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The

Flame

Faith

5748

(1987)

I recently received a letter from a woman whose 41 year-old son is terminally ill. In the letter, she tells of her anger at life and with God. She had prayed and was charitable but it had not changed her son’s condition. Now, no more prayers. No more affiliation with a congregation. She resisted all our entreaties for talking it over. Life had been unfair -- she was disillusioned.

One of the most devastating and common experiences in life is disillusionment. We see and hear, all around us, people to whom great faiths are now great lies; great ideals are without meaning and whatever beauty once illuminated their life is extinguished before icy blasts of disillusionment.

No matter how deep or real our faith in God, disillusionment can uproot it. Let loved ones betray our confidence, let troubles overcome us. Such disillusion rots human integrity and sets up for self-destructive behavior.

The threat of disillusion lurks everywhere. It is the root of teen-age suicide and violent living. Isaiah shows us that the problem is not new. He says:

The youths shall faint and be weary.
The mighty shall utterly fall.
But those who hope in the Lord, shall renew their strength.
For he giveth power to the faint of spirit.

However, until we admit that disillusion is a ceaseless hunter lying in wait for each of us, we cannot entertain an understanding of what a true faith can do for us -- a faith that can keep us upright in life’s gales and help us rise superior to life’s trials. How then, do we triumph over discouragement?

Firstly, we can overcome disillusion if we realize that much disillusion is not rationally justified. We should see that many lose faith because they mistakenly believe that ideals should be quickly and permanently realized. They believe that people should always respond to good with good. That is an illusion of our own making, without any basis in reality. But the fact that problems burst the bubble of our illusions does not mean that the world is unreal. Hardly! It means that we must take a new, more realistic view of life, if we are to rise above our discouragement and grow.

Another of our illusions that carries the seed of disillusion lies in our belief that only beauty, sweetness and honesty is a revelation of God’s presence in life. True -- we are uplifted and transformed by such grandeur. It’s the reason many spend vacation time in the mountains, forests or by the sea. We feel closer to God, in such ambiance -- and life is pristinely spiritual.

But we should also realize that another, and vastly different, experience also makes God real. It is not found in beauty, but in trouble, disquieting trouble, when we find ourselves in the midst of injustice, and the battle joined, requires human bravery and courage if evil is to be exposed and vanquished. Yes, ours is a law-abiding world. The law is that for justice to prevail, men must stand up before those who would cast justice to Earth. The Law of life requires fervent participation and not disillusioned and paralyzing self-pity.

This is the 200th Anniversary of the Constitution of the United States. It is a document born in violent revolution, formed by vehement, partisan debate hallowed by bloody war between brothers and pushed forward by racial and sexual reformers.

It would be illusion to believe the Constitution is a finished document. The heat of the Bork confirmation should realistically demonstrate that we, too, are required to face troubles of a toiling society and faithfully work for the advancement of human dignity -- the preservation of human rights through our own acts of truth, justice and courage.

Expectation that others will shoulder our tasks is intellectually unjustified and emotionally self-indulgent. Such seeds of disillusion must find no fertile field in our life.

Another fact prevents some of us from being disillusioned with life. We keep hearing calls for help. Have you ever noticed that flood, blizzard, tornado, disaster of any kind, evokes the best and kindest from many people? We see a need to extend ourselves. Out of a critical time, the call for help lays hold of us; a sense of duty crowds out negative disillusionment. None of us has ever seen anyone ever answer a call for help who was downcast and paralyzed by his disillusionment. Think hard upon it. Let’s remind ourselves of the times, we have responded and volunteered -- when we asked no question about our ability and gave of ourselves. To succor in grief, illness or despair.

It seems men are most men in war and crisis, in responding to the need for help. But what happens in peace? Peace, my friends, is when wars are lost. Then, the total mobilization of our strength relaxes. The war is won. What is left to do that is compelling? The peace is lost. Lose is a group’s sense of purpose, and some become disillusioned at an imperfect peace.

Such disillusionment makes us deaf to the call still proclaimed. Help me! Help my cause! Help us to establish what is precious and invaluable for our progeny. Hearing that cry, our souls say! They’re calling me. My life is still important to life itself. There is still work to be done. There’s not time for self-pity or disillusionment. That choice, between duty and discouragement is not forced upon us. It is one, which we make of our own free will. Some people choose to be bitter. Life is too big and important for what they regard is their ability or stamina. Such is a choice. But it brings deafness to life’s call. Please realize that we, today, live in the post-impressionist age. Those revolutionary painters decided that their paintings were to use every color and shade except black. Look at Matisse, Renoir, Monet: every color but black -- their choice.

Well, we are the artists of life. In this post-impressionist age, we hold the brush and palette. We choose what colors for the masterpiece of our existence. We know the colors of self-pity and disillusion. We know the colors of hope and vision. Judaism teaches the color of these Holy Days is White. To be a Jew is to select white. The color of hope, of purity, of nobility, in the work still waiting to be done. The call goes out "We need you" -- you are needed by God. Respond vigorously and not disconsolately to life. For ours are the power, skill and perseverance to transform and perfect. The call goes out. It’s our response that helps overcome disconsolation.

Lastly, some of us dare not be disillusioned because we know that the greatest causes require long-term faith. Great businesses do not grow up overnight. That’s an illusion that leads to disillusion. And such disillusion is often born in the hearts of those who once burned brightly with enthusiasm for noble work. They said, "We’ll get this job done once and for all and in no time flat." As one tomorrow led into many tomorrows, they lost their enthusiasm. Doubt began to becloud their faith in seeing their project through. Surrender and cynicism replaced fervor and hope.

I hope I’m not deluding anyone here into believing that I’m a Pollyanna. I realize it’s not easy to say that some social causes may take more than a lifetime to achieve. That’s why [Hebrew] is no offhand flippancy. It is sober, even when joyous. I believe in the coming of the Messiah, and even though he may tarry, yet will I believe in Him. Belief, in Judaism, means to work for His coming and thus be worthy of His arrival.

Such faith has a great deal to ask of us. It seems to run counter to human nature. In Isaiah’s time they said, "Let him make haste, let him speed his work so we may see it". How very human. We all want to see the results of our labor. Modern scientific discovery makes us believe we can overcome every scourge with a magic bullet. Stop AIDS now! End cancer in our lifetime! We expect Nuclear Disarmament, immediately a Quick fix in the Middle-East. We hear people say, when facing countless problems, "It’s our last chance". Humbug. That’s the voice of the disillusioned. That’s the response of those downcast who throw up their hands and cry "What’s the use" at the first stumbling block they meet! Isaiah of the exile looked upon the dispirited Israelites far from their land – defeated and humiliated panting for rescue. The longer it took, the more despondent they became. One Jew, so disillusioned said: The twilight I desired has become trembling unto me.

One was burned out over the short-term delay of return to Zion. The other illumined by a long-term faith. The Jews ultimately returned from Exile. We did rebuild Jerusalem. You and I are here because of such faith. Long-term faith. Still you say "But peaces seems far off". That is no reason to surrender our hopes of unity and healing. Greater reason to continue to work for the great day and to keep bringing the day closer. Great visions require a long-term faith. And if you say "and what if I die before they are fulfilled?"

Let us teach them diligently unto our children. Pass the torch for we are but the newest link in an endless chain of faithful effort.

The world fears our people for while other’s lights have gone out, ours still burns bright -- we are still a light unto the nations. True, some Jews fall by the wayside -- some wither while still alive, wasted by their disillusion.

Those who hope in the Lord are renewed. Their long-term faith is the harbinger of Great Achievement.

But how can we be received? That’s a secret. And since I love you, I’ll share it. The secret is symbolized by Shabbat. While work is exhilarating, it is also exhausting. The Eternal Secret. The flame of faith must be fed. It must be refueled from the profound source of strength and perseverance. From God.

We cannot live out in His world all the time. There is an inner sanctuary where the still, small voice is heard. It is here that hopes become real, dreams remain eternal, efforts go from strength to strength and the music never dies. Disillusionment is a bad trick we play upon ourselves. If is a flight from life. But our people, our torah, our God says choose life. Celebrate where life is blessed.

Amen.