People of faith are always challenged by hard work done by men and women around the world to create the blessings we receive. Their combined efforts remind us to constantly work for peace and sustainability on behalf of all people.

Commemoration of the 9/11 anguish, suffering and near-paralyzing fear reminds us of our fragile vulnerability. Taking in this horrific event, we asked, "How could this happen? Where is God?"

Some saw God suffering with the wounded and present in sacrificial efforts by rescue workers. Others saw mercy in our reaching out to support and help heal the tragic devastation. God was also seen in the anger of disbelief as we worked toward recovery from shock and horror. God engages us to help each other find compassion.

We experienced even more in the next years: a tsunami, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, terror alerts, genocide, a growing AIDS epidemic and war. People of faith continue to help over and over! Hard work gets done in caring and compassion. Volunteerism increased dedication and commitment.

However, with war, we also came to trust in terror alerts as acceptable. Fear gave rise to our willingness to accept hyper-projections of weapons of mass destruction. As communities deal with war's disruption, troop deployment, injury and death, grieving families, and our growing failure to adequately care for the wounded, we wonder how far off track we have gotten and wonder if this war has lead us astray to such a degree that we now confuse our loyal support of American service personnel with an ongoing passive endorsement of a failed diplomatic and military agenda.

We ask, "Where is God in this war of fear?" We also ask, "Where are we?"

We have to confess our capacity to make war has never been a workable answer. We must confess religious intolerance and xenophobia are not acceptable as a strategy for security. We need, every one of us, to lead the way toward peace by abandoning our love of violence and fear. More than one person has encouraged us to fear no evil. Love our enemies, invest in our common future. Do good to those who threaten us —change our ways, our hearts, and minds — and act accordingly, treating strangers as we ourselves want to be treated.

This requires work, disciplined labor, and trusting in our goodness instead of relapsing into violence, fear, hate, and retribution. Any peace we achieve will come from within the spirit of our capacity to help our hurting world. Let's get to the hard work of becoming instruments of lasting peace by working from our faith.

The Rev. Tom Olcott is a minister with the United Church of Christ and senior pastor at Church of the Holy Cross in Hilo. Expressions of Faith is a column that welcomes submissions from pastors, priests, lay workers and other leaders in faith and spirituality. E-mail faith@honoluluadvertiser.com or call 525-8035. Articles submitted to The Advertiser may be published or distributed in print, electronic or other forms.