Good News: Stand Firm In It

I arrived late to class and noticed that the mood in the room was anxious and tense. The students and teacher were speculating about an event that was happening in New York. I was confused and wasn’t following the conversation. “What happened? What are you talking about?” It was  Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the Twin Towers had fallen. I rushed out of the room to call my sister who worked in Manhattan. That was not the best day to have overslept.

I reached my sister and she was safe. She was several blocks from the site of the attacks and the destruction. It is hard to think of a single event happening on our nation’s soil that is more horrific than 9 11.

People lost their lives. Families lost loved ones. First responders gave their lives to rescue many. A whole nation was angry. A whole world grieved. Many people turned to God and found Him in the midst of their pain.

The Twins Towers should still be standing. As I watched the towers burn in countless replays each time it still seemed surreal when they fell.

That event in itself is enough to make you lose sight of what is good in humanity, what is good in this world. Is God good?

I imagine that this may have been what Jesus followers experienced when they saw their Rabbi and friend arrested, beaten, and murdered on a cross.

Some saw with their own eyes the demise of their Master at the hands of their enemies. They were unable to stop the events that led to Jesus’ death. Fear and disillusionment overwhelmed them and they retreated into hiding. It was too much to take in and they abandoned him.

But that was not all they saw and that was not their last experience of him.

I recently talked to my sister. She was with some of our family from Panama. An aunt and uncle along with many cousins, 11 in all made the trip from my country of origin to visit New York City. The day I called her they were arriving at Freedom Tower and The Oculus (World Trade Center Transportation Hub).

She was trying to describe to me over the phone the new construction, “They are still building new buildings.” Seventeen years later and they are still building.  She sent me a couple of pictures. I felt encouraged. Life continues and beauty flourishes. Goodness prevails. These were/are my thoughts.

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While viewing the pictures my mind took me to May of 2011. A few months before The Towers fell I stood at the top of one of them with my sister and marveled at the amazing views of the city. I got to see what many people saw over the life of those iconic buildings. My memory of September 11th are coupled with my memories of visiting the towers.

I have yet to visit ground zero. Maybe you have and have seen the memorials and the beautiful architecture. I haven’t experienced it in person. I’ve seen pictures and videos and have heard eyewitness testimony.

Jesus’ disciples experienced the wonders of Jesus’ life. They stood on The Towers of his teachings and the power of his preaching and the hope of his healings.

Yet, they also experienced their own 9 11 with the unexpected pain of Jesus’ death. But that was not all they experienced because after his death they were surprised by hope, the miracle of his resurrection.

Both experiences are joined together and one informs the other. What they had seen can never be erased from memory. They had seen what can’t be unseen. The evil of the cross was triumphed by the empty tomb. What sin had done the resurrection had undone.

In 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul tells believers,

“Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it.”

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Evil people killed Jesus’ but he has arisen. He is alive, stand firm in the good news of the resurrected Lord.

Evil persons flew planes into buildings full of people but all hope is not lost because the God who is rose from the death gives hope for humanity to rebuild and never forget that people are worth living and dying for.

Stand firm in the hope of the gospel that gives hope to humanity even when structures fall.

Freedom Tower is a fitting name. Because the good news of Jesus allows us to live free from the fears of tyranny having the last word. Even if our flesh dies. After death there is life. Life has the last word.

Before his ascension to sit at the right hand of the Father Jesus appeared to many and also Paul.

“Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.”

The Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:8

Paul saw life after death in Jesus. And now believed in a life-after-death of his own. 

In all that you have seen both good and bad, remember both but stand in the good. And if you have yet to see the Good News seek it out. And for those of us who have seen Jesus.

Stand firm.

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Jovan preaches for the Littleton Church of Christ near Denver, Colorado. Visit here to listen to sermons preached at the Littleton Church.