September 11
9-11: Blessed are those who mourn
By Robert MartinIn contemporary American history, this date, Sept. 11, ranks up there with Dec. 7, Nov. 22, and April 4. It is a day when, as a nation, the U.S. felt their security and comfort shattered and people had to face the very real grief that comes from sudden violence. My wife has essentially turned off all media on this day, the images too vivid, still too real for her.
Many of us are asking each other the question, “Where were you when… ?” We share in our memories because we were all, to some extent, impacted. For me, I was away from home, overseas, on a business trip. When I found out what had happened, I realized that I was an alien, a stranger in a strange land, and my trip home was not a foregone conclusion. But I wasn’t entirely lost. More on that in a moment.
I’ve seen a number of articles posted around in a variety of publications questioning the “rightness” of mourning on this day when the rest of the world experienced hunger and insecurity all the time, not just on one day. And to some extent, I can understand that. We cannot forget that there is more to this world than our country and our grief. Other articles criticize the rampant nationalism that the event itself spawned and the nationalistic fervor that continues in many of the memorials to this day. And, again, I can understand that criticism as such nationalism has been at fault in many tragedies in world history and creates the “us vs. them” atmosphere that has been the cause of many of those tragedies…even our own.
But to say “don’t remember” and “don’t memorialize” and “don’t grieve” I believe is unfair to those people who have suffered very real loss on this date. Whether the loss is of that sense of security and peace or the loss is more personal such as having both parents killed in the towers, it is still a real loss and people will grieve such loss. To trivialize it and say, “it’s not a big deal” or “it’s not as bad as what happened in [fill in the blank]” or even “we don’t have any right to grieve, we brought it on ourselves” is far from the compassionate, gracious comfort that we are called to give as the people of God.
Jesus himself in the Beatitudes called those who mourn “blessed.” There is something sacred about a person who mourns. There is a vulnerability there that takes the person out of themselves and brings them into a full realization of their humanity and limited power. It can be a very lonely place, that place of mourning and grief. But the beatitude says that those who mourn will be comforted. I like the way the Message puts it.
“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.” Matt. 5:4, The Message
Into that brokenness of mourning, there is comfort to be had. This is that place that opens up people to be able to listen and accept gentle words of comfort and peace. “You are not alone.” “You are loved.” “You are precious.” Sometimes, that’s all that is required. I like the idea of being embraced. When I grieved for my mother’s passing, what I desired most from my wife, more than anything else, was her embrace. I wanted to feel that I was in that safe place again.
As we encounter mourning in our nation on this date, perhaps we as believers can take as an example what a family in France did for me on that date, eleven years ago today. Lost, alone, unsure of when I would get home, one of the men that I was working with in my business invited me over to his house for dinner. He and his wife and his two little girls opened up their home to me, a stranger, an alien, a person in mourning, and fed me. It was a wonderful evening of time around the table, a simple French country fare of fruit and salad, bread and meat, and wine. Nothing fancy. I was family. I was embraced. I even got good-night kisses from two little French girls with “Bonsoir, monsieur, bonsoir.” It wasn’t much, but as I was mourning, I felt the comfort of the embrace of love.
As we go through our day today, some of us still in mourning, perhaps this is what we need to do. Instead of recriminations or criticisms of national policy, instead of arguments over foreign policy and other items of a nationalistic nature, maybe what we need to do is practice what our Lord, Jesus, taught us and give comfort to those who mourn. Look around. Who needs an embrace today? “What you do to the least of these. . .”
Robert Martin blogs thoughts, reflections and stories regarding theology and the Christian walk at The Abnormal Anabaptist, where this post originally appeared.
For more from the World Together on Sept. 11, see “Remembering 9-11”.
Comments
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Well said. Thank you.
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My essay is referenced above as an example of articles "questioning the 'rightness' of mourning on this day." My article did no such thing, and I would be interested to see any article that questions "the 'rightness' of mourning on this day." My guess is that there aren't any. To point out that our tragedy on that day is in no way unique and that we need to mourn also the suffering from war and poverty in the rest of the world, especially the suffering that is caused by U.S. foreign policy, is not the same as saying, “'don’t remember' and 'don’t memorialize' and 'don’t grieve.'" especially to the families of 9-11 victims. To twist my or others words to say such a thing is disingenuous at best and, at worst, functions as a veneer by which the suffering of victims of U.S. foreign policy and military aggression around the world can continue to be ignored.
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Bert, the cross reference above was added by the MWR editorial staff, not me. I have seen other articles in various blogs (don't have the links readily available) questioning whether or not it is right to have a day of mourning in the US with injustice in the world around us. I was not intending yours to be specifically in that vein.
That said, my problem with articles even as yours is that, while not questioning the mourning, it seems to reduce the very real pain of those who lost loved ones as "yeah, you can mourn...but it's not that bad". That is, at least, how I've heard others receive your article and others in a similar vein.
My point is that we cannot ignore the real pain people feel about 9/11 in the US. I have a friend in NY State who taught in a school that, on that day, found MANY children in that school instantly orphaned because both parents were in the towers.
Yes, there is other pain in the world outside of the US. However, at least on this one day, perhaps the Christ-like response is to spend time reflecting on those who mourn because of those events and doing what we can to bring them comfort.
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Interesting and helpful discussion you two are having here.
Yesterday, Glenn Greenwald wrote about this in the context of the violence in Libya that took the life of the U.S. ambassador. Greenwald wrote:
“Just compare the way in which the deaths of Americans on 9/11, even more than a decade later, are commemorated with borderline religious solemnity, as opposed to the deaths of the hundreds of thousands of foreign Muslims caused by the US, which are barely ever acknowledged. There is a clear hierarchy of human life being constantly reinforced by this mentality, and it is deeply consequential. This is a vital process for enabling and justifying endless aggression.”
He then quotes media watchdog group Media Lens: “A crucial task is to perceive how our compassion is channeled towards some and away from others. It’s the foundation of all mass violence.”
See “The tragic consulate killings in Libya and the hierarchy of human life” published September 12, 2012 at The Guardian's website.
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Excellent point, Berry. I in no way wish to come across as not being compassionate towards the deaths of Muslims. It is something I do mourn and acknowledge as tragic. But to deflect compassion away from those who mourn here in the US is equally unjust, in my opinion. All human life is precious. All humans who experience grief deserve comfort.
For many Americans, to wake up in the morning and realize "Oh, it's 9/11 today" is as painful to them as when I woke up on July 3rd, 2008, and realized "Mom died a year ago today." The date sticks and it hurts.
So, to take that date and use it to deflect away from that personal pain towards others seems to lack compassion. We need to make sure we mourn along with others, including Muslims...but on 9/11, considering the pain connected directly with the date (like December 7th for many of my grandparent's generation) it seems fitting that we set aside the time to mourn with them.
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I apologize for any confusion caused by adding the link to Newton's article. We try to provide a variety of viewpoints and I wanted to make sure readers saw the other post on the same topic. I will move it to the end of the post to eliminate any insinuation that the preceding sentence reflects the link following.
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Thank you Robert and Bert for your helpful and complementary essays. You each remind us that mourning the loss of life (whatever nationality) is front and center in the life of discipleship.
We, too, mourn the tangle of unjust foreign policy and foreign acts of aggression. We know that we are called to embody a better way. I think it best to steer clear of an either/or discussion regarding compassionate mourning and policy accountability. We need both discussions as we seek love and justice after 9/11. We need Bert and Robert. Each in their way show that though 9/11 casts a big shadow, we live in light of the cross--the one event that actually did change everything.
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