Sept. 9-11 and trying to find closure

Once again I find a grounding for myself in the tradition of the daily reading of scripture. For some days I have been reading the Gospel of Luke. It comes from the realization of his importance to an understanding of Paul. This time, however, I do not find myself reading a daily chapter or so; rather I discover myself reading, and the next day re-reading, a single passage or perhaps two. So it is I find myself coming to the televised celebration of what is to be – hopefully – a closure of the Sept. 9-11 trauma.

One response is to be thankful for the decision not to release a death photo of the villain that was killed. Perhaps you have read my previous reflection on the creation of a “secondary post traumatic stress.” I can well imagine any photo blown up into 8x12 size for the better framing of a martyr’s face and the five times a day swearing of vengeance, just as others might say an “amen” to prayer.

There is, too, a sense of a well orchestrated closure. It is not merely that the assault was well planned, so too was the after action response, whether the outcome would be positive or negative from a national perspective.

What grabbed my attention even more largely were the commentaries on television. One anchor person pursued an interview as if no thought had been given that the interviewee might be still suffering from post traumatic stress. Turning to another channel, a person was put on so filled with hate I wondered if he was experiencing on air the symptomatic rage of PTSD. It was as if by the holding on to that the son still lived.

All this suddenly exposed me (groan) to the light of yesterday’s reading of scripture. It was Luke 6, 37, which begins,

Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will

                not be condemned…

Oh, how we do tend to pull personal opinions out of our hip pocket and exhibit them as if eternal truths.  All scriptural passages are not created equal, but this one has more than enough weight, thank you.

I realize, once again, that what I am hearing is not objective reality from some person, but rather a subjective demonstration and how I weight each reflects as well my own subjective state of mind and of feelings – and my level of spirituality.

                Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eyes and…

The scripture goes on pointedly, “Blind guide…!” That will put a person on his knees.

Well, I did not mean for you to hear me say that reading scripture at times was a great uplift, merely that it is a very good idea.