A Service of Remembrance and Commemoration |
The Cathedral today is like a chalice, which holds an ocean of suffering, a focus for our memories and our prayers both for those in the Cathedral and those in the streets outside. So many lives, from so many nations, have been scarred by the events of one year ago today. At St Paul's we remember the death of a former choirboy, killed in the World Trade Centre. That is just one door into solidarity with the grief felt by so many.
It is good that our Lord Mayor is in New York together with hundreds of British police officers and fire fighters. In a situation in which we all remain vulnerable, they, together with other national leaders express the deepened sense of unity and respect between our two cities and countries. It is good also to welcome those from the US who have joined us here, in this Cathedral where the American Chapel behind the high altar commemorates the sacrifices for freedom of earlier generations.
Our hearts go out to the families of those who died a year ago, to those whose private and personal grief is constantly underscored by the public repetition of events, which are now etched on the memory of a generation.
The passage of time has not dulled the shock. There is not a shred of justification for the atrocity and justice demands an unrelenting pursuit of those who were responsible. Those who live comfortable lives are disposed to think that "nobody really means to be mean". 9.11 brought us face to face with the reality of evil. The event also enhanced awareness of the interconnectedness of the world. Compassion should know no limits. Compassion, energised by this tragedy should extend to all those whose lives are blighted by avoidable evils, famine, AIDS, poverty, violence of the kind that has claimed so many victims while the world was largely silent. Wisdom and love demand that just as much energy and resources should be assembled in attacking these scourges as are being deployed in the military action against terror. The leaves of the tree planted in the Holy City in the Book of Revelation are for "the healing of all the nations".
In the wake of 9.11 the question of "where was God in all this" is inescapable. One thing is clear. No competent religious authority in the world has endorsed this action. We are gathered together, representatives of all the great faiths in unity. The Spirit which led Jesus Christ to wash the feet of his disciples is present here - "Let us fear and love the living God and love each other from the depths of our heart". Easy optimism that all will be well and inevitably turn out for the best does not belong to genuine faith. We are not optimists but as people of faith we are full of hope. The voice of the hidden waterfall, not known because not looked for, is the voice of God calling us to co-operate with Him in building a civilisation of love. God has no favourites. His love embraces the whole of creation.
The grounds for our hope were clearly seen in the events of one year ago. There is hope in the power of self sacrificing love. It is no accident that one of the memories which resonates is that of the fire-fighters entering the building that so many were fleeing, to save life at the risk of their own. We honour their courage and also those whose heroism is known only to God on the day itself and in the weeks and months that followed. Then there is also the hope that comes from the solidarity of people who are spiritually awake, faced with such a tragedy, no matter what particular creed they profess. This solidarity can turn compassion into energy capable of overcoming indifference and downright evil. Pessimism is a luxury we cannot afford. Our heart can be empty because we cannot see them,
Or we can be full of the love we shared together. We can remember them and only that they have gone, Or we can cherish their memory and let it live on. We can cry and close our mind, be empty and turn our back, Or we can do what they would want, open our eyes, love and go on.
