After listening to all the recent partisan bickering over the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, I was happy that the anniversary of the World Trade Center bombing of Sept. 11, 2001, was at hand to provide a diversion.
Time has a way of erasing the fearful and depressing emotions of tragic events while retaining the more positive ones. One of the positive things to come out of that 17-year-old catastrophe was the way in which Americans suddenly dropped their differences and came together in a beautiful tapestry of love and brotherhood.
People began attending church in large numbers. We seemed to understand how important we are to one another. That spectacle is what still brings a smile to my face and joy to my heart.
In the present, after a year of violence and division among Americans over Confederate statues, I once again smile over a recent event in Georgia. Rising 825 feet over the skyline of Atlanta, Stone Mountain is the most-visited destination in that state. On its north face, a carving in the granite wall depicts three figures central to the Confederacy: Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson.
Against this backdrop, observers might have puzzled over the scene unfolding on a recent Saturday at the top of the monument. An ethnically diverse crowd of more than 3,000 people, the majority under age 30, sang as a full rock band led the crowd in Christian praise songs. Then a black man in a bright red shirt with white letters reading “Reconcile” took the mic.
“Heaven is among us,” said Jonathan Thomas, a young pastor from Ferguson, Missouri. “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Thomas was followed by civil rights leader John Perkins, who was followed by apologies from Christian leaders to two Jewish leaders for the history of Christian anti-Semitism. They were followed by declarations of forgiveness for Dylann Roof by family members of Charleston church shooting victims.
Park officials estimated that over the course of the day, the eight-hour event drew about 22,000 people. At the end, the crowd took communion together at the “table of brotherhood,” a nod to Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 speech.
What I found most impressive is that the event was not dominated by people from one political persuasion or race but was quite diverse. So also was the variety of religious doctrine. More than 100 churches with a full spectrum of theological views and worship styles came together in this display of Christian unity.
As today’s church leaders wring their hands over what to do with Milennials — who are leaving the church in droves— perhaps we should look toward examples such as this. Perhaps the church needs to focus on areas where people can come to agreement, rather than pointing out our differences.
The Lord wants to eradicate racism and dead religion in every form in the church. He wants to expose blind spots of prejudice, privilege, bitterness and fear. The answer to division and hate is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
As we hope for a better future for ourselves and our children, we would do well to reflect on those things from Sept. 11, 2001, that God inspired within us, not just so we could cope with the horrific loss, but so we could build a more godly culture of people who would embody the love that Jesus had for others.
Larry Gember is pastor of St. James Lutheran Church in Greenfield. This weekly column is written by local clergy members. Send comments to [email protected]
