It was on a Tuesday twenty years ago that the world seemed to be plugging along just like any other Tuesday. Some people in New York were voting in local elections, people in the Washington D. C. area were commuting to work. Farmers were working the fields all around the country – even in western Pennsylvania. In Pierre, South Dakota we were getting ready for our High School Homecoming and a major community event that was expected to bring thousands of people into the capital city. Then – in a matter of minutes – it all changed. As four planes were transformed into bombs, our nation and our history was forever altered. This year, September 11 is on a Saturday, but that year it was an unassuming Tuesday that produced a drama unmatched in our generation.
Many of us will be thinking about 9/11/2001 this week and, as we do, I would like to add something to the mix. As we look back at that sad day in history, I want us to also look ahead to another dramatic event. Several Christian writers prophesy of another international event that will change our world. The Apostle Peter describes it in this way, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.” (II Peter 3:10). It is undeniable that the attack on the United States on that Tuesday had an impact on our history, but the second coming of Jesus will change our eternity.
I don’t want to stretch this comparison too thin, but one thing that can be said is that both days share a suddenness that will shock the world. We don’t know when Jesus will come again – who knows, maybe it will be on another unassuming Tuesday – but we can be certain it will happen. Are we ready?