A September 11th Type of Day

"In a time such as this, when we have been seriously and most cruelly hurt by those who hate us, and when we must consider ourselves to be gravely threatened by those same people, it is hard to speak of the ways of peace and to remember that Christ enjoined us to love our enemies, but this is no less necessary for being difficult." -- Wendell Berry, 2001

Yesterday I went to Big Hat Books in Broad Ripple to pick up a book I had ordered. Standing near the counter I listened as the woman who owns the place talked with a friend of hers about "having a September-11th type of day." She is from New York and she talked about the over 50 funerals that she had attended in the wake of the attacks in New York. She talked about how it had overwhelmed her this particular morning again and she talked about "tearing the whole side of her car off" as she was driving to the book store this morning.

As she was looking for the book that she had called to tell me had arrived, she kept up the patter. When she saw the title of the book I was getting she gave a scream and started talking about what a wonderful book it is. As she was ringing me up she said, "I'm giving you the September 11th discount for having to stand here listening to me." Then she said, "but I think you're a teacher so you get the discount anyway. Aren't you a teacher?" "No," I answered. Long pause. I decided to go ahead and tell her, "I'm a preacher." "Oh, that's soooo beautiful," she said. "Where." "Broadway United Methodist, down at Fall Creek and College." "Beautiful." She said, "Well, I'm giving you the preacher discount, but today it's the September 11th discount."

One of the things that struck me as she talked is that she did not talk out of a sense of defeatism or hopelessness or depression. It was more a sense of wonder that seemed to describe her feelings. Perhaps that seems obscene. But it didn't seem so standing there. I thought I saw in her something I've seen here or there over the last five years -- and that is not a person held in hostage by fear, nor a person oblivious to the very real threats and dangers of our day - but instead a person of faith and hope who looks at the world around herself, realistically, but still keeps moving ahead.

As we left my friend, Marc, said "that woman needs to have her own reality tv show." As we walked down the street we talked about a reality tv show on BookTV (C-Span 2) with her as the centerpiece. It would be great tv I'm sure. At the same time it is a reminder that there are folks like her all around us -- people with a sense of wonder -- in the amazing diversity that we human beings come packaged in. If we wait to see them until they pop up on the television screen, we'll miss the real McCoys' as they stand in front of us. And that would be a shame.

September 11th five years ago was my first day with a woman named Liz who became a good, good friend as we watched the Towers fall on the television in the church office. Later I sat down with her answering the phone and wrote letters to each of the children of our parish. I wanted them to hear from their church about what had happened, not only from the other parts of the culture around them. And I hoped that they might hold onto those letters across the years and that it might remind them that everything that happens in this old world deserves at least a shot to be seen through the lens of faith. Or at least genuine wonder (even in the midst of grief).