Tuesday 11th September 2001 will be remembered in human history as a day when the raw forces of Evil stamped a terrible mark on mankind. Never before have the results of Evil acts been so quickly and intimately seen, even as they unfolded. We all watched in horror as the television pictures showed us the unbelievable. Planes full of passengers being deliberately flown into buildings crowded with people. What sort of depravity would induce a person to even conceive, let alone carry through such a barbaric act? People with such a distorted notion of right and wrong, good and evil that they believe they are earning their reward in heaven.

Is it people like this that the Psalmist was thinking of when he wrote Psalm 73? People who clothe themselves in pride and arrogance, who pursue callous and violent acts born of their conceited minds which know no bounds of what is just and right. In their minds they are right and everyone else is wrong and must pay for being wrong. The hatred within them is all consuming, flowing from the vilest forces of Evil in the universe.

We rightly condemn such Evil acts and intentions, which cannot be justified however much one disagrees with the activities of the other side. Yet if we are honest, as is the Psalmist, do we not find within us the seeds which have fired these evil people. May be we don't envy them, but our first reactions in such situations are often to seek revenge, and to let bitterness and hatred govern our response. And when we let that happen it can soon grow into misdirected actions that cause the innocent to suffer.

But again, as the Psalmist found, when we enter the sanctuary of God, that is, where his presence is felt, be it a church or cathedral, or a synagogue or mosque we see our thoughts and desires in their true light, as seeds of evil in us. When we look at God, truly look, casting off our human nature, we see his perfect goodness. And as we look at Jesus Christ, God's Son, hanging in agony on a crude cross in utter shame, on our behalf, we see his perfect Love in action.

The war we fight is not simply against terrorism but against the forces of Evil in whose hands the terrorists are simply pawns. If we succumb to the feelings of malice, hatred, bitterness and revenge which such acts engender in us we to fall victim to these same forces of Evil, whose aim is to consume us. But the Lord Jesus has already vanquished the powers of Evil, our response must be his response as he prayed for his executioners, "Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing". Of course it looks impossible to react like this, and in purely human terms perhaps it is. But if we enter the sanctuary of God and honestly repent of these feelings we do find that Jesus gives us the poise and power to overcome them. The problem is in honestly repenting, that is earnestly desiring to throw off everything that comes between us and God. The starting place here again is the person of Jesus, looking carefully at his life and character, not relying on hearsay and distorted ideas propagated by those who hearts are full of pride and arrogance.

When we truly try to let Jesus' principals guide our thinking and actions we may even find a deep sadness for those misguided people who carried out the Evil act. People who have been born into hatred and nurtured in a false religion which has very little to do with true Islam. We might also begin considering what it is in us which has engendered such hatred in the first place and see if there is anything we can do to put it right. Though here too we may find that only by reaching out for the power of Jesus can we make any significant changes in ourselves.

Written - 17th September 2001

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