This Saturday we’ll commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., arguably the most audacious, successful, dreadful acts of terror in history.
While that weighs heavy on our minds, justice seems to be creeping forward in a couple places. In Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of 9/11 is taking a step forward following many delays. Pre-trail hearings are happening now and will again in November, with the actual trial beginning as early as next April.
In France, the trial has begun for twenty people accused of involvement in the 2015 night of terror in Paris that killed 130 and injured over 400 more. With hundreds of people given the opportunity to share the impact the event had on them, the trial is expected to take up to nine months.
Two things I hope we can keep in mind in these days:
- While specific Muslims are on trial for specific evil acts, Muslims in general are not. Most do not support these acts and in the sad calculus of Islamic terrorism, Muslims usually end up suffering the most.
- We rarely get the justice we hope for on the timetable we want. We could easily echo Habakkuk’s poignant questions to God about when, if ever, justice will come.
God’s justice and kingdom will come. First in our submitted hearts, then ultimately extending to the ends of the earth. May the grace of Jesus help us in the meantime to say with Habakkuk, “Though. . .the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.”