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Volume 31, Number 1 |
Richardton, ND 58652 |
January 2003 |
Where Was God on September 11?
by Abbot Patrick Moore, O.S.B.
Today has been a day of somber reflection. For on this day a year ago our nation suffered a great loss, due to the carnage, pain and destruction that was caused by the terror unleashed upon the cities of New York and Washington and in a field in Pennsylvania. Throughout the nation, world and here at the Abbey there have been prayers to God much in the manner of Psalm 34: “Glorify the Lord with me, together let us praise his name. I sought the Lord and he answered me, and from all my terrors has set me free.” At times like this, we, being people of faith, turn naturally to God in prayer. Yet for many, these events have shaken their faith and trust in God, and so it is difficult for them to turn to God in prayer.
For such as these, to remain faithful to God in light of this tragedy is a challenge because of the questions that keep popping up: “Where was God when all this happened?” or “How can people who say they believe in the one, true God do such things?” Indeed, it has been pointed out that when the terrorists did all this, they did it in the name of their God. They apparently believed they were doing a good and holy thing, and that they will be rewarded in the next life.
In some ways, this is the most frightening and alarming aspect of this whole tragedy, the fact that it was done in the name of the same God you and I believe in, and in whom we place our hope and trust! We may want to dismiss it as a vile and gross distortion of who God is and what he wants for his people, but the fact is that these acts were done and are still being done in God's name. They are not being done by deranged or insane people, but by people who otherwise are living quite normal lives. But because they are fanatical believers in God and what they understand as his will, they feel compelled and justified in doing such things. For me, this raises many theological and religious questions.
There is a branch of theology called theodicy, which grapples with questions of how
an all-
St. Thomas Aquinas took up such questions and said that one has to distinguish between God's desirous will and permissive will. Thomas argues that because God created us with free will, he must allow for us to commit sins and do evil, but he does not want it or desire it. This is how the Summa Theologica puts it: God, therefore, neither wills evil to be done, or wills it not to be done, but God permits evil to be done; and that is good.” I believe the reason we endure evil is because it is simply part of what it is to be human. Without the possibility of evil, we would be like robots. We would not be able to merit; there would be no motivation to do good.
Another way of dealing with these questions of theodicy is the belief that God can
bring good out of suffering-
Yet, not all theologians would totally buy this argument. Even Aquinas argued that it was the love of Christ and not his suffering that was redemptive. It is important to balance both suffering and love in dealing with the hard realities we encounter. Otherwise we end up making our redemption depend on a cruel and demanding Lord. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington, was asked: “Why did God allow this tragedy?” “You're throwing me a tough one,” he responded. “However, for me this is not an intellectual discussion, but an opportunity to consider the depth of God's love.”
This is perhaps the best way to respond to this tragedy, at least as it relates to our faith and trust in God, to throw ourselves on God's infinite mercy and love, and from this graced stance, rise up and act. Clearly, our activity must seek to prevent this from ever happening again. Besides working for justice and peace in order to end the systemic causes that give rise to such desperate acts, we need to recognize the tremendous power of faith and religion in human life for doing good, as well as for perpetrating evil. And then we must work to direct this power to the end for which God gives it.
I heard an interview recently that spoke of the role of religion, not only on the events of September 11th, but historically. The author admitted that there is probably no greater power in the world for good than faith and religion, but he pointed out that there is a shadow side to this power. When that dark side is unleashed, it is perhaps the most deadly and destructive power in the world. We saw that dark side unleashed on September 11, 2001, and it was catastrophic. Its ripples and ramifications rumble through the world as I speak.
The point is that faith and religion, when truly open to the divine Spirit, reflect God's love, goodness and truth active in us. They direct us to doing much good. The shadow side of religious faith, when animated by a burning absolutism that believes it is exempt from moral and ethical boundaries, will allow us to unleash untold harm and sorrow. And thus it becomes a manifestation of satanic power active in us. This latter we saw clearly a year ago today.
Now we must not think that manifestations of the dark side of faith and religion are the domain of Muslims. We Christians have a long history of such shady behavior dating back to the early Middle Ages. Christians have justified acts of war and violence against people in the name of Jesus Christ. What could be more contrary to what he stands for? For example, how many Crusaders lopped off some Saracen's head in the name of Jesus Christ? The other day at table reading we heard an alarming statement by a notable monastic saint, Bernard of Clairvaux: “To kill someone for the sake of Christ, to risk death, is not only completely free of sin, but highly praiseworthy.”
Just substitute Allah for Christ in this sentence and Bernard echoes the belief of
the terrorists! So faith and religion have great power in us; they represent the
human thirst for the absolute and for that which will not pass away. We know what
heights of sanctity and self-
To conclude, it seems to me that the suffering and evil that humanly engineer catastrophic tragedies like that of September 11, and so many others that have preceded it, point to something that is fundamentally incomprehensible. The final answer to the problem of evil, according to the late Karl Rahner, is an appeal to faith and the mystery of God: “The incomprehensibility of suffering is part of the incomprehensibility of God.” Rahner also declares that suffering “is the form in which the incomprehensibility of God appears.”
Brothers, we must not be afraid to embrace mystery. We do not have the power to end evil, suffering and death, but we do have the grace and power that comes from the paschal mystery which invites us to pick up the shattered pieces of our world and make something holy out of them.
Abbot Patrick gave this conference to the monks at Vespers on September 11, 2002. It was the first anniversary of the terrorist attack of the previous year.