Pastoral Reflections on the Tragic Events of September 11, 2001
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By +Metropolitan Anthony of the Dardanelles
PASTORAL REFLECTION OF HIS EMINENCE METROPOLITAN ANTHONY
September 13, 2001
Eve of the Feast of the Holy Cross
To All the Clergy and Faithful of the Diocese of San Francisco:
On
Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the tranquility of our nation was
shattered by a series of devastating terrorist attacks. We approach the
celebration of the Feast of the Holy Cross still struggling to come to
grips with the dreadful scope of this tragedy. Yet I am convinced that
the only possible response which the Church can offer to the many
disturbing questions raised by this incident is the Cross itself, for
it is only in the Cross that the mystery of suffering and evil are
resolved and transformed within the mystery of the Resurrection.
In
the Cross of Christ, we are confronted with suffering in all its depth
of horror, epitomized in our Lord's anguished cry, Eli, Eli, lama
sabachthani, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Tuesday's
traumatic events were experienced by many as a kind of eclipse of the
divine presence, an apparent suspension of God's loving activity in the
world. To use an expression of Metropolitan Anthony Bloom, the world at
that moment ceased to be "God-colored," as our eyes filled with scenes
of unimaginable terror, pain, and death. In the face of such horrific
events, we find ourselves groping for answers, for some explanation of
how such a tragedy could have occurred.
Yet in the Cross we
discover a God who suffers with us and for us, and who thus makes our
suffering the very context for an event of communion with Himself. As
one of the hymns of Holy Friday states, God enters into the human
condition by becoming "the One who suffers and co-suffers with
humanity" (Fourth Antiphon, Orthros of Holy Friday).
In the
Cross we also encounter the mystery of evil, of creation's rebellion
against the Creator. On the Cross, evil bursts forth in all its malice,
all its violence, all its life-annihilating force. But evil is defeated
and emptied of its power, not by virtue of superior force, but rather
through the divine kenosis, though a free outpouring of love whereby
Christ "empties Himself" (Phil 2:7) on behalf of suffering humanity. In
light of Tuesday's attacks, there are some who have begun to clamor for
vengeance, for retribution, for a justice which exacts "an eye for an
eye and a tooth for a tooth." As a nation, however, we must take care
not to stage a hasty show of force in a rash attempt to reassert our
perceived dominance in the global arena. Let us remember the words of
the Lord: "Vengeance is mine; I will repay" (Rom. 12:19). The strength
of our nation lies not in the superiority of armaments or raw military
might. Our true strength was rather demonstrated on Tuesday by those
who, heedless of their own safety, plunged into the inferno to rescue
their fellow human beings. The strength of our nation lies in those who
give blood, volunteer in hospitals, aid those who are wounded and
comfort those who mourn. The Cross teaches us that it is through acts
of love and selflessness that the power of evil is overcome; as St.
Paul writes, we must "overcome evil with good" (Rom. 12:21).
Finally,
in the Cross we come face to face with the mystery and power of the
Resurrection. Formerly an instrument of suffering and death, the Cross
has been transformed into a symbol of triumph and a pledge of a new age
in which "there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor sighing,
and no more pain, for the former things have all passed away" (Rev.
21:4). In the Orthodox Church, the Cross is never separated or
considered apart from the Resurrection; this is why in the Divine
Liturgy of the Feast of the Holy Cross, we sing at the Trisagion hymn,
"We venerate your Cross, O Christ, and we glorify your Holy
Resurrection." Moreover, the Cross with its four branches prefigures
that future era in which every tribe and nation shall be gathered
together from the four ends of the earth into the Kingdom of God (cf.
Mt. 24:31), wherein all human enmity shall cease and peace shall reign
forever. As one of the hymns of the Vespers states, "through the Cross
Christ has united in one that which was formerly divided."
Therefore,
my beloved, "let us embrace the Cross in faith with hearts and lips"
(kekragarion of the Holy Cross) as support for our weakness, healing
for our wounds, and comfort for our sorrow. Let us take tomorrow's
period of fasting as a day of solemn remembrance and prayer for all
those who have been affected by this catastrophe, for those who have
been wounded or lost loved ones, and for the souls of those who have
perished. Let us rally around the Cross as a standard of hope,
confident that the power of good is greater than that of evil, that the
power of love is stronger than that of hate, and that the power of the
Resurrection has vanquished and shall vanquish all the powers of fear,
of division, and of death.
Paternally,
+Metropolitan Anthony of the Dardanelles
Bishop of San Francisco...
