Dear Christian friends:

Daily on TV we see pictures of the terrible destruction and death, the sixteen acres where the beautiful, two tall buildings stood before the airplanes struck them and caused them to collapse. Now that place is a large junk pile. But really I believe that place where now is destruction and death will again become a place of beauty and life.

God often does that, too. Where there is death He makes alive. Where there is shame He makes glory and honor. God often does wonderful things that we never expect. God wants us to learn to expect what we usually do not expect.


While living we should expect death. We all know that we will die one day, if not today, then tomorrow, and if not tomorrow, then next year or in ten years or perhaps fifty years.

Because of what happened on September 11, five weeks ago we should be aware that we can die at any time, when we do not expect to die.

I doubt if any of those five-thousand people who died on September 11th expected to die that morning while they went to work. They were expecting to work all day in the office towers and then go home to their families. They never expected to die that day.

Those people who went on the four airplanes did not expect to die that morning. Some expected to come here to Los Angeles, others expected to go to San Francisco. They never expected their airplanes would crash into buildings.

We must learn to expect death at anytime. No matter how calm the seas, no matter how beautiful the sunset, no matter if our doctor tells us that we have good health, no matter how much money we have saved and put in the bank, no matter if we have a strong army, navy and air force, no matter how secure our airports. We can die anytime. What happened on September 11th, should remind us of that!

While living we should expect death. Learn to expect what you usually do not expect.

While living we should expect death, and the opposite is also true:

While dying we should expect life. It is important for us to learn to expect death while living, but that is not the most important lesson God wants us to learn. He chiefly wants us to learn while dying to expect life, eternal life.

We don't know why God permitted that terrible destruction and death on September 11th, but we know that God can make good out of evil.

He has been doing that for a long time. When the devil tempted Adam and Eve to pick the forbidden fruit and they fell and suffered God's curse, also death, bringing sin and death into the world, He promised to them the Savior. (Genesis 3:1-19 and Romans 5:12) Again and again through the history of the Jews in the Old Testament we see God making good come out of bad. (Tell the story of Joseph and his 11 brothers.)

The prophet Isaiah in our text tells about the suffering and death of God's Servant, whom we know is Jesus Christ. He writes: "Lord, who believed the things we hear? And who has seen the Lord's power? We announced before Him that He is like a young child and a Root in dry ground. He seems as nothing and He shows no glory. Therefore we not look at Him, and He seems to have no beauty. And He seems to be without honor before all people. He is a Man with stripes of punishment, and He knows grief. None want to see His face. People despise Him and give Him no praise." (Isaiah 53:1-3)

It does not seem that this Man can help or save anyone. He seems weak, and helpless. But Isaiah continues saying that God used this despised Man to give salvation to the world. God used the evil we did to Jesus for good.

"For sure He took on Himself our troubles and carried our sorrows. Yet we thought of Him as being punished and hurt by God, and made to suffer. But He was hurt for our wrong-doing. He was crushed for our sins. He was punished so we would have peace. He was beaten so we would be healed." (Isaiah 53:4-5)

Yes, God makes good come out of evil. That's the reason why we call the blackest day in history, the day the innocent Jesus died on the cross, that day we name Good Friday!

This is good news for us who saw what happened on September 11th. God knows how to make good come out of evil! And He will make much good come out of the destruction and death that happened in New York, Washington, D.C. and in Pennsylvania.

Dr. Martin Luther says: "If you listen to the law, it will tell you: 'While you live, you are near death.' But the Gospel and our faith have changed this song, and now we sing: 'While dying we are near life!"

St. Paul says in Romans 8:21: "We know that God makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him."

May God give us His Holy Spirit so that we learn to expect what we usually do not expect.

Amen.