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"O that you would tear open the heavens and come down," cries the Prophet Isaiah. His is a voice of yearning on behalf of the Israelites suffering exile in Babylon. And in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus speaks to those living in bondage to their Roman masters. He says that a time is coming when they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory to free the oppressed and gather them to himself.

Whether it be the Hebrews in exile in the 6^th century B.C.E. or the Jews of 1^st century Palestine, or 21^st century Palestinians mourning the deaths of their children, or Kenyans and Israelis together surveying the charred ruins of Hotel Paradise (bitter irony), or a gay man holding his dying partner in his arms, or Indian prostitutes comforting one another as the AIDS epidemic deluges the subcontinent – it is those who are suffering most whose cries to God are most heartfelt and sincere. They want God to break through. They want peace and justice and health to break through. During the long October that we all endured, we all waited for a "break" in the sniper investigation. And when it came, things happened fast.

The philosopher William James said that what religion comes down to is that in the battle between good and evil, even though the evidence may seem to say that evil is winning, good triumphs in the end. In fact, they were never equally matched. What allows us to see this truth is the eye of faith. And what hastens God’s breakthrough is the act of faith.

Let me suggest three things to you this morning about faith in the face of the suffering evil brings. First of all, to see with the eye of faith we must look courageously into the very heart of suffering. Faith is never about denial. There is a worldwide AIDS epidemic. We may be experiencing a worldwide terror epidemic. The bitter vendetta of violence in the Mideast shows no sign of abating. In our own lives, we sometimes find it easier to live in denial about our own hurts and losses. But suffering can’t be ignored. It can’t be denied. Look in and through the hole in your soul.

But, secondly, in facing the reality of suffering, we can discover a true sense of connection and community. Facing pain in others allows us to face our own pain. Facing pain in ourselves allows us to share the pain of others. Suffering can break down the barriers between "us" and "them." AIDS was once seen as the plague that only visited gay men and heroin addicts. It was easy for straight society to moralize from a distance. No longer. AIDS is causing global suffering. And the suffering of an innocent African baby born with the disease has even softened the heart of a Sen. Jesse Helms and others so prone to moralizing about the right to life while letting death rage. As with all suffering, we yearn for a breakthrough in the war with AIDS. Meanwhile we can recognize our solidarity with all who are suffering. We are one community in this suffering.

We face suffering honestly; we allow ourselves to taste the suffering of others and our own, and third, we engage in acts of faith. Acts of faith are not acts of desperation or panic. If we believe that evil is triumphing now and that it is only a matter of time before we are all engulfed, then whatever we do seems useless or even hysterical. But seeing with faith and acting with faith is based on the understanding that good and evil are not equally matched, and good is stronger. Good will endure. The breakthroughs will come. Evil will be vanquished, overrun, absorbed, de-fanged, however you wish to put it. Though we may have to live with the misery and mayhem wreaked by an Osama bin Laden for some time to come, there can be no doubt at all that he, and those inspired by him, will one day cease to threaten the world. And though we wreak misery and havoc in our own lives, through the darkness of our own hearts, there can be no doubt that God is determined to love us and forgive us, and will wait for as long as it takes. I just want God to break through here and now, and as soon as possible. I want scientists to find the cure for AIDS. I yearn for leaders who can lead in the Mideast. Meanwhile let us engage in acts of hope and healing. Racism is still a reality in the United States. Let’s not make any mistake about that. But still things are different now than they were on this day, December 1, 1955. You know what happened that day? That was when Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama. That was an act of faith. She had faith that no human being created in the image of God ought to be expected to see herself as second class. It was an act of faith that said the current set-up is wrong and it isn’t going to last. She acted in faith despite all the evidence to the contrary.

Sometimes acts of faith have to be symbolic. There may not be much you and I can do to find a cure for AIDS, but we can certainly demand adequate funding for the research, care for the sufferers, and prayers to God for a breakthrough. And we can give symbolic expression to our oneness with the victims by wearing these red ribbons.

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