For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8, 38 & 39
Last Thursday, Stephanie, Sydney and I returned from New York City. Our short trip included many amazing experiences that only New York City can offer. On Wednesday ,we had the opportunity to visit the 9/11 Memorial that was, as I’m sure many of you know, deeply moving. We were able to take a brief tour of the Memorial. If you have visited, or even read about the Memorial, you probably know that the names that are carved into the frames around the two pools are not listed in alphabetical order. Instead, they are listed in relation to where they were when they died, the World Trade Center 1, World Trade Center 2, or one of the flights involved in the attack.
More than that, many of the names are listed according to relationship. “As part of the 9/11 Memorial’s official names verification process completed in 2009, victims’ next-of-kin were allowed to make specific requests for names to appear adjacent to their loved one’s name (“adjacency requests”). Some of these requests were for relatives, friends, and colleagues; others were for loved ones to be listed with people they may have barely known or just met, but with whom intense bonds were quickly formed as a result of shared response.”
Our tour guide provided the most moving stories of some of the nearly 3,000 victims of the 9/11 attacks. She told us about Ronald Gamboa and David Brandhorst and their son, David. Ronald (33) and David (42), a gay couple who had been together for 13 years, were on their way home to Los Angeles from Boston with their 3-year-old adopted son, David. Their plane, United Airlines Flight 175, was hijacked and crashed into World Trade Center 2. As we ran our fingers over their names, Stephanie and I realized that without the intentionality of the “adjacency requests” it would have been likely that their names would have not been listed together.
The idea of “adjacency” has stayed with me in these hours following our tour. It is, I believe, an important idea to hold in our minds and hearts. You see, all day, everyday, our paths cross into and out of the lives of countless people. Some of our encounters are with strangers, some with friends, some with family. I wonder what life would be like if we could be more intentional about our adjacencies.
Of course, the promise of God is for constant and lasting adjacency, isn’t it? The Apostle Paul thought so. Writing his letter to the church at Rome he reminded them, and us, that no matter what we encounter in this life, nothing can separate us from the love of God revealed in Jesus, whom we call the Christ: Everlasting adjacency with God and with each other. I believe that’s something we can live into, and something we can rest in.
You have promised me, O Holy One, that You are ever with us in this life and the next. Remind me today how precious life is and how precious those with whom I find myself adjacent are. Then, help me to live in ways that reflect that preciousness. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Jo Hudson 