In case we had forgotten
It's commonplace to say that 11th September 2001 was the day on which the world changed forever. In many respects, it did. The war in Afghanistan; the toppling of Saddam Hussein; the increasing belligerence of Iran; the terrorist attacks in Bali, Madrid and London; the growing rift between Anglo-American and European approaches to the problem; the new suspicions about Islam and its ambitions within Western democracies; the re-evaluation of multiculturalism; and so on—does anyone doubt that all this and more flowed as a direct consequence of the World Trade Centre attacks?
However, the events of September 11 also function as an awful sign that the world has not changed at all: wickedness and evil still inhabit our world and our hearts.
In case we had forgotten.
In case we had begun to think that humanity was making steady and irresistible progress towards enlightenment, freedom and happiness. In case we had thought that our comfortable, Western aspirational havens were also free from hatred, malice and callous indifference to human life. In case we no longer believed that the best four words to describe the current state of our world are those of the Apostle Paul: “this present evil age”.
September 11 was a shocking reminder that humanity still lives in the tumultuous final scene of world history—that period between Christ's first coming and his return referred to as ‘the last days’, with all its wars and rumours of wars, tumults and conflicts and earthquakes and famines.
On this day, as on all others, we pray, “Come, Lord Jesus”.