PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION:

Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of Your Holy Spirit, that, as the Scriptures are read and Your Word proclaimed, we may hear with joy what You say to us, today. Amen.

Matthew 11:28-30

NT p. 110 or 1333

[28] "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

[29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

[30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

INTRODUCTION:

The memories of this day will live with us forever. The images are etched into our minds, our hearts, our souls and our spirits. We can't escape them. But the burden of this day doesn't have to haunt us or weigh us down. We can both face and deal with the grief, the doubt, the anger, the anxiety, the fear, the uncertainty and all the other emotions that have raced through our systems over the past year.

We can leave those feelings behind. How do I know that? Because Jesus said it was so. It takes ACTION, REFLECTION AND GOD'S LOVE. Those three together can bring healing in any situation.

I. ACTION:

The first thing that's needed is ACTION. Oh, now we could sit and vegetate in the muck and the mire of the blue funk we're in. We could let the depression caused by tragedy draw us deeper into the quicksand of its hold. But then all that happens is we slowly rot from the inside out.

What we need is ACTION. We need to get involved in something larger than us. Larger than the problem or the issue. Let me give you an example. This story comes from Heartwarmers and is told by Tracee Sullivan. She writes:

I live on the West Coast. At about 6:30 or so on the morning of September 11th, I was awakened by the television. Since I work graveyard shift, opening my eyes before 9 am just doesn't happen -- even on the days I don't work.

I tried to go back to sleep, and I almost succeeded. However, I heard that a plane crashed into a building in New York. I wondered, "Am I dreaming?" I opened my eyes and saw that CNN was playing an instant replay of a plane crashing into a very tall building. I thought, "Wow, what a terrible thing! How could this have happened?" They played it over and over again. CNN was showing the first tower on fire, when all the sudden a second plane hit the second tower. I saw it live, as it was happening!

I thought an air traffic controller must have fallen asleep. I continued to watch in absolute horror. I woke my children, so they could see these events as they were happening. I don't know why. I think something inside me understood that this was important. This was something that we as a family needed to witness together.

I am an Emergency Room nurse. I have been in the ER for 9 years. For as long as I can remember, my 8 year old son has been telling the kids in school that I was an ER doctor. I would try to explain to him that, no honey, I was not a doctor, I am a nurse. All he knew was that I did CPR and people lived. The kids in the neighborhood that fell down and scraped their knees, he brought them to me. I "saved their life". I fix the bad stuff that happens to people.

So when his big, giant, sterling blue eyes looked up at me the morning of September 11th and said, "Mom, can you fix them?" I knew what I had to do.

After the kids went to school, I called my mom and asked her if she could stay with the kids while I went to New York. She was here in an hour.

I got on that plane, filled with emergency personnel (only those credentialed could fly) without a clue about what was going to happen. The plane was silent. A plane full of people and not a word was spoken. It was absolutely quiet. We were intent on making it right. I suspect that we all had the same intention -- to "fix them". As it turned out, it took me three days to get from Nevada to Manhattan.

After about a thousand checkpoints, we got on a Red Cross shuttle into lower Manhattan. I had never been to New York, so I didn't have a clue what it was like to be around that many people! There were people lining the streets at least 100 deep for miles and miles! They were crying, touching our bus, begging us to stop so they could tell us about their husband or wife, crying for us to look for the people that were so important to them.

I was reminded of my beautiful son and his innocent words that September 11th morning. This huge throng of people desperately pasted posters of their families on the side of our shuttle as we went by. Some cheered us. There were cameras -- lots of them. That was the first time I cried. That was the first time I understood what really happened to our nation.

This was big. In that moment, we died -- and we lived. The people of New York came with offers of places to stay for us and water. Then the restaurants began bringing food. The people of New York brought food for the dogs sniffing for the dead. It became a nationwide effort and then it snowballed into a worldwide effort. We mobilized and made it work! We got the job done.

No, we will never be what we were before September 11th. Our innocence is gone. I suspect September 11th will always hurt. It will probably hurt in many ways that we don't even know about. But, the people of the United States of America are survivors. We make our own way. We always have and we always will.

Just ask my son.

Recovery takes a little ACTION.

II. REFLECTION:

It also takes a little REFLECTION.

David Skidmore, in this morning's issue of Chicken Soup for the Soul wrote "Reflections from a New Father."

My second daughter was born on September 11, 2001, at 4:41 P.M. I wrote the following article for our church bulletin.

I have looked forward to writing this article for about nine months, and I hoped that it would be filled with joyous words devoted totally to my gratitude to the Father for bestowing the same title upon me . . . again. Indeed, I am thankful that Anna Belle Skidmore was born on September 11, 2001 (seven pounds, thirteen ounces and twenty inches long, with red hair and blue eyes like her sister), but my heart is heavy that as our family added a member, so many other people lost those who they had brought into this world.

Although the world Anna Belle was welcomed into is a different world than the one that awaited her a day earlier, let's reflect on the words of the doctor as she held my daughter on her first unaided breath while a nearby television relayed the unfolding tragedy. Turning to everyone in the room, the doctor said, "May this child be a reminder of who is really in control of our world."

The day of my daughter's birth will always be connected with memories and memorials of death, but on 4:41 P.M. on Tuesday, as images of death engulfed our minds, God made his way into the world...in our midst . . . among us . . . as he did so many years ago . . . in the image of a child. My friend shared a very poignant thought, reminding me that although the date of Anna Belle's birth might forever be associated with the events of that day, it would be a blessing to know that it might also be the same day that marked the beginning of a rebirth of an awareness of God in our nation, in our schools and in our homes.

On the way to the church to write these words, I heard "The Star-Spangled Banner" being played on the radio. Flags hung on the front doors of many houses on both sides of the road - one was even hand-drawn by a child. I have to trust that we gained a greater allegiance not only to the flag this day, but that we also became aware of our need as a nation to truly be "under God." If July 4 is our Independence Day, perhaps September 11 should become our "Dependence Day" - a day in which we as a nation come to realize that our collective hope, future and lives were placed more securely in his hands.

I, too, began a new life on Tuesday, just as my daughter, Anna Belle, began a new life. And just as Anna Belle, I was pulled from a place of safety, security and peace into a tragic, scary, unpredictable and hostile world.

Even though Anna Belle was born into uncertainty, she was immediately placed into the hands of a father whose main desire is to protect her, provide for her and promise her a rich future. Her story is my story . . . and yours. We are all frail, tiny and vulnerable, and our physical lives come with no guarantees. Yet that part of us most carefully created in his image is safe in the hands of a protecting, providing and promising Father. September 11 will always, in one special way, be a celebration of life for this particular father. My prayer is that history will look back and one day celebrate it as a day of renewed life toward our Father.

Another friend sent me these words in a simple but powerful note: On a day in which everyone is asking, "Why would God ever let this happen?" perhaps we should look at you holding your daughter and ask the very same question.

Recovery also takes a little REFLECTION.

III. GOD'S LOVE:

Recovery takes ACTION and REFLECTION but the most vital ingredient of all is GOD'S LOVE.

Susan Scowden of St. Cloud, Florida, in KidWarmers writes about her nephew.

Marshall, 2, was eating supper at his aunt's house. During the long process, his Uncle Jeff began to test his knowledge of the sounds of animals. They proceeded through the usual kitty, dog, pig, cow, horse, chicken, duck, bear, lion, etc.

Then Uncle Jeff said, "Here is a real hard one. What does a Mommy say?"

Marshall responded, "I LOVE YOU!"

Those are the words we hear from God. "I LOVE YOU!"

Those words are THE Word in the beginning which John spoke of in his gospel. Those words are the Word made Flesh, first glimpsed as they were held closely in a mother's arms. Those words are the words we hear tonight as we gather to remember and reflect upon where were a year ago. And where we are today.

CONCLUSION:

Recovery and healing take place through ACTION, REFLECTION AND THROUGH OPENING OURSELVES TO GOD'S LOVE.

As you come for the Sacrament and should you choose, anointing and prayers for healing, let that love of God surround you and enfold you. Let the arms of God's Love lift the burdens of grief and despair, anger and anxiety, hurt and hate from your heart and soul. Let arms of God's Love take the weight of your worries and your sin from your shoulders. Let them arms of God's Love heal the brokenness in your life.

Come and be held by the arms of God's Love.