Faith and Obedience

One night, a group of Jewish rabbis gathered together in a concentration camp bunking place.  It was Friday night, the Eve of Shabbat.  They gathered to study Torah and pray the Eve of Shabbat prayers.  In the course of the evening they began to discuss the horrors that they were seeing and experiencing in the terrible death camps.  The more they brought these atrocities to mind, the more they became convinced that one of two things was true: Either there is no God, or God is dead.  Of this they became convinced.

As the time came for them to hurry back to their sleeping areas, one rabbi stood and said, “Then we agree.  Either there is no God, or God is dead.”  Solemnly, they nodded their agreement.  Then the rabbi said: “That’s fine.  Now, let’s pray!”  They rose to their feet and they prayed.

One of the gifts that Judaism gives to us is the focus on obedience over faith.  Yes, faith is important, but faith is not most important.  Obedience is most important.  Faithful living is most important.  Keeping Torah is most important.  The rabbis understood that faith comes and goes, but obedience is a constant.  You can obey God even if you don’t believe in God.  You can live faithfully even if you have lost faith in God.  You can, and you should.  That is what it means to be a Jew.  You obey the commands of God regardless of whether or not you believe in the existence of God.  It is obedience and faithful living that matter.  God is, or God is not, this cannot be known for sure.  Sometimes faith is strong, often faith is not, and there are times when faith is impossible.  So a person does not dwell on faith, but on faithful living.  “Abraham obeyed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness” is the better understanding of that verse.  Abraham went where he was told to go, and that going is what set Abraham apart from the crowd of religious people around him.  Abraham obeyed.  Neither Abraham nor Sarah believed God when God said they would have a son in their old age.  Both laughed.  But I’ll bet you a dollar that those two old codgers had sex that night.  See?  Obedience.

I’ve received many responses to the ‘Lost Faith” post of August 7, 2007.  You said that you are praying for me, and that’s good.  Thank you.  I appreciate your prayers.  You said that you are praying for that little girl in the black dress and empty eyes – notice that I wrote “in the black dress” and did not change the preposition “in” after the connector “and.”  I meant to infer exactly what some of you did infer – she was “in the black dress,” and yes, she is “IN the empty eyes” as well.  That is what haunts me so.  She is IN there somewhere.  Who will find her, the real her, the her that is made in the “image of God?”  Who will even look for her IN there?  Who will be her champion? Will God?

Whether I believe God will or not, does not change the fact of God.  God is, or God is not.  My believing does not create God, and my unbelief will not kill God.  God is, or God is not!  Jesus says that God is, and that God is the champion of the poor and needy.  Jesus also commands that I am to champion the cause of the weak.  So this is what I will do.  I will do this every day.  I will do this on the days that I believe, and I will do this on days that I do not.  I will obey Jesus.

Let us pray:

Lord God almighty, maker of heaven and earth, give us eyes to see the suffering children, ears to hear their silent screams, and the heart and will to be their champions.

Amen!