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	Bali National Memorial Service The Great Hall, Parliament House, Canberra Thursday 16 October 2003 Address delivered by Dr Tom Frame Anglican Bishop to the ADF As we gather with those touched personally and physically by the Bali attacks, we have become acutely aware of what it means to be Australian. The atrocity has brought us together as participants in a community, citizens of a nation, and members of the human race. Let me say something about these affiliations in the context of Psalm 27 recited a few moments ago. Community The events in Bali have demonstrated that we need each other, and in so many different ways. The immediate aftermath of the attacks prompted spontaneous displays of courage and selflessness, heroism and compassion. Tributes and honours have recognised those Australians and Indonesians who gave so much of themselves in the hours and days following the bombing. Injured victims and survivors' families have offered high praise to those who cared for them in body, mind and spirit in the weeks and months after the tragedy as they attempted to find meaning, purpose and healing in a broken and divided world. One year on, we commemorate those who died, we sit with those whose sufferings continue, and we give thanks for those who care. We celebrate the sense of community - of common unity - that marked the nation's response. We draw encouragement from our ability to comfort one another in times of pain and anguish. We stand in awe of the skill of our doctors and nurses, and the dedication of hospital staff. But this world - our world - is still broken and divided at home and abroad. We hurt and wound others. We let each other down in ways that range from indifference to betrayal. And across the globe, indiscriminate acts of brutality are still inflicted upon the innocent by cruel and calculating men. With a sense of anguish and shame, we must concede that violence, intimidation and fear have not been eradicated from this world despite our best efforts. Lasting peace is apparently beyond our grasp while final victory over aggression is proving elusive both within the country and without. The writer of Psalm 27 was saved from despair because he is clear about what must be done. His response in the midst of continuing peril is resolute: Your face, LORD, I will seek. Citizenship Mindful of these damaged relationships and our fractured community, what can we possibly make of citizenship? Our gathering today reminds us that citizenship creates and maintains a bond between every Australian. Whenever I am overseas, and especially for some length of time, every Australian I encounter becomes incredibly interesting although we usually take each other for granted at home. There have been many events across the years, within Australia and abroad, which have brought us together as a people, and reminded us of the cost of nationhood. In our history there have been terrible losses of life through epidemics, accidents, floods, fires and wars. But the attacks in Bali on 12 October 2002 were without precedent. The deliberate and wanton infliction of such death and destruction was unparalleled. Terrorism has touched everyone one of us and any sense of Australian innocence about the world has now gone. There are many responses to this tragedy. We can increase security wherever Australians gather and ask that they be more vigilant whenever they travel. We can continue to work with the Indonesian authorities to track down all those responsible for the Bali attacks and bring them to justice. And we can assist with international efforts to break up terrorist networks and shut down the organisations that support them. We can erect better barriers and pass more laws; we can create the conditions in which evil is condemned and virtue is proclaimed; we can do all of these laudable things but human greed, pride and anger would remain untouched, unchallenged and undefeated. To change the world (so that there is never another Bali), we must be committed to changing the human heart. The front-line in the war against terror is drawn across every human heart. The principal opponent is corrupted human will. The Psalmist, surrounded by evil men, false witnesses and cruel oppressors who breathe out violence, is honest about his and our predicament: human beings cannot repair their fractured community. Humanity How, then, is the human will transformed, the world pacified and community restored? The Psalmist highlights the importance of a right relationship with God, the creator, sustainer and perfector of all that is. But what interest does God have in such a relationship with you and me, and why is it linked to community? His answer is clear: God is love - showing love always and everywhere is integral to the divine character. We frequently heard during the trials of the Bali bombers that "God is great!". Yes, God is great. But this greatness is not shown in hatred and malice towards those made in the divine image. Let there be no confusion: God did not order or condone what occurred in Bali. God drew no satisfaction or pleasure from the deaths of 202 people. For his part, the writer of the book of Job (the first reading) cannot fathom how anyone could even imagine God acting contrary to his character of love, nor committing any action that would diminish his integrity. The writer is adamant: God is not like that. The God he knows and the one Jesus reveals longs to love, to embrace and forgive like a parent towards a child. A right relationship with God is founded on the confession that our community is torn apart by self-centredness, that we cannot repair the damage, and that we need the intimate company and wise counsel of God to restore unity. We need to seek forgiveness for what we have done to ourselves, to each other and to our world to begin the task of mending what has been broken. In the second reading from St Matthew's Gospel and in the Lord's prayer we shall say together shortly, a challenge is placed before us: the extent to which we are willing to forgive others becomes the measure of the forgiveness to be received from God. It is hard to forgive. The survivors' families and injured victims know that. And so, it is not for any of us to tell them what to feel about those responsible. But can I suggest that their (and our) readiness to forgive the bombers, irrespective of their desire for it, will have a bearing on our relationship with God, with others and with ourselves, and how, when and why we can move forward in faith and hope and love. But some will ask: I still want to know how the presence of so much evil in the world can be compatible with a God of love? Why doesn't God simply remove evil from the world? If he cannot, he is not almighty; if he will not, he must not be good. But here the Christian Church would point to a person of history around whom human history turns. After a short public ministry in which he said and did the things that only God could do, Jesus was crucified by the Roman Army in April 30AD. This was an unspeakably evil act. An innocent man was destroyed for opportunistic political gain. But three days later and despite all expectation, his followers proclaimed that his Tomb was empty and that he was alive. They walked and talked with him. The rising of Jesus from the dead is the heart of the Christian message. In this history-transforming event, God demonstrated that he can overcome evil. Death was not, is not, the last word. So by means of both the Cross and the Empty Tomb the conviction grew that evil does not cancel out God...but that God will cancel out evil...and not by evil means. What happened to Jesus is evidence that God not only deals with evil - he transforms it by a demonstration of love - into a venue for good. God is both the source and perfection of community. Much has changed for all of us, and the world in which we live, since the terrorist attacks in Bali a year ago. But as we ponder the Psalmists words, I believe his confidence will also be ours as he concludes: surely we will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Amen.