Cornerstone Honors the Courage and Sacrifice of 9/11 With Eric Metaxas
Twenty-five years after the September 11 terrorist attacks, Cornerstone University students, faculty, staff, and special guests gathered for a special 9/11 Memorial Community Chapel to remember nearly 3,000 lives lost and honor the courage and sacrifice of first responders, veterans and military personnel. Dr. Mike DeRienzo, a distinguished veteran and career coach in Cornerstone’s Office of Career & Life Calling, led the Cornerstone community in a moment of silence in remembrance of those who lost their lives on 9/11.
Cornerstone University’s Distinguished President’s Fellow Eric Metaxas challenged students to know the history of 9/11, recognize the reality of evil and remember the courage and sacrifice Americans witnessed that day. He pointed students to the hope of Jesus Christ, who has conquered death, and challenged them to defend liberty, love others sacrificially and live differently because of the Gospel.
Metaxas brought a deeply personal perspective to the remembrance. He was living in New York City on September 11, 2001, and watched the attacks unfold on television, including the collapse of one of the Twin Towers.
“I knew thousands of people had just died, and I just burst into tears,” he recalled.
For students born after 9/11, Metaxas emphasized the importance of knowing what happened and learning from those who lived through it. History is real, he told them, and Christians have a responsibility to know and stand for truth.
“We have an obligation to know what happened on 9-11, whether you were born or not,” he said.
He pointed to the firefighters who ran into the burning towers as an example of the extraordinary courage and sacrifice Americans witnessed that day.
“There’s something beautiful about the firefighters that ran into the buildings to rescue people,” Metaxas said. “Why do you do that? If you’re looking out for number one, you would never do that.”
Metaxas connected that sacrifice to a Biblical understanding of courage: stand against evil while loving and praying for your enemies.
He also pointed to America’s inheritance of liberty. Soon after 9/11, crossing New York Harbor, he saw the empty space where the Twin Towers had stood — and the Statue of Liberty with her torch still extended.
“I thought, that is who we are,” he recalled. “We hold out the torch of liberty to the whole world.”
Yet the ultimate source of courage and hope, Metaxas told students, is Jesus Christ. Because Christ has conquered death, Christians can face evil and suffering differently — with courage, sacrificial love and confidence in the Gospel.
“If you know that, you’re gonna live pretty differently,” he said. “You’re gonna live radically differently.”
Metaxas closed in prayer, asking God to use the Cornerstone community to share the good news of Jesus Christ through their words and acts of love and sacrifice, “until we see you face to face.”
Cornerstone’s 25th-anniversary remembrance events continued Saturday, September 12 with Strikes for Stripes, a family and community gathering hosted with Hero Services, featuring the annual Veterans vs. First Responders softball game and patriotic tribute. The fundraiser supported wellness resources and financial assistance for veterans, first responders and health care professionals.
About Eric Metaxas
Eric Metaxas is a Distinguished President’s Fellow at Cornerstone University, bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio host of The Eric Metaxas Show. He is the author of more than 30 books, including “Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy,” “Letter to the American Church” and his newest bestselling book, “Revolution: The Birth of the Greatest Nation in the History of the World.” He is also the founder and host of Socrates in the City.
