I was placed on the schedule for leading worship music this morning a few weeks back. And - earlier this week when I saw the list of songs, my first reaction was, "Wait. Aren't we going to do anything patriotic? After all it is the 10-year anniversary of 9/11." The immediate thought that surfaced after stating that was, "The best response to remembered pain is praise."
Wow! Praise brings an attitude adjustment, certainly - but I really had to mull that over - and I find it to be absolutely spot-on. The best response to remembered pain is praise.
As a tribute to the tragedy of 9/11, The Olympia Choral Society, joined by other singers in the community, (under the direction of Terry Shaw) is giving a performance of Mozart's Requiem this afternoon at 3 p m at The Washington Center in downtown Olympia. I'm definitely looking forward to that event as an opportunity to be with others who are paying attention to the significance of this date, and honoring the memory of those whose lives were lost.
I thought about celebratory remembrances a lot last night. The Jewish faith still honors the celebrations God defined in the Old Testament. One of the most significant is the Passover Remembrance associated with the exodus of God's chosen people out of Egypt. In +- 1446 B C the Israelites fled Egypt, after the last of the 10 plagues - after every firstborn male of all the people and animals died if they didn't have the blood of the lamb sprinkled over the door casing. Approximately 1475 years later, in +-30 or 33 A D, when Jesus sat with His disciples at His final passover on the earth - commonly referred to as 'the night he was betrayed' - he forever changed the focus of that celebration from being about the blood of the lamb slain for the protection of the Hebrew childrens' firstborn sons to focusing on himself as the Lamb 'slain before the foundation of the world'. Planned. Designed. Implemented.
The best response to remembered pain is praise. Praise you, Lord, for your incredible gift of paying the penalty for all of mankind's sin and for wanting a relationship with us.
And - by the way, just in case you were wondering - there was a significant beautifully-done tribute to 9/11 in the worship services. It made me cry, seeing the visual reminders of the pain. And then we sang "God Bless America."
Turn people's hearts to you while there is still time!
As for 9/11, I remember exactly where I was. I watched the second plane hit. The entire country was gut-shot. Many shared our sorrow - but what I remember most clearly, unfortunately, was a news report of one country where people were dancing in the street for joy because of our great sorrow. That shocked me. I would never wish anything that awful on my worst enemy. It was the end of my Pollyanna view of the world, that the emotion most deeply seated in the majority of people was kindness - but it is not a lesson I choose to have inform my life. The fruit of the Spirit of God in people's lives produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. That's the life I aspire to.
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