9-11, Spirit, and the Law

12th Sunday in Trinity 2011
9-11, Spirit and the Law
Rev. Stephen E. Stults
St. Barnabas Anglican Church
September 11, 2011

Today, we commemorate the worst attack on American citizens, on American soil in our history. We remember those, both civilian and governmental, who lost their lives in these most brutal, calculating, and devilishly ingenious series of attacks. The death toll for 9-11 even surpasses “the day that will live in infamy”, to quote President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as he addressed the nation about the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The biggest difference, of course, is that the Japanese directed their attack against our Navy, while the jihadists purposely targeted civilians, with the express purpose of creating terror.

As many of you know, your vicar was a first-hand witness to the scene in New York City. It was my second day of training at the home office of Paine Webber, a now-defunct brokerage firm. This old Wall St. name, like so many others, was acquired and absorbed by a huge bank, this one of Swiss origin. On that day, luckily, we were safely ensconced across the Hudson River in New Jersey, yet with a panoramic view of Lower Manhattan from Paine Webber’s headquarters. We watched as flames sprouted from the Twin Towers. Later, we learned that an airplane had struck the North Tower. When the second plane struck the South Tower, we learned that it was a vicious act of terrorism. A little later that morning, we learned that another plane had flown into the Pentagon. At the same time, we learned that yet another plane had gone down in Pennsylvania. Were it not for the heroic self-sacrifice of the passengers aboard that plane, the White House or the Capitol Building might have been the next target. Make no mistake, this was an attack fueled by infernal genius and hatred of the most extreme level. These series of events were simply incredible.

The question is what kind of spirit makes one do such things as these? How is it possible that a religion, or a philosophy can foster an act so extreme and so violent? Better said, what is the mindset that could conceive and execute such an act?

It is impossible to comprehend such a subject in a brief address. One could, we suppose, write entire books on it. Yet, let us capture the essence: while those of us in this room believe that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, there are many who don’t. While we believe in the Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Ghost, One God, there are many who don’t. Yet, we Christians, in this stage of Christianity’s earthly witness, generally don’t kill those who disagree with us. We pray for those who do not believe, but Christians don’t wage wars over belief any more.

There were times when this was not true, as we are all well aware. The Crusades were a great exception. This titanic struggle is still remembered in many Middle Eastern areas and stories are still told about it today! Yet, while some historians tend to blame Christianity for an aggressive war against the Turks, one must recall that the whole struggle began as the West responded to Islam’s capture of Christian sites in the Holy Land, including Jerusalem. It started as a war to free the Holy Land, which was successful initially, but grew corrupt as many Europeans desired to establish their own kingdoms in Palestine. The motive for many changed from freedom for Christianity to earthly gain. In time, the forces of Islam succeeded in driving out these various kings and solidifying their hold over the entire area.

We know that other violent and cruel acts have occurred in Christianity as well. Recall the horrific scene when Charlemagne executed 500 Saxon men in one day. They refused to desert their pagan religion and convert to Christianity after being defeated in battle. He supposedly said that their deaths were not murder, since they were all going to Hell anyway….

Sadly of all, some of the worst acts of Christian warfare and violence usually feature Christian versus Christian. We remember the atrocious acts done in the name of Christ in the Reformation, the Counter-Reformation, i.e. the days of “Bloody Mary”, the Spanish Inquisition, and on and on.

These are blots against Christianity, to be sure. They are reasons why many of the intellectual “elite” turn from it. One must accept sadly, the fact that any endeavor, enterprise, or organization with humans in it will necessarily be a mixed bag.

Answers to our initial question about the mindset or orientation that could foster such unspeakable acts must include two questions: 1. Do you believe in eternal salvation or an afterlife, and 2.What must you do to obtain it? One’s response to these two questions is critical to one’s actions in life.

As to the first question, we have no doubt but as to a positive response of 100% from all of us. Otherwise, why are we here? Suffice it to say that our enemies also believe in an afterlife, yet one that is distinctly different from ours.

Now, let us delve into the meat of the matter. The second question, what must one does to obtain an afterlife, determines how one acts here on earth. It is the same dichotomy St. Paul speaks of when he illustrates one of the great internal tensions in Christianity, that of faith vs. works. In other words, do we save ourselves through what we do, or is there another path to salvation? The men who planned and acted out the events of 9-11 believed with all their hearts they were doing what they should be doing. They were slaying their enemies and creating terror in a land that thought of as evil. The letter of their law says that those who disagree with them must be destroyed and their way of life must be obliterated, just as the Twin Towers were obliterated.

Thus, if the letter of the law motivates a radical jihadist to fly a plane into a building, in order to seek a satisfactory afterlife, what can we conclude about religious legalism? Is it not as St. Paul says, in 2 Corinthians 3:6 “for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life”? If we concentrate on keeping the letter of the law to the exclusion of God’s Grace, where will we be? The point St. Paul is striving to make here is that there are two ways in which men can approach God. One way is the cold, legalistic, ritualistic obedience to a code. The other is the transformational, life-giving Spirit of the living God, conquering and enrapturing the human heart.

In the Epistle selection, St. Paul takes the discussion of grace and works away from what we do to what God does in us. It is not what we, in our supposed righteousness, do to please God, for this is impossible. Paul just told us that “the letter (of the law) kills, but the Spirit gives life.” All the Law could do was condemn, in effect pointing the accusing finger at man’s various foibles and sins, whereas the Spirit of God in Christ holds out the possibility of change, of conversion, of blessed transformation from a hideous fallen creature to a glorious son or daughter of God.

So we see that the Law merely pinpointed the sinfulness of man; it could not heal. It could only accuse. It’s like the supposed “comforting” of Job’s friends, when all they actually did was to accuse him and try to get him to confess some secret sin, for which they assumed he was being punished.

The Law, which was ordained to Life, became that of death to Man, because it could only expose and not heal. This is opposed, gloriously, by the Spirit of Christ, which has the power to bring to light our sins and has the power to heal our brokenness and our spiritual morbidity through the power of grace.

This, of course, is the point that Paul wants to write on the fleshy tablets of our hearts. He asks if the old Law, which focused on condemnation, was so glorious that Moses had to veil his face, how much more glorious is the “ministry of righteousness” that comes from the spirit of Christ? On the one hand, is the Law, our “school master” in righteousness; on the other hand is the Holy Spirit, which is the fulfillment in Christ.

It really comes down to a simple, yet difficult choice for us. Although drawn by God’s Grace, we still must choose our approach to God. We can, still, attempt to save ourselves through works, or we can accept the grace of the Spirit offered to us. We can embrace our humanity as the center of our universe, or we can embrace the One whose universe it is. The former approach is always prone to failure, while the latter approach is absolutely certain of success.

I pray that all of us, today, begin the wonderful work of daily surrendering of our souls to God in holy worship, for it is in worship that we realize our relationship to our glorious triune God. Also, I pray that our reception of the Holy Sacrament today marks a new beginning in our journey in grace, for our worthy reception of it is indeed a very tangible means of grace. As we receive today, let us all remember those souls lost to us on September 111, 2001.

(2Co 3:6) “Who also has made us able ministers of the new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit makes alive.”