this odd greeting, my first thought was, “What an odd sense of humor these Scots have.”   

“Ye ken come back and see for yeself,” she said.

I followed her obediently to the office, where my confusion quickly turned to consternation as I watched those two planes descend from the sky, plunging into the sides of those majestic, beautiful buildings, resulting in fire and smoke rising up like the very inferno of hell.

That’s what I thought of on Friday, and all that ensued.  And then today in the early morning silence and darkness of another day this side of eternity, I was curious if I could find a bible verse that would be “9/11.”  My first query was into the Gospel of Luke, which I’ve been using on Sundays.  I turned to chapter 9 verse 11, and there it was . . . “The crowds followed Him, and He welcomed them, and spoke to them about the Kingdom of God, and healed all their diseases.”

Jesus withdrawing.  Isn’t that the way it is?  At times, perhaps many times in life, God seems absent, withdrawn, nowhere to be found.  Like on 9/11.  Or like at those times when our lives also seem to be going to hell.  When we feel like we are under attack.  When we have no place to run.  When we are all alone, assaulted by enemies both without and within.

Maybe God does withdraw, I don’t know.  Or maybe we just aren’t seeking Him where He can be found. 

This past Wednesday my little church in mountains hosted the 3^rd annual Dementia Summit (you can see a recording on the Allenspark Community Church website).  The first speaker, Dr. Andrew Newberg, a neuroscientist/neurotheologian, spoke on the influence of God on the brain.  He made a sharp distinction between religion and spirituality.  He defined spirituality in part as “seeking the sacred.”  It made me think—how much time do I spend seeking that which is sacred?  Spirituality  is NOT religion, or as I prefer to call it “religiosity” (thank you Bonnie).  It is a deep yearning in the depths of our souls for that which is Divine.  “Seek the Lord where He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.”  Those words from the prophet Isaiah serve both as an invitation and a reminder that many times God is “Deus Absconditus,” the hidden God.  And like the crowds, it is tantamount for us to seek Him, and having found Him, to follow.

The crowds were following Him.  I wonder why?  Why did they follow Him?  There’s all sorts of possibilities; they had heard about this prophet from Nazareth and were curious, they were seeking miracles, or maybe He was merely the latest “thing” to have come along and they had nothing better to do.  Who knows?  The question is not “Why?” but rather “What?”  What did it mean to follow Him?  What did it mean for the crowd, and for the disciples, and for you, and for me?  That’s worth pondering.

Jesus was welcoming them.  All of them.  Not just some.  Not just the sanctified (Is there REALLY such a thing?)  Not just those who were Jewish.  Not just the men.  Not just those who looked, acted, or believed like He thought they should.  Jesus welcomed ALL of them.  Think about how it would feel, how it DOES feel, to be warmly welcomed.

He was speaking to them of the Kingdom of God.  Isn’t this interesting?  Of ALL the things Jesus could’ve talked about . . . the wicked Romans, the other “religions” of the day, the recent victors of the “Bread and Circuses” held in the local colosseum, His upcoming plans for implementing a program of personal improvement, be it physical or spiritual, Jesus talked about what really mattered.  He talked about the ONLY thing that ultimately mattered, God’s Kingdom.  A kingdom SO radically different than the one ruled by Caesar, by Alexander, by Cyrus, by Solomon, by David, by Bush, by Obama, by Biden, by Trump, . .. you get the idea. A Kingdom  built not by the might of men, but by the Spirit of God.  A kingdom characterized not by violence but love.  A kingdom maintained not by arms, but by the hand, yes, the very finger of God.  A kingdom that doesn’t retaliate, but redeems.  A kingdom that has no borders, no boundaries, but one that extends beyond anything anyone could imagine.  And most importantly perhaps, at least for those living in the shadows of 9/11, a kingdom of peace. A Kingdom of Peace.  A KINGDOM OF PEACE. A KINGDOM OF PEACE.

And He was healing their diseases.  9/11 revealed the sickness of humanity.  A sickness that is caused by a misplaced loyalty, whether that be to countries and causes, ideologies and idolatries, religions and radicalism, or even more damning, to the obsession with my own small self, and the desire to get what I want.    It is a sickness in which I become my own god, turned in on myself.  “Curvatus en se,” as St. Augustine called it.  All that matters is me.  The small, insecure, mortal me.  Jesus came to heal diseases, especially this one.  The Christ that transcends time and eternity heals humanity by calling us out of our selfish sickness, and into the realm of real love—Love for God and for others.  The greatest commandment, the only true and lasting antidote for all that hurts and harms us, was NOT given by Moses or Mohammed.  It was given by God.  It is summed up in one word:  LOVE.  In this one word is the prescription, the solution, for all that we suffer from in this world, in this country, in our lives, in our selves.  In this one word is the solution for true and lasting peace, in our time and into eternity.

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me;
Let there be peace on earth,
The peace that was meant to be.

With God as our Father
Brothers all are we, [We are family]
Let me walk with my brother [each other]
In perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me,
Let this be the moment now;
With every step I take,
Let this be my solemn vow:

To take each moment and live each moment
In peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.