So much has already been written about the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I've read a lot of it and been wondering what I can add besides taking some stands. Without any doubt in my mind I know that the attacks were wrong. Nothing can justify these acts of terrorism. I want justice for the loss of life and property.

And, some of our government's policies around the world are very destructive too. Some of the effects of globalization are doing great harm. American military and economic power have been used for ill as well as good. We must seek justice and open our eyes to what may have caused the attacks.

What makes responding to these attacks much more difficult is the absence of anyone taking responsibility for them. There is no list of demands. We have nowhere to direct our anger or our concern. The only message we are left with is found in the act itself. Nineteen men with Middle-Eastern surnames had so much hatred of American military and economic power that they were willing to kill themselves and thousands of others in a catastrophic symbolic statement.

What concerns me greatly now is the sense of vulnerability our nation feels. The fear of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons being used against us has gone from a potential to a very real threat. People are thinking twice about air travel, visiting or working in or near potential targets. There is a tangible feeling if insecurity. I feel myself very apprehensive, waiting for the next attack from an unseen direction. For all the war hysteria and flag waving, a siege mentality is settling in. How can a free society effectively protect itself from anonymous terrorism?

As I talk about this event with my son, I worry about the world he will inherit from us. The times we live in are different than in the past. If a group of people didn't like what the Romans were doing 2000 years ago, their ability to do anything required a huge army. They didn't have weapons of mass destruction back then. No one could walk into Rome with a suitcase size nuclear bomb and bring it to its knees. Today a small group of terrorists can do this. The age of unilateral imperialism is now over.

The greater our technological power, the greater our vulnerability.

A minister's job is to offer people hope and meaning for their lives. In times like ours, clouds of ash can make hope hard to see. Yet whatever the future may hold, I know that our lives have unconditional worth, dignity and meaning. Fear is a disease of the future. Love is a commitment lived out in the present that generates meaning. The only way to approach the future that makes sense to me is to live out that commitment unconditionally.

I see difficult times ahead as people operate out of anger and fear rather than love. Let our religious community continue to make meaning by finding ways to bring people together and by working for world community with peace and justice for all.

Rev. Sam