A Prayer for 9/11 by Bryan Holmes
By Bryan Holmes
God of many names and all good things,
We remember facing a storm of fear twenty-five years ago.
We remember just where we stood when the stories and images began pouring over us.
Families fearing for spouses, parents, siblings, children.
Friends lost in burning wreckage.
Ordinary heroes who raced into danger again and again to rescue whoever needed them.
The world mourning people who walked out their door on a regular morning and never came home.
We remember the aftermath.
Lashing out with rage in all directions.
Accusing and abusing innocent people because of their clothing, their skin, their culture.
Eyeing the world with suspicion and doubt.
Our feelings of safety and security splintered as we watched and watched and watched.
In those moments, we wanted you to swoop in with fire and vengeance and make the world right, and sometimes we still do.
We crane our necks and search the skies for glorious strength that makes everything right.
And we miss your quiet footsteps.
You are in the helpers.
Those who braved fire and flame so others would live.
Those who stepped up and rescued the strangers around them.
Those who poured out aid, supplies, time, and energy.
Those who tirelessly cared for the injured, the grieving, the lost, and the broken.
Those who reached across walls and spoke words of kindness to those unfairly blamed.
Those who loved quietly, simply, faithfully, long after the news stories faded, but the scars lived on.
And even in those moments when tears blur our vision and helpers seem nowhere to be found
Wrap your arms around us and remind us that Your Spirit is always close
Crying with us
Holding our pain
Speaking prayers of love with sighs too deep for words to express.
Help us, God, to learn from the tragedies that shake our foundations.
Help us, God, to stand against waves of rage and violence.
Help us, God, to see you in the faces of victims, heroes, mourners and the lost.
Help us, God, to find hope in the stories of the helpers.
And help us, God, to be the helpers in the small tragedies that rise up every day.
Hold us as we remember.
Amen and Amen and Amen
*So much has been written about the courage and love that arose in response to 9/11, and one beautiful example is the play Come From Away. The Peoria Players will perform this inspiring story on September 11-13 and September 16-20, and Imago’s own JJ Simpson is part of the cast. Consider checking out this musical as you look for ways love shows up in the darkest times.
https://www.peoriaplayers.org/come-from-away.html