"Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you."  Philippians 4:8-9

September 11,2001…just saying the date holds an ominous weight. It is one of those days that I can remember so clearly…where I was sitting, what I was doing, when everything seemed to fall apart. It is a day that people speak about in so many ways. Today, all over the country there will be memorials, worship services, moments of silence, the names of those who died will be read. Our prayers, today, will be different than other days just as they have been for six years.

Six years. Where has the time gone? Many questions fill my head about that day that has led to this day. Things like….what have we learned? Are we a better people today because of having lived through this experience? Are we a people more intent on peace, on understanding, on tolerance because of that day? Of course, the answers vary from person to person, from city to city, from country to country, from government to government.

But as people of faith…those who claim relationship with the Divine….are we a more loving, more open, more peace-seeking people?  Do we seek, as the writer of Philippians urges, to put our energy toward what is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, and commendable?

I recognize that this day and the memory of what happened six years ago is filled with unspeakable complexities. I do remember how it was impossible to get books from the library about Islam. Everyone, faithful and not, wanted to learn about this religion that was foreign to many of us. While recognizing that fanaticism and faith are not the same, schools and churches clamored to get speakers from the Muslim tradition to help us understand the ordinary and the extreme. And it can be said that many wonderful relationships, both individual and communal, were born from that seeking. Our understanding grew….and so did we.

How to pay homage today, that is my question, my prayer. How to remember the lives of those lost, the innocence we all lost, those who live on and are forever changed, those who were courageous beyond belief……"Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen….and the God of peace will be with you." Today, I’ll try to do just that…..and pray that the God of peace will be with us all.