Never Forget?
I write this in the midst of remembering 9/11/01. Today I was in
Georgetown for jury duty and heard part of the special ceremony that was
held at the traffic circle. I saw lots of flags and signs that said,
"Never forget!" But I think that there is a difference between
"never forgetting" and "remembering": For not to
forget is to think of the past exactly as it was with no changes, to
return to a place etched in time; to remember, however, is far different.
To remember is instead to "re-member" what has been "dis-membered"
by circumstances. To remember is to envision a better world where peace
and justice prevail. To remember is to call to mind the way things were
with a view toward making sure that the future turns out better.
I believe that the scriptures of the three Abrahamic religions can
assist us in this process. The Holy Qur’an counsels peace: "And if
they incline to peace, then incline to it and trust in Allah; surely He is
the Hearing, the Knowing" (VIII:61); "they shall not hear
therein any vain discourse, but only: Peace, and they shall have their
sustenance therein morning and evening" (XIX:62). The Hebrew Bible
commends life over death: "See, I have set before you this day life
and good, death and evil…. I have set before you life and death,
blessing and curse; therefore, choose life, that you and your descendants
may live" (Deuteronomy 30:15,19). The Christian Testament describes
as the fruits of God’s Spirit "love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control"
(Galatians 5:22-23), while discouraging "enmity, strife, jealousy,
anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy" (Galatians
5:20-21).
As we strive to "re-member" our world after 9/11 would we not
do well to emulate the words of these scriptures, rather than engage in
name-calling, war-mongering, and kneejerk patriotism? The Source of All
Being yearns for wholeness in the cosmos S/He created, and we are here to
carry out Spirit’s bidding. May the God of Abraham and Sarah and Hagar,
of Ishmael and Isaac, of Moses and Miriam, Jesus and Mohammed bless and
keep our world so that future generations may know a peace that has eluded
this one but for which we hope day by day. Amen!
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