Diocesan News
St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast Marks 9/11 Anniversary
DIALOGUE IS KEY, DEAN SAYS AS ST ANNE’S MARKS 9/11 ANNIVERSARY
Preaching at a service of Choral Eucharist in St Anne’s Cathedral on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the Dean of Belfast has called for churches to ‘explore the channels of faith dialogue.’
The cost in terms of human life, as well as the economic and social effects of the events in the USA 10 years ago, demands the Church does this, the Very Rev John Mann stated.
“Religious extremism apart, the central path of the religious life of the world faiths is largely one that seeks dialogue. The basis upon which dialogue can take place between faith groups centres on a crucial principle, that of mutual recognition of the fundamental integrity of the other faith communities with which engagement is taking place.”
A single candle burned throughout the 11am service in the Cathedral from an opening moment of remembrance and during prayers and intercessions.
Dean Mann told the congregation: “We commemorate, we remember, we pray, conscious that in doing these things we are pleading within for a peaceful world; hearts at peace; communities at peace; where justice and compassion and mercy are not at the beck and call of the powerful.”
Full text of Dean Mann’s sermon on September 11 2011:
(Text: Matthew 18: 21-35)
I could take you to the small pensioner’s bungalow in Rathcoole where I witnessed the scenes. The television was left on, but the sound was turned down. Gradually the terrible events of Tuesday 11th September 2001 were unfolding. The elderly lady that I was with had no idea that anything special was taking place. She was being visited by her Rector, who was trying (fairly desperately) to avoid his eye catching the pictures of large commercial aircraft being flown into two huge tower blocks. The destruction was terrible, but what caught the attention was the sheer unimaginable reality of it all. No attack had been like this, but slowly, as the hours of that fateful afternoon passed, the debate, the why and wherefore, the horrific effects, the uncontrollable anger and the poignant text messages and mobile phone calls that made this staggeringly audacious act settle into a human tragedy, were bound up with the breaching of the apparent invulnerability of the United States of America.
Cause and effect can follow so quickly that it is only later that mature thought can make the response to extreme pain revealed for what it is - a reaction of the heart to what we hold dear.
How is it then that we can regularly, and at times spectacularly, form a reaction to those who love us or a stranger who shows compassion to us, that amounts to a rejection of that love or compassion? The parables of Jesus are full of examples: The Prodigal Son, The Labourers in the Vineyard, even - by way of contrast - The Parable of the Good Samaritan.
But how about today’s story? A man is forgiven a massive debt (we are thinking millions of pounds here) in the parable of today’s Gospel. He has pleaded to be given time to pay, and we are told that “out of pity” the person to whom he was indebted relinquished the whole debt; he didn’t have to pay then or ever. This man who has gained such financial freedom and responding in gratitude then went out, and we should imagine is ready to do all sorts of good works, but instead he chooses to call in the much smaller debt owed to him by a colleague, who pleads with him for more time and he will pay. Now, the servant who had been released from the massive debt hardens his heart and has his fellow servant thrown into prison. We are intended to respond to this by considering the forgiveness of God shown to each of us, and our subsequent offer of forgiveness to others, but there is an implication for interpersonal dynamics here too.
It is a common article of a mission statement of any caring institution, that employees should treat others as they would expect to be treated themselves. Jesus points out today that this may not happen and teaches elsewhere that even this isn’t enough, but the loving response is to “go the extra mile” or “turn the other cheek”. We know this to be true. But only too often, either we may overlook the loving act, or we may be so goaded by the aggression of another, that retribution is the obvious, knee-jerk, course of action. We can have such a defensive attitude to violation by another that it breeds suspicion, misinformation and mutual distrust, not just anguish and pain. It is very difficult to work one’s way through this when all one is looking for is to get one’s own back - or to protect the status quo. The voices of caution, compromise, fear of where this may lead us may often be interpreted as weakness and lack of resolve, and we may appear ungrateful to those who are seeking to help us, at, perhaps, great personal cost.
All of these things we have experienced in the years of war, fought far away, but affecting us deeply, which have arisen one way or another from the events of this day ten years ago. Afghanistan is still in a state of conflict, of perpetual change and instability. Many service men and women and their families have had to endure years of anguish; civilian casualties in the areas of conflict are beyond measure - beyond comprehension. World-wide, heightened security, which in 2011 we accept as a norm, has been one of the ways in which the governments of every country have tried to stem the tide of terrorist activity - this has affected us all.
These things we know, as too, the mix of cultural factors, religious extremism and political ambition, that makes such an impact our lives and the relationships between and within nations that causes such tension.
As we reflect on these things from a Christian perspective today, how are we to respond in prayer and thought as we contemplate the enormity of ten years of striving for a solution to the divisions that 9/11 highlighted so tragically? The cost in terms of human life, as well as the economic and social effects, demands that the Church does explore the channels of faith dialogue, even if it remains unable to effect much more, and a good deal of this is happening.
Religious extremism apart, the central path of the religious life of the world faiths is largely one that seeks dialogue. The basis upon which dialogue can take place between faith groups centres on a crucial principle, that of mutual recognition of the fundamental integrity of the other faith communities with which engagement is taking place. No one asks for another to deny their understanding of truth.
For the Christian, Christ is the truth upon which our faith is established. He is the manifestation of God, whom we understand as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is in Christ that we see God’s face; his ways; his life. God is “Christlike”, as we say. Other faiths proclaim, with similar zeal and intensity, what they believe. From this point we meet and seek the common ground, as we begin our dialogue in respect for the integrity with which our faiths are held.
The moral issue of what war should be fought and what war should not (with the complex questions that surround these important decisions for the governments of the World, for the United Nations and for those countries with the capability to operate unilaterally) - this moral problem, is a matter for the theologian as much as anyone else, but the issue of interfaith dialogue lies entirely at the door of religious communities the world over. We may proclaim our faith in Jesus Christ, but we proclaim it in recognition that, at times, our place is on our knees writing in the sand with our Lord, not being amongst those, stone in hand, who are ready to eliminate the faults of others - as we may see it.
It is a delicate balance, and who could claim in the past ten years that we have got it right? Who is able to claim the moral high ground? Who is not grieving today for a world so divided that wars continues unabated?
So we commemorate, we remember, we pray, conscious that in doing these things we are pleading within for a peaceful world; hearts at peace; communities at peace; where justice and compassion and mercy are not at the beck and call of the powerful.
ENDS
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