The day before everything seemed so quiet, so normal. We had heard about the assassination of a leader named Massoud in Afghanistan but had not really thought much about it. In the back of our minds we had heard terrible stories about some radical Islamist groups called the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, but, again, these names really meant so little to us.
It was a world before 9-11, and many of us were more concerned with how the new Bush administration was handling matters like the economy and proposed legislation on a variety of matters, including immigration and the environment. Most of us were just going about our daily lives without much concern for trouble brewing abroad.
We were in the midst of a new prosperity although the gap between the wealthy and the rest of us was growing. We believed in the invincibility of American power, a hubris that would prove to be devastating in the long run. Our world has been so shaped by the events of 9-11 that it’s difficult to remember the world before.
Prayer for the Day
Offered visions of a future we cannot imagine,
We turn aside for fear of change;
Invited to dream of a world beyond our comprehension,
We shudder with the demands made upon us.
Move us beyond familiarity with the past,
And unbolt the doors of our minds and hearts.
In the name of him who opens us to all possibilities,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
I am not proud, but I am happy; and happiness blinds, I think, more than pride.
Alexander Dumas, French writer (1802-1870)
There is nothing so skillful in its own defence as imperious pride.
Helen Fiske Hunt Jackson, American poet, activist for Native American rights (1830-1885)
Thus says the Lord: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom,
Do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth;
But let those who boast, boast in this, that they understand and know me,
That I am the Lord; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth,
For in these things I delight, says the Lord.
Jeremiah 9: 23-24