Now, There’s a Thought

QQUICK

QUIZ 1 Jenny Agutter plays Roberta ‘Bobbie’ Waterbury in which recent film sequel? 2 Who wrote the crime thriller The Judge’s List? 3 What is the capital of Sierra Leone?

6 A ANSWERS 2. John Grisham. 3. Freetown. 4. Queen. 5. Bees. 6. Napoleon Bonaparte. Which rock band’s Greatest Hits compilation recently became the first album to reach seven million UK sales? What type of insects are kept in an apiary? Who established the French decoration the Legion of Honour? 4 5 1. The Railway Children Return.

by Jim Burns

Teardrop is a fitting symbol

TWENTY-ONE years after they took place, the 9/11 terrorist

attacks that killed 2,977 people in the US still come to mind at this time of year. Many people will be aware of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York, where the twin towers of the World Trade Center fell, but fewer will be aware of another structure commemorating the atrocity: To the Struggle Against World Terrorism, more commonly known as the ‘Teardrop Memorial’.

This 30m-tall slab of bronze-coated steel sits in New Jersey, just the other side of the Statue of Liberty. It has a large jagged crack running down the middle, creating the shape of the twin towers, and a stainless steel teardrop hangs inside the crack. The 11 sides of the monument’s base bear the names of the people who died on 9/11 as well as those who were killed in a bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993.

The teardrop is a fitting symbol because so many people would have shed tears over the attacks. Crying is a Jesus felt common response to tragedy, whether it is on a global scale or more personal. and shared The shortest verse in the Bible is about loss, their grief and has just two words: ‘Jesus wept’ (John 11:35 Good News Bible). It appears in the account of the death of Lazarus, one of Jesus’ good friends. We are told that when Jesus saw Lazarus’s sister Mary and her friends weeping, ‘his heart was touched, and he was deeply moved’ (John 11:33). Jesus felt and shared their grief.

Today I am sure that when God witnesses man’s inhumanity to man, he shares the grief of those who suffer.

But God also makes a promise that Jesus will return one day and make things right, that he will establish a place where there is no more death, tears, pain or sorrow. While we await that time, he asks us to love our neighbours and our enemies in order to build a better world now.

As we remember those innocent people who died, and possibly cry our own tears for the state of our world, let’s determine to do what we can to ensure our communities are places where love conquers hate. Because that would be a fitting memorial.