Remembering 9/11...Reunited with Each Other...With God

 

September 11. 2001...more commonly known these days as 9/11...seemed like a simply quiet and normal Tuesday morning in New York City.

I remember I was at an evening bible study meeting half way across the globe.

Down in New York City, nothing seemed unusual...nothing lookked extraordinary...faceless people sending their kids to school...grabbing their quick breakfast...reading the papers...packing breakfast...catching the bus...the tube...hugging their loved ones...kissing their good byes...for some...whereas for others...getting into an argument...not talking...no home to go to...unwanted...marginalized...living out their last days...on board their very last suicidal flight...American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175, American Airlines Flight 77 and United Airlines Flight 93...worst still, those who fell or jumped off the tragic floors of the World Trade Center’s North and South Twin Towers....the Pentagon...

Do you remember what you were doing on that fateful day?...when...just about everyone, suddenly remembered God...reaching out to Him...coming home to Him...talking to Him...praying - pleading...crying...begging...reconciling...

On that day...the world stood still and witnessed the powerful United States cruelly brought down to their knees...humbled, at the expense of many, many innocent Americans...2,977 victims per official reports...someone else’s mother, father, daughter, son, brother, sister, friend, neighbor, colleague...a created human being whose life was suddenly and cruelly taken away...the words of Job rings aloud...

“...Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: as it hath pleased the Lord so is it done: blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21, Douay Rheims)

One often wonders how does God ever fit into the everyday lives of the people in a big, cosmopolitan, noisy and seductive city like New York?  The city that never sleeps...try telling this to the brave emergency workers, firemen, paramedics, medical units, armed forces, chaplains, volunteers...at Ground Zero...where humanity was once again reunited with each other and most importantly with God.  Suddenly, the noise and seduction of big New York City does not seem to be so distracting after all...it really does not matter about the outside...as much as what was felt deep inside...the emptiness...the loss...the void...

Only when you empty yourself completely...can God fill your heart...and your soul...

Americans have always known wars in foreign soil...Vietnam, Afghanistan, Kosovo...but never in their own back yard...the center of a great city... not far from the New York Harbor with the torch of the Statue of Liberty and Freedom held high...9/11 struck!

Soon after, there was so much anger...so much unforgiveness...so much vengeance...so much hatred...even today, continues to reverberate in many hearts and minds...terror for terror...is this, the only answer...as the US continue its spending on defense (against what?) and its relentless attacks on oil fields in the Middle East.

As Pilate said to Jesus, “What is truth?”   ...Terrorism?...Political Conspiracy?  ...Does it matter anymore?  ...when innocent lives are lost??  ...Such is the price humanity must pay...

Where was God?  Why did God let this happen?  Was this, rather, the work of mankind in their selfish quest for power and personal glory?  The consequence of the sins of humanity against humanity?  ...against God?

So much for our human finite understanding of God...why do we need events or tragedies such as these to help humanity remember?  Who is God really, for you, in your life?  A punishing God?  A loving God? An absent God?  A non-existent God?  An unknowing God?  A God amongst many other worldly gods...wealth, materialism, success, etc?

For such a long time, the world have witnessed the US slavery era in the 1600s, World War I in 1914, World War II in 1939, the Holocaust and bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, South Africa under apartheid from 1948, the Korean War in 1950, the Vietnam War in 1955, great Chinese Famine in 1959, the assassination of President JFK in 1963, AIDS Pandemic beginning in 1981, Chernobyl Nuclear disaster in 1986, Rwanda genocide in 1994, Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004...sins of abortion and many, many more suffering and deaths around the globe which are even much worst off than 9/11...but, on that fateful day, the world was in solidarity with the USA...the world offered their prayers and comfort...as good and caring neighbors sharing the same planet...

Nevertheless, we want to still remember and respect those whom we lost on that fateful day of 9/11 and throughout history amongst the many other tragedies around the world...may their souls find eternal rest and the world find healing and peace.  May the price that they paid be worthwhile for the spiritual growth of the world...where each and every country can have great influence over the future of the world we live in...

Tragedies, pain and suffering are something we humans simply cannot control...but what we can do in response is to simply allow these events, become turning points, to help us reconnect with one another and with God...bringing much spiritual meaning and maturity to supposedly, meaningless innocent suffering and sacrifices.

We must draw strength from Jesus who journeyed the Via Dolorosa and learn to view such world tragedies and human suffering through the lenses of His wounds on the Cross.  Forgiveness and change will then become possible because, as obedient Christian disciples, others will then see and know the love of Christ through us – our spoken words, our actions, our silence and also our non-action...our generous love...a love which the world knows so little of these days.

God's Grace to Grow in Stewardship

“Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not serving to the eye, as pleasing men, but in simplicity of heart, fearing God.  Whatsoever you do, do it from the heart, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that you shall receive of the Lord the reward of inheritance.  Serve ye the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:22-24, Douay Rheims)

It has been quite sometime since my last piece of journal on this blog.  Many events have happened since then...on my journey.  I still feel sad when I recollect the sudden departure of my good companion and friend...only two weeks ago...but just seem like yesterday.  Sad or not, life for me must still go on...

Coincidently, I have been back working in the corporate world...the very week after my best friend’s funeral.  I still remember my last conversation with him, just the week before...he advised me to give it a shot...get back to employment...as there are still so many lives I am capable of reaching out to and touching.  My friend, I have taken your last words into heart...we are indeed God's gift to the world...our lives are meant to be shared...our light...to brighten where it is dark...

But then, my dear companion never stayed long enough to hear the good news...that I have successfully got the job...on the very day after he passed on.  In fact, the phone call came when I was at the wake at his residence near the coastal waters off the Straits of Malacca...

Sometimes, the happenings in life are such a paradox...emotions of sadness and joy all mixed up...one just does not know what to feel anymore.  What I know is that my journey from this point onwards will miss the cherished companionship of a very dear friend.  Nevertheless, I thank God for bringing him into my life and will always hold his words in my heart...guess this must have been similar of how the twelve disciples must have felt when Jesus suddenly left them at Golgotha...

Me getting a new job and losing a dear friend...at the same moment?  Perhaps the Lord has a hidden message for me...somewhere under the blanket of these events in life.  Perhaps Jesus wants me to bring His Light back into the world...perhaps there are lives I must still reach out and touch...  Perhaps, I must walk the rest of this journey without my good friend...perhaps, my dear friend is called onto another journey somewhere else...perhaps there is more learning for me...perhaps I require more refining...

Whatever it is, I remain the humble instrument of the Lord...  Once we have experienced God’s merciful grace and forgiveness in our lives...surely we are obligated to share and pass this on joyfully and willingly to many others who have yet to experience the same...

For me, two weeks have passed into the corporate world...the landscape of my journey is beginning to change again...yet my mission remains the same...to do my small part, in partnership with God, in making this world a little better; with my strength anchored on God alone.

My time management has gone a bit wacko since then as I re-orientate myself and settle into this new position.  What I have realized these past 2 weeks is that I must be even more disciplined, spiritually, as I pursue my new journey; as a disciple of Christ...amidst the “noise” and “seduction” of this crazy world.

Trying to be simple amidst the “complexities” and “complications” of the competitive entrepreneur world is never easy.  To achieve this spiritual equilibrium, I have fallen back to rely on the basic foundation of prayer and the rosary...coupled with much scriptural and spiritual reading.  This has helped, to a certain extent, to sustain me and maintain a calm “center”...not forgetting the Holy Eucharist which I am so privilege to receive at each Friday noon mass, given that my new place of employment is within walking distance to a cathedral.  Thank God for that!

Don’t get me wrong but I am indeed pleased to be back to work again...I know that my past sabbatical year has helped formed me somehow, to face the competitive business world with much more composure, confidence, spiritual maturity and priority.

Indeed God continues to work in mysterious ways...He has a unique plan for all of us...if we but be obedient to His ways.  Although we are sinners, He loves each one of us all the same.  So, here I am, Lord...is it I, Lord?...I will go, Lord, if you need me!

I just pray that my humble listening to Him, discerning...and obedience in journeying this route through the waves of life...will bring only more glory to His Holy Name.  I pray that He will continue to guide me in all my decisions and actions.  May He increase as I decrease...

“You have seduced me, Yahweh, and I have let myself be seduced...” (Jeremiah 20:7, NJB)

Ultimately, I know that I am “employed” by God and He remains my first “boss”.  As a Catholic Christian, I also know that my work on earth is a spiritual stewardship; not a secular necessity.  What I contribute, in any small way, at my workplace must serve His purposes with the utmost integrity and fit into His entire plan for Creation and the Universe.  I, a mere servant, partner with God through my “sacred” worldly responsibilities to bring life to this “dying” world and humanity.  By the grace and mercy of God, I now have another opportunity to grow in my stewardship at work...placing all my trust in God alone.  Alleluia!

“Otherwise, you might say in your heart, “It is my own power and the strength of my own hand that has got me this wealth.”  Remember then the Lord, your God, for he is the one who gives you the power to get wealth, by fulfilling, as he has now done, the covenant he swore to your ancestors.  But if you do forget the Lord, your God, and go after other gods, serving and bowing down to them, I bear witness to you this day that you will perish utterly.” (Deuteronomy 8:17-19, NAB)