Remembering horrors and heroes

Wednesday, Sept. 11, marked the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America. That day was a day of particular horror, claiming nearly 3,000 lives and 6,000 injuries as well as the twin towers of the World Trade Center and a large portion of the Pentagon. I remember I was sitting in the chapel of my former church preparing for a staff meeting when someone burst in with the news of the attacks. Someone had a portable TV and we watched in stunned disbelief as people threw themselves out of windows and buildings collapsed all around them.

Nearly everyone has seen pictures of the aftermath: the rubble in lower Manhattan, the smoking wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, the gaping hole in the Pentagon, the flag-draped caskets of first-responders. Those are images that are not easily erased even with the passage of time. They are scenes of horror that are only partially mediated by the lovely 9/11 Memorial on the sight of the World Trade Center.

What really takes some of the sting out of the horror are other images of the heroes of the day – people like Todd Beamer who led charge to divert Flight 93 away from its target, losing his life in the process, and Welles Crowther, the man in the red bandana who led dozens to safety from the South Tower, also losing his life in the process, and Mychal Judge, the chaplain who died trying to bring comfort to the dying. These men were representative of hundreds of lesser-known heroes of that day. Many of them sacrificed their lives; all of them risked their safety.

As I was reflecting on the horrors and heroes of 9/11, I realized the two often go together. In the living of everyday life we might do good things. It is in the crucible of human suffering that true heroes are born. In the chaos of disaster, there is superhuman force that rises up in the lives of some people, causing them to risk everything for the sake of their fellow human beings. Fear and hesitation get cast aside in favor of action. And when that happens it is a beautiful thing to behold, even when everything else is ugly.

True heroes, like the ones of 9/11, hopefully inspire us to be heroic. Many of us will never find ourselves standing in the midst of human suffering of the magnitude of 9/11. However, there are smaller tragedies faced by people every day that beg for some small amount of sacrifice from others. Somewhere near you is a child who needs help with homework. Are you willing to sacrifice some of your life to enrich his or her life? Somewhere in your school is a kid who is being bullied. Are you courageous enough to stand by them? Somewhere in Orlando there are people going to bed hungry. Are you willing to sacrifice some of what you have to help them live?

These situations are not as stark or urgent as 9/11 and whatever we might do cannot be compared with the heroic actions of 9/11, but they do make a difference in the lives of people we can touch. I don't think any of the heroes of 9/11 would want to be idolized; true heroes are far too humble for that. But I do think they would celebrate every time their courage inspired us to live a bit more courageously right where we are.

Thank God not every day is a 9/11. Not every day created the horrors in which true heroes are formed. But every day does provide the challenges in which courage and self-sacrifice can be practiced for the sake of others. Will we rise to the occasion? I can think of no better way of honoring the heroism of 9/11 than by demonstrating the love that powered it right where we live.

Rev. Jim Govatos currently serves as Senior Pastor at Aloma United Methodist Church located in Winter Park. A former atheist, Jim is passionate about helping people understand and experience a living faith in Jesus Christ. Please share your thoughts by emailing him at [email protected].