Fifteen years ago, the world was shocked at the sight of planes
flying into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York.
Later, clouds of smoke billowed from the Pentagon and from a field in
Shanksville, Pa. The reality of these attacks cut through our petty
narcissism and opened our hearts to the needs of others. For a moment,
we saw the true greatness that America stands for. As we recall the acts
of terrorism, we must never forget the acts of valor and generosity
they evoked. I am reminded of a line in Alan Jay Lerner’s musical
Camelot, “Don’t let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one
brief shining moment that was known as Camelot.”
Unfortunately,
we have forgotten.
Once the dust cleared, we forgot about the needs of
others and sought to make our personal worlds secure. We seem to have
lost sight of the fact that the path to true peace requires each of us
to lay or lives in the service of others. Despite the fact that we have
built monuments to 9/11 we have not been able to build bridges of peace
and brotherhood.
In this setting, the conversation between God
and His Servant Moses is very instructive. Certainly, you recall how God
pointed out to Moses that the people had forsaken Him and as a result
He intended to wipe them out and start all over again. Seeing how
corrupt the people had become in such a short time, God pronounced a
verdict of total destruction. Standing in the breech, Moses speaks up.
Forgive me for what I am about to do. “O Lord, you seem to have forgot
that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known
as Camelot.” Moses reminded God of His covenant with the patriarchs
Abraham, Isaac and Israel. If the Lord would be forgiving in this
instance, He would see that there would be a faithful remnant.
Paul seems to have taken up this theme as he wrote to his co-worker
Timothy. “I was mercifully treated, so that in me, as the foremost,
Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example for those who
would come to believe in him for everlasting life” (1 Tim. 1:16). The
apostle knew well that had God not been merciful to him, he would have
perished. God is not ignorant of the reality of sin. He also knows that
love is stronger than hate; and that the Cross is the Tree of Life.
The
Son of God who died on the cross has risen from the dead and reigns upon
the throne of Glory. We must never let it be forgot that once there was
a spot where the Lord of Life conquered death and brought us all into
the kingdom of light and life. Recall these words written by the apostle
John: “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because
the Spirit who is in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the
world” (1 Jn. 4:4).
In the the Gospel of
Luke, we have heard about God’s desire to seek out, to find, to welcome.
The philosopher Maimonides seems to have understood the power of God’s
mercy. He wrote: "let not a penitent man imagine that he is far from the
Excellency, because of the sins he has committed, the thing is not so.
Rather, he is beloved and desired before the Creator, as if he had never
sinned; for his reward is great; for lo, he has tasted the taste of
sin, and hath separated from it.”
We must never let it be forgot, that
the Gospel presents mercy as an excess of God’s love for a fallen
and broken world. The mercy of God expands our souls. It makes us think
of that spot that was Camelot, for us. God, in His mercy, draws us to
himself, purifies us of our sins and then sends us forth to bring mercy
to all.
Because we have received mercy upon mercy, we can seek to pour
out our lives in service to others and as agents of peace and
reconciliation. Our ability to live as Children of the Kingdom springs
from the fact that we are at one and the same time sinners pardoned and
sinners restored to dignity. The mercy of God brings knowledge and
compassion. The one who shows us mercy conforms us to the image of His
Beloved Son. As we receive the mercy of the Loving Father, we are
empowered to share it with others.
For a moment, the events
September 11, 2001, brought us into contact with our own fragility and
vulnerability. For a moment we remembered that we needed one another.
The scriptures remind us that we are the objects of God’s delight. “God
saw everything that He had made, and indeed, it was very good” (Gen. 1:
31). The reason we believe in a kind and merciful God is because Jesus
not only told us, but acted mercifully. Like the God who repeatedly
forgave the erring Israelites, Jesus always acted mercifully towards
those who came to him. We are invited to embrace the truth that we are
Beloved of God and cause of His joy.
When we return to the Father and
repent, do we get what we deserve? No. When we return to the Father, we
get what He offers us --- Forgiveness. My brothers and sisters, don’t
let it be forgot that once there was a spot… that was known as Calvary.
--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO
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