Beloved in the Lord,
Today marks 23 years since the tragic day of September 11th on which thousands of Americans were killed when hijackers crashed planes in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. It is with our deepest admiration and respect today that we call to mind the victims, their families, and the first responders who met the tragedy and it's aftermath with courage and strength. May our Lord grant rest to the souls of those lost that day, and may their memory be eternal.
In my sermon on Sunday I spoke about the virtue of cultivating a soft heart. On this sober anniversary, I encourage all of you to keep your hearts soft as you call to mind the events of that terribly sad day.
The evil one desires us to ruminate on all the ways people treated us poorly in the past. He wants us to create a division between us, identifying ourselves as victims, and labelling our wrongdoers as bad people. Once we label someone as "bad" it makes it all the easier for us to hate them and perceive ourselves as superior. This perspective, common as it is, is not the way of Christianity.
This spiritual trap is what we call "The Remembrance of Wrongs".
St. John Climacus
THE REMEMBRANCE OF WRONGS
"Remembrance of wrongs is the consummation of anger, the keeper of sins, hatred of righteousness, ruin of virtues, poison of the soul, worm of the mind. He who dwells on wrongs and thinks that he is repenting is like a man who thinks he is running while he is really asleep."
What does "remembrance of wrongs" look like regarding 9/11?
This looks like re-experiencing the pain and sorrow of that day and forgetting all the healing that followed. Remembrance of wrongs is to look with disdain upon others and to exalt ourselves; it is to believe the lie that we (Americans) are better than others, forgetting the admonition of our Lord that "those who exalt themselves will be humbled" (Matthew 12:13).
THE ANTIDOTE TO REMEMBRANCE OF WRONGS
So how do we lay aside the wrongs done to us? How do we let go of hatred, anger, desire for revenge, and feeling sorry for ourselves? The answer lies in the Cross of Christ. As our Lord hung upon the Cross unjustly wronged by His own creation, He displayed for us perfect patience and forbearance. The love of Christ is not reserved for a select few, but for all people; our own love should be the same way. May the words of Christ on the cross be our own words today: "Father, forgive them, because they know not what they do". The soft heart of our Lord is the example and goal for all of us. A soft heart is the sign of sanctity.
St. John continues: "He who has obtained love has banished revenge. A banquet of love dispels hatred, and sincere gifts soothe a soul. The forgetting of wrongs is a sign of true repentance."
We must ask ourselves, where is our focus? It is on the wrong that was done to us? Or is it on the opportunity that even unfortunate events offer us to return to the Father?
Do we allow the remembrance of wrongs to poison our souls? Or is our observance of today's memorial a call to our own personal repentance?
May our Lord bless all of us, may we have the willing eyes to see His own example of the most excellent way of patience and forgiveness, and may the Cross of our Lord be the image for us of the transformation of something intended for evil into a tool for our salvation.