Bombs are falling. People are dying. The war on terrorism has officially begun. Since Sept. 11, everyone knew it was coming. Still, the announcement on Sunday morning, Oct. 7, caused many to gasp. What had been hypothetical was now reality. America and the world stood where no one wanted to stand — engaged in armed conflict.
It was not America’s choice that brought this day. It was the act of terrorists driven by commitment to an ideology. They are the ones who killed more than 6,000 innocent men, women and children through their attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Now America and a host of other nations are demonstrating that such acts will not be tolerated in a civilized world.
What will happen next is more than a question on the minds of most people. It is a fear. Bombs dropped from the sky cannot prevent a lone terrorist from detonating a suitcase bomb in a crowded street. One has only to look at the work of Palestinians against Israel or Irish Republican Army guerrillas against England to understand that fact.
The war on terrorism promises to be a long struggle. It could be a costly struggle and a bloody struggle.
The terrorists try to wrap God around their deeds. They call their actions “jihad” (holy war). America is no stranger to such attempts. This country has seen other radical groups try to justify their actions in the name of God. Usually such groups are self-serving, cult-oriented and on the fringe of society. They believe they are right and all others are wrong.
In this case, the terrorists claim America’s efforts are against Islam. Such a claim ignores this nation’s recent roles in Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia and other places. In each case the United States stood against Serbia, a people committed to the Orthodox Church, in favor of Muslims. Such a claim ignores the United States’ role in Somalia where this nation responded to cries for help from a Muslim people on the verge of starvation.
The United States is not against Islam. It is against terrorism. The United States has not issued religiously flavored statements calling for the killing of Islamic civilians. It is the terrorists who called for the killing of U.S. citizens everywhere in the world. That call did not come as a result of Western bombing in Afghanistan. It came more than two years ago as a way of advancing the terrorists’ cause.
Evidently, anything that advances the terrorists’ cause is justified, even murdering innocents. To most minds, such thinking is demented.
Still, this nation must be careful. If our response is driven by the hot blood of revenge for the hurt inflicted on us by the terrorists, this could be the beginning of a downward spiral of violence for the sake of violence. That is the dark side of the human spirit. “An eye for a eye” leaves both parties blind.
If the United States is motivated by concerns for righteousness in the community of nations, for human dignity, for the value of each individual, for personal safety, for the right to life itself, then the nation follows the values embraced by Western civilization. Such goals minimize violence and maximize ridding the world of terrorism.
Either way, people are likely to die or to be maimed in the process. There can be no joy in bloodshed, only sorrow. Even when life is lost for a just cause, family and friends grieve, and the world loses the gifts God embedded at birth in the one who died.
It is no wonder that no one wants to stand where we are today — engaged in armed conflict.
As Christians we have the resource of prayer. We can pray for peace in a world free from terrorism. We can pray for peace in a world characterized by righteousness among the nations. We can pray for peace in a world where life and human dignity are honored by mankind as much as by the God of creation.
We can pray for strength and wisdom for our leaders. Giving in to emotions is the easy thing to do in times of distress. It is the strong who stay focused on the nobler goals of life in times like these.
Even strong leaders can lack understanding and wisdom.
We can pray that God grants our leaders not only strength but also the ability to understand the competing dynamics of the day, the wisdom to discern truth and the courage to pursue it.
We can pray for safety, safety for our military personnel and safety for civilians caught in harm’s way.
We can pray for compassion for all and compassion by all.
We can pray that the Lord God, the God made known in Jesus Christ, will be a “very present help in these times of trouble.”
Today we stand where no one wants to stand — engaged in armed conflict. May God grant that these days are few and that those values compatible with His own heart are those values that triumph in this struggle.
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