“What was God thinking when he let the buildings fall but left this cross?”
This question, posed to me on Facebook, by a dear friend who does not share my beliefs, echoed in my head. I changed my profile picture and cover photo in honor of the victims of 9/11 and it stirred some commentary. In just hours after I posted pictures of the cross at Ground Zero, there were over 20 shares and 50 likes.
Early in the morning of 9/11, as I got ready to head into NYC for more appointments with my daughter, Johanna, this comment played in my mind. I thought about it as Johanna and prayed the rosary on the drive in and it was foremost in my mind as we sang the Chaplet of Divine Mercy to commemorate and pray for the victims of this evil act of terror.
“What was God thinking?” I thought again as I stood at Johanna’s feet as she lay in the MRI machine and again as the tears streamed down her face while she pounded her head with her fist trying to make the excruciating headaches stop.
New York City was the last place I wanted to be on 9/11, especially when the world is in such turmoil and we are on the brink of war with an evil enemy who considers it a righteous folly is to crucify innocent children and adults who will deny their Christian faith. But it was the perfect place to consider this question.
The question, my daughter’s struggles and being in NYC on 9/11 all lead me deeper into my personal faith and into the grief that shrouded this ominous day. Why do we preach Christ crucified to those who do not believe? What was God trying to say?
For me, the cross at Ground Zero makes perfect sense and seemingly to those who liked and shared the pictures it was a most appropriate way to mark the day and remember the sacrifice. That’s part of it; remember the sacrifice.
“No greater love has this than to lay down one’s life for a friend” (John 15:13).
The cross at Ground Zero reminds us of those who followed in the footsteps of Christ and laid down their lives for friends and for strangers; for honor and duty and love. They did the courageous and loving thing in the face of a horrible evil.
But what about those who did not choose to die for another?
“What was god thinking when he left the cross and let the towers fall?” I tried to look at this question outside of myself and my faith to understand what God was telling those who have yet to believe.
Why did innocent people die? It is that age-old question of why do bad things happen to good people? It’s a question I have only begun to allow myself to ask when I face my daughter’s struggle with an incurable disease.
My friend wasn’t asking why the towers fell. She knew why and how they fell, like most of us do; because there is evil in the world, because the towers weren’t made to withstand the intense heat of flying bombs filled with fuel for the fire. Just as I know the answer to why my daughter is struggling. She has this disease because of a genetic mutation and because we live in an imperfect world that has yet to find a cure. The Twin Towers collapsed bringing thousands of people to a horrible death. It happened because there is evil in the world.
The deeper issue with the cross is what’s the value of the sign? What value is there to allowing the buildings to collapse but a steel structure in the shape of a perfectly formed cross, survive? I could ask the same question of my daughter’s suffering. What is God thinking; what’s the meaning of the suffering?
St Paul writes:
“Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
Far be it from me to think that I know, but the scriptures tell us that when we believe, “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). When we believe, we have opportunities to see things as Christ sees them. But until we believe, the cross is just a foolish way to live and die.
Evil caused those towers to fall and innocent lives died. But that wasn’t the end of the story. God wants us to remember that the truth is Jesus was an innocent victim on the cross, like the innocent victims of 9/11. He was also a willing victim, who chose as many others that day did, to lay down His life for those who suffer.
The first part of this question was answered on Facebook two other friends who responded to the question, “What was god thinking when he left the cross but let the two towers fall?” One replied; “to remind us that he is still with us in the midst of such horror”, and another responded, “It’s His signature”. I propose that both are true and still there is more.
In his homily a week after 9/11, Cardinal Egan, Archbishop of New York, said this of the heroes who died that day; “If this is not triumph, I do not know what triumph might be. Triumph over fear. Triumph over caring only for oneself. Triumph over all that makes us less than what the Lord would have us be. Triumph that defines heroes-wondrous, glorious heroes.”
The cross at Ground Zero and indeed the sufferings in our lives remind us that God suffered for us and with us in our struggles. Today, Catholics celebrate the Feast of the Triumph of the cross. The cross also reminds us that, in the end love triumphs! We celebrate that love wins! Death does not have the final word; terror will not prevail!
On the cross and through the cross, heroes are born, love conquers all and the cross leads to the new life of resurrection! It’s foolish to some, but to those who chose to believe, the cross is the power and the wisdom of God.
