Much has been said and written about 9/11. So very much. At the five-year anniversary of 9/11, Tim Keller (1950-2023) spoke at a Service of Peace and Remembrance in New York City to victims’ families and national dignitaries (President Bush and Mayor Bloomberg to mention a few). Tim was serving as pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan at the time, only a few miles from “ground zero.” I have little doubt Tim was given a time limit, since he had never been known to deliver a sermon in only eight minutes. What he said that day has stayed with me through the years. He wasted no time in naming the question on everyone’s mind, why did God allow this tragedy to happen? Tim was honest enough to admit he didn’t know, yet suggested the Bible provides readers with a clue. Since it was an interfaith gathering, he acknowledged the resources every faith has in dealing with suffering and evil. “But,” he said, “as a Christian minister, I know my faith’s resources best so let me simply share with you what I’ve got.” Here’s the essence of what he said. We do not worship a God immune to pain and suffering. God knows what it is like to lose a loved one in an unjust attack. Redemptive suffering is central to the meaning of the cross and the bedrock of our hope as Christian people.
Two years ago, Tim was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer and reflected on suffering in his own through his book Hope in Times of Fear. He admitted his own denial of death and his renewed hope in God’s promises, demonstrated in the resurrection.
On the first Sunday after 9/11, Tim preached on Jesus’ words, “Whoever believes in me will never die” from John 11 and closed with the prayer: