"The Day the Earth Stood Still"

Usually my columns have a humorous and sarcastic flare. However, today I want to discuss something more somber and, therefore, requires a more serious setting. As media has reminded us, ten years ago the United States of America was put on hold for a moment. Islamic extremists flew two planes into the World Trade Center buildings in downtown New York causing them to collapse, and killing nearly 3000 people. Simultaneously, two other planes were hijacked in separate locations. One was flown into the Pentagon and one was taken down by some heroic individuals on board, determined that these terrorists would not take any more lives. I remember where I was and exactly what I was doing; just as I am sure you do. I was waiting impatiently for my piano teacher at Dallas Baptist University to come in for my 8 o'clock lesson. She was late. She suddenly stormed in and without a word turned on the radio. Before I could ask her what was wrong the radio announcer said "Wait… Oh no ….The other tower is down!" I couldn't say a word. I just listened to the radio with my piano teacher for the duration of my lesson. We were then called by the president of the university to meet in the Great Hall for a time of prayer. I am sure all of you have similar experiences and shared the same feeling of despair and helplessness. I can't remember another instance in my life that brought me to such a state of incapacitation. I remember for days after 9/11 that America stood still. Sporting events were cancelled, the bustling floor of Wall Street was a wasteland, malls were empty, and the only thing taking off at DFW airport were flocks of blackbirds. As a nation we stopped. However, the most dreadful day in human history the day that makes 9/11, Pearl Harbor, the assassination of President Kennedy, and Hiroshima seem like an afterthought is what I want to focus on in this article. The death of Jesus Christ eclipses them all.

As humans we tend to focus on events that occur either in our generation or the one previous, although the former seems to be emphasized less and less. The reasons for the short memory span are that we are so self-absorbed and frankly, chronologically arrogant. We think that the best age is the present age. After all, we have evolved more technologically in the twentieth century than all the previous ages combined. We were driving horses at the end of the nineteenth century and we were on the moon just 69 years later. Because of this, we tend to think that anything we should learn can be gleamed from the past 100 years. We think like we invented the wheel, not the Mesopotamians some 5500 years ago. So anything that has happened in the past, we tend to treat as some nagging voice, trying to shut it up because it's getting on our nerves. However, whether we want to acknowledge it or not, we take the death of our Lord for granted and are not taken back by the horrific day that it was.

Although we were not present at the death of Christ, it does not excuse the fact that His death should be the event in history where we pause and meditate because of what it means to our lives. This event was both horrific, and yet, glorious at the same time. God in human flesh penetrated time and space to save unworthy wretches like you and me. No other moment compares in magnitude or implication, not only for America, but the entire human race. This was the day the earth stood still. Even the pagan roman centurion recognized what an unbelievable event had taken place after the earthquake when he said "Surely he was the Son of God!"

As Christians we take this moment for granted. We often say "Yes, Jesus died for my sins, but now on to other things." From 9/11 forward our lives have never been the same. We are more cautious at airports, more dubious of suspicious characters, and are overall more cynical. This one event changed a lot of things for Americans. But the cross changed everything for everyone! So why do we treat it with such casualness? If we had a proper perspective, it would have a greater importance than 9/11 ever could. Many of us were speechless for hours after the horrific events 10 years ago. Should not the death of our Lord, the horrific nature of how it took place and the reason He had to die at all, keep us speechless for at least a moment if not for the rest of our lives? The implications of 9/11 are temporal. The ramifications of His death are eternal.

Now, I am not saying we should never remember the events on that fateful morning and how they changed the course of American history. However, we should keep the big picture in mind. So as we contemplate the truly tragic event that occurred 10 years ago, let us stop and consider not just what happened that day but what took place two millennia ago. Let us reflect not only of the day America stood still but more importantly, the day the earth stood still.

- Jordan McGehee