Last night we sat and silently watched the film, United 93. It was a sobering reminder of the events of September 11, 2001. It captured the confusion, the horror, the faith, the courage of all the people involved on that day. Even as sad as it concluded, with the crash of that United flight, it also revealed something quite amazing, the beauty of people working selflessly for one another and for those they might be helping.
That's right. Those brave people aboard that flight, understanding what had taken place in New York and in Washington, D.C., decided to act, not to save themselves, but to keep another tragedy from happening. They put themselves aside to save others on the ground, people they didn't even know.
I'd love to say that they were all Christians who worked together to make this happen. They weren't. It would also make a great story to say that these were all Americans who did this. They weren't. They were simply people who understood the simple ways of life and many without knowing it, understood the simple ways of God.
Jesus taught this way and lived it, too. Not always thumbing his nose at his own religious background, but definitely doing so to the religious leaders who have missed the point. Being human and humane are more important than being religious. The ways of God, and revealed by Jesus teaching and action, are simply to honor God by living generously with each other, making friends of enemies, showing compassion even to those who don't deserve it, loving when loving doesn't make sense.
After the film, Peg and I were starting to watch the news of the day when a commercial came on for an insurance company. It showed everyday people witnessing kindnesses between strangers inspiring them to do the same. Then as they acted, another witness was inspired for action of their own and the chain of events continued. It was inspiring in itself. It could have been a Church commercial. It's what Jesus taught, "do for others as you would have them do for you." (Matthew 7:12, my translation)
What is a Christian supposed to be? Jesus asked a couple of blind men if they believed he could heal them. When they answered, "Yes!" he told them to "Become what you believe." (Matthew 8:29, The Message) Not just to become seers, but to become the people of faith they thought possible.
We need to become the people of faith we believe is possible, even is necessary...
...by acting in love toward others we might not even know.
Peace ><>
pc
1 comment:
The film United 93 that I have also seen also Word Trade Center and have watched other films or read books on 9/11. The people that went into the World Trade Center to help people done it because they wanted to help in anyway that they could. Many lost their lives acting without thinking of themselves. I feel and always have felt that those on United 93 are the real heroes(I'm not a person that think about having heroes in my life other than Jesus)because they knew they were going to die anyway so they chose to save many more lives by not letting the hijackers get to D.C. I feel God was there with those people and gave them peace knowing they were doing the right thing.
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