Joy and 9-11
At first glance, it seems inappropriate to bring up Joy on 9/11. After all, this was the day that the tone of chapel at ACU changed significantly from what I heard. The theme of preaching following 9/11 was sobering. There were calls to go to the house of mourning rather than laughing. Also, 9/11 and the following days were days in which David Letterman was very chastened. Dan Rather was the first guest on the show and he cried.
But in truth, the odd coincidence of Joy and 9/11 asks us to reflect on the nature of real joy and where we are now. . .
We have left "the house of mourning," but is our society any more joyous? Were we joyous before? (9/11 was big, but we had all been through Columbine just two years earlier).
I think this reflection causes us to differentiate between joy and entertainment.
When everyone was asking if things would return to "normal" after 9-11, I think they were hoping to return to the pseudo-innocence of frivolity, irony, and entertainment. I think this gives us an opportunity to name true joy. True joy isn't a fragile fruit that withers in the heat of the day or is susceptible to blight. It is a hardier plant that blooms in the most unexpected places.
posted by Chris Benjamin @ 2:00 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
My intuition is to allude to it - maybe in order to start the conversation. After all, it is there. Perhaps four years later most of us don't want to mention 9/11 again (superstition?) but the media will certainly ratchet up the anxiety levels. The Terror Alert will turn a deeper shade of red. So why not name it.
But I agree with you that we need to go beyond it. Yes, the topic is bigger than this day and this event. (BTW, this is a bit off topic, but here's the link to a sermon by Garrison Keillor on the Sunday after 9/11. It is prophetic and the way he handles the significance of the event is very instructive http://www.gracecathedral.org/church/sermon/ser_20010923.shtml)
I guess preaching on 9/11 is sort of like preaching on Christmas in Churches of Christ. You can't avoid mentioning it, but you can't make it the point of the whole sermon!
We are going to do a video segment either before or after the worship time. We are thinking of using the Eagles "Hole in the World" and 9/11 images to remember. "There's a hole in the world tonight. Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow." So goes the lyric. I think joy speaks to that.
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