Life Goes On
Commentary
A man in his early sixties sits in front of his television set on New Year’s Eve, while drinking his favorite beverage. This is the first New Year’s he will not have his wife of many years with him to welcome in the New Year when the Time Square Ball drops in New York City as seen on television. He is unsure as to whether to feel lonely or relieved. Last New Year’s Day his wife died after a traffic injury left her in a prolonged state of being bedridden in a long term care facility. Despite medical procedures, therapies, and numerous doses of a cabinet full of medications, she finally died on New Year’s Day. This is his first New Year without her. She was in her fifties and a good mother and grandmother.
Playing on the floor of this older man’s living room is his granddaughter. Her mother, his daughter, is a single mom who is with her friends at a New Year’s party in the next city. Her father and mother (now deceased) have carried many parental responsibilities in parenting her daughter, as her employment status is sporadic at best. This is her night to have fun with her friends at the drinking establishment in the city.
This was not the narrative he was sold in his high school and college years of when he was an honor student in both math and sciences classes. He was to be retired now and living out his golden years in his early sixties of age. His granddaughter needs him to perform parental responsibilities, as she is still in elementary school.
Now the man sits in his easy chair in the living room with a sign of relief that his wife has died and hopefully “gone to a better place.” His family does not attend church, but does have some Christian friends. He wonders why his wife is dead while shootings, murders and other crime persists in many areas of the country. If there is a God who is powerful and good, where is he this coming New Year? His Christian friends will visit with him. What sort of witness can they share as he wearily replies, “Life goes on.”
All three texts today can bring some level of wisdom, possibly comfort, and some assurance this man, and others like him who are lonely around the holiday season. The author of Ecclesiastes would be a good conversation partner for this man.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-13
This text is an invitation to sit back and look at the totality of life. Some themes of these verses include: history runs in cycles; the pendulums in life always swing both ways; death is the great equalizer for both the prosperous and affiliated. Qoheleth (the preacher) the author of this book, which was written during the malaise of the Persian period of time (538-539 BCE) is disillusioned, experiences unfair economic conditions. The preacher remains faithful to God, despite any evidence contrary to God’s existence. Despite the loss of an agrarian culture to commercialism, a shrinking middle class, and seeing good people suffer the same death as wicked evildoers, Qoheleth holds to a prudent theological ethic. The book can be divided into two parts 1) Chapters 1-6, a treatise on life 2) Moral treatises to live life despite its ambiguities, complexities and unfairness. This text simply reports that these are life’s realities. For a sermon direction, what realities will a particular community have to face in the coming year? For example, many brick and mortar stores are closing as people do shopping through online services. How does this impact a given community and jobs? Some church districts/conferences have to make difficult choices in closing down church camps in lieu of families preferring to send their child to sports, music or cheerleading camps during the summer. Will the pendulum ever swing the other way? Shopping malls were one the popular place to shop, but then were being replaced with box stores. How is this impacting employment and local economies?
This week’s text is no solace to those who crave stability in life! Life constantly changes in cycles. Yet, there is purpose and time to enjoy one’s life despite the various disruptions in seasons. An example might be an older woman who really does not want to be alive as she sees her generation dying as is listed in the daily newspaper obituaries. Ecclesiastes 3 would remind her that her time to die will indeed come, meanwhile enjoy those portions of life that she still has available. Enjoy the holiday season; attend the senior center meals, and go to chapel/worship services. Life goes on, according this text.
The literary structures of the texts suggest that life does operate in polar opposites. (e.g.: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted, Ecclesiastes 3:2). Any of these pairs of opposites could be used in a sermon. I have used the “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak” (3:7) in sermons regarding issues in the community.
However, Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 could serve as a good interpretative lens for this text as well as the rest of the book for those such as the man in the opening illustration. “I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy them as long as they live; moreover, it is God's gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.” What gifts are provided for our toil today?
Life is short, and this man must enjoy it the best way he can. On New Year’s Day, he took his granddaughter out to a movie theatre to see the latest super heroes’ motion picture. He buys popcorn; they go for a ride in the community to look at the Christmas lights that are still on many families’ homes. They are enjoying life, as they did when grandma was alive. When his Christian friends come by, he reminds them that people of faith are better known by their actions than what they quote from the Bible. He tells them, “Life goes on, despite his losses in both a wife and retirement dreams as he is raising his granddaughter.” His friends give him brochures for church summer camps to his granddaughter to this year. This might be as close to a witness as he may receive from them. [Sources: Brown, William P, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Ecclesiastes, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000); Metzger, Bruce M. and Michael D. Coogan, editors “Ecclesiastes, Book of,” The Oxford Companion to the Bible, (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1993)].
Revelation 21:1-6a
Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Revelation 21:6a. Regardless of how one’s past year has progressed or regressed, this verse is a reminder that the God of creation still rules and is caring for creation. It is contested as to whether to take the phrase, “The first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.”…literally that the old creation is to be destroyed back to it primordial beginnings of gas, outer space and tundra sort of landscaping, or is this symbolism for the destruction of the anti-Christian order which is often symbolized as “Babylon” throughout the apocalyptic vision (Beasley-Murray, 306)?
This text has many preaching possibilities. First, one can assure people of faith that the Book of Revelation is a vision of assurance, that all things will work out (cross reference Romans 8:28). After all of the horrible acts of judgment, geological and cosmic shifts of the land which have occurred throughout history, God does win! This is like reading the last page of a thriller novel and discovering the outcome to be a positive one.
Another direction a preacher may pursue is to redefine what it means to be a “holy” people in Revelation. It is not moral correctness, but rather fidelity, faithfulness and singing God’s song in times of difficulty and testing. The opening letters to the seven churches in Revelation define how this continuum of luke warm discipleship (Laodicea 3:14) contrasts with more persistent saints of the faith (Philadelphia, 3:7). The man in the opening illustration is indeed proving himself to be a loyal family man as he is caring for his daughter and granddaughter. How does active loyalty compare to words of confessing values of fidelity?
Another direction might be to identify those forces of chaos that emerge out of the metaphoric seas of chaos in our lives. Revelation 21 invites Christians to transform areas of disunity to conform closer to the city that glorifies god, rather than the false idols of any time era. For example, is a more social media, online stream fed church service on a popular media podcast the magic bullet for any congregation? Could including outsiders, caring for other people through food ministries, be another direction for ministry? What would an “ideal city” look like in a given state or community?
Revelation was written to encourage a persecuted, downtrodden community of saints during the reign of Roman ruler Domitian in 95 A.D. (C.E). The good news is that God’s kingdom is coming and it is intended to comfort, if not re-energize, those faithful saints who have been the work horses in any organization, church or community who have only seen the successes of the false gods (of Babylon) in any age. [Sources: Beasley-Murray, G.R., The New Century Bible Commentary: Revelation, (Grand Rapids, William B. Erdman’s, 1974); Boring, M. Eugene, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Revelation, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1989); Resseguie, James L., The Revelation of John: A Narrative Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009)].
Matthew 25:31-46
“She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
As the New Year arrives, everybody, regardless of their age, comes closer to their final years on this earth. Life goes on anyway. At first glance this Matthew 25 text seems a bit judgmental if not a dampener of any holiday moment. However, in the larger context of Jesus’ ministry (Matthew 1:21) to save people from their sins, there is a reminder that sin is one reason why people die. As one serves Jesus as Lord, they will indeed be part of the sheep that are invited enjoy the Kingdom of Heaven.
The discourse is a final judgment scene. The text is unique to Matthew among the gospel accounts. This message concludes Jesus’ formal teachings in this gospel. The purpose of this message is to underscore the importance of conduct toward those who are: hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked or in prison. Such works of kindness need not be incompatible with salvation as a divine gift, but rather a subset of making disciples of all peoples (Matthew 28:16-20, Hagner, 742-743).
There is a contested issue regarding the separation of sheep and goats. It revolves around terms such as “inherited” and “preparation.” If one has an inheritance, can they lose it if they are not properly prepared for the return of the Son of Man? One conclusion is those who live as one as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, are also already living according to God’s eternal purpose (Hagner, 743).
Another contested question the text raises is do acts of support and love of the needy only apply to fellow Christians or to all people in the broader community? The response to this might determine if church resources should be prioritized within the immediate church community, before trying to solve the problems of the larger society. A sermon on this distinction might be appropriate. Conservative scholars George Ladd, and RT France favor the more restrictive interpretation. Other scholars (Schweizer, 478; Hill, 331) broaden the group to include all of the needy in any given time and society (Hagner, 745).
This text also echoes the imagery of the Son of Man image in Daniel 7:13-14. It is a reminder to those who have experienced the pain from injustice, that there is a final day of reckoning of divine justice. To the person who feels that the coming year is the same old grind and dreary plunge into life’s quagmires and injustices -- there will be a day of recognition and reward. Meanwhile, the way one treats those who are at the lower end of the social-economic totem pole is within the divine eyesight of the Son of Man in Matthew 25.
One illustration might be about the church council of a church that has an old, large, gothic building. That struggles in Sunday worship attendance. The council is approached by a school social worker to host the summer school lunch program for children whose parents cannot or choose not to provide lunches. On one hand, their fellowship hall was named after the prominent wealthy donor “Wilhelm Shicklegruber.” It has fine tables, carpeting and a nice kitchen facility. The risk is that the neighborhood kids may spill beverages on the carpet; run up and down the church hallways; soil the rest rooms and leave dirt all over the floors. The church council has a Matthew 25 moment of deciding how they will treat the “least of my brothers” in the use of the Schicklegruber Building (Matthew 25:40).
The last sentence of the text refers to the righteous entering eternal life. The Greek word is “Zway,” meaning there is an energetic, life-giving quality to the life that is promised here. This life is part of Gods’ eternal purpose, which one day will be visited and reconciled in the second coming of the Son of Man. During this upcoming (new) year, what sort of life-giving qualities can a community of faith both model and offer to the broader society? “Worship” in Matthew 25 is defined as either caring for the ones who are in or supporting those who do with money, time and resources. [Sources: Hagner, Donald A., World Biblical Commentary: Matthew14-28, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1995); Hill, David, The New Century Bible Commentary: The Gospel of Matthew, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Erdmann’s, 1972); Keener, Craig S., The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Erdman’s, 20090; Schweizer, Eduard, The Good News According to Matthew, Atlanta: GA: John Knox Press, 19750].
Application
This New Year rather than making the usual “resolutions” related to losing weight, making more money or enhancing one’s household or business property, why not resolve to find new and creative ways to serve those in the community (however they define “community”). A pastor at a church membership class reminded the attendees that one way to face apocalyptic texts such as Matthew 24, 25 and the entire Book of Revelation is the acronym: HOPE= How One Prepares Everyday. Matthew 25 provides one roadmap in establishing the Kingdom of Heaven (as the Lord’s Prayer suggests in Matthew 6:10, “Thy Kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”). How does one make a difference that also provides meaning in life for the upcoming year? One church does not have to do it all, but selecting a need and ministering to it may a place to start.
An illustration is that pastor got a phone call that one of his confirmation students is in the county jail for the weekend pending a hearing the upcoming Monday. The hearing fell on a holiday, so the court session would be later. The pastor brings the coming week’s catechism lesson to the young man’s local place of incarceration. Together, the pastor and the young man read the Bible and the churches’ catechism lesson. The young man is later confirmed and never forgot how he was still a baptized and claimed child of God -- even while spending the weekend in the local jail.
Alternative Application
Is there a need for a teaching on “eternal punishment” or Hell? Have many people simply embraced a universalistic view that all people who die “go to a better place?” To some the idea of eternal punishment seems harsh if it is a friend or loved one who is not particularly faithful to any church or belief system. Usually, many will justify this by suggesting, “God truly knows what is deep in their hearts, which other people cannot see.” On the other hand, what does one say to families and relatives of loved ones who have suffered brutal atrocities and simply evil acts from unrepentant power people who would do it all over again if given the chance? They remain unrepentant. Does a “just” God also require a place of divine retribution in response to the cries of the oppressed in any age who have suffered at the hands of brutal dictators, murderers and those who supervise torture of other humans?
Playing on the floor of this older man’s living room is his granddaughter. Her mother, his daughter, is a single mom who is with her friends at a New Year’s party in the next city. Her father and mother (now deceased) have carried many parental responsibilities in parenting her daughter, as her employment status is sporadic at best. This is her night to have fun with her friends at the drinking establishment in the city.
This was not the narrative he was sold in his high school and college years of when he was an honor student in both math and sciences classes. He was to be retired now and living out his golden years in his early sixties of age. His granddaughter needs him to perform parental responsibilities, as she is still in elementary school.
Now the man sits in his easy chair in the living room with a sign of relief that his wife has died and hopefully “gone to a better place.” His family does not attend church, but does have some Christian friends. He wonders why his wife is dead while shootings, murders and other crime persists in many areas of the country. If there is a God who is powerful and good, where is he this coming New Year? His Christian friends will visit with him. What sort of witness can they share as he wearily replies, “Life goes on.”
All three texts today can bring some level of wisdom, possibly comfort, and some assurance this man, and others like him who are lonely around the holiday season. The author of Ecclesiastes would be a good conversation partner for this man.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-13
This text is an invitation to sit back and look at the totality of life. Some themes of these verses include: history runs in cycles; the pendulums in life always swing both ways; death is the great equalizer for both the prosperous and affiliated. Qoheleth (the preacher) the author of this book, which was written during the malaise of the Persian period of time (538-539 BCE) is disillusioned, experiences unfair economic conditions. The preacher remains faithful to God, despite any evidence contrary to God’s existence. Despite the loss of an agrarian culture to commercialism, a shrinking middle class, and seeing good people suffer the same death as wicked evildoers, Qoheleth holds to a prudent theological ethic. The book can be divided into two parts 1) Chapters 1-6, a treatise on life 2) Moral treatises to live life despite its ambiguities, complexities and unfairness. This text simply reports that these are life’s realities. For a sermon direction, what realities will a particular community have to face in the coming year? For example, many brick and mortar stores are closing as people do shopping through online services. How does this impact a given community and jobs? Some church districts/conferences have to make difficult choices in closing down church camps in lieu of families preferring to send their child to sports, music or cheerleading camps during the summer. Will the pendulum ever swing the other way? Shopping malls were one the popular place to shop, but then were being replaced with box stores. How is this impacting employment and local economies?
This week’s text is no solace to those who crave stability in life! Life constantly changes in cycles. Yet, there is purpose and time to enjoy one’s life despite the various disruptions in seasons. An example might be an older woman who really does not want to be alive as she sees her generation dying as is listed in the daily newspaper obituaries. Ecclesiastes 3 would remind her that her time to die will indeed come, meanwhile enjoy those portions of life that she still has available. Enjoy the holiday season; attend the senior center meals, and go to chapel/worship services. Life goes on, according this text.
The literary structures of the texts suggest that life does operate in polar opposites. (e.g.: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted, Ecclesiastes 3:2). Any of these pairs of opposites could be used in a sermon. I have used the “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak” (3:7) in sermons regarding issues in the community.
However, Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 could serve as a good interpretative lens for this text as well as the rest of the book for those such as the man in the opening illustration. “I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy them as long as they live; moreover, it is God's gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.” What gifts are provided for our toil today?
Life is short, and this man must enjoy it the best way he can. On New Year’s Day, he took his granddaughter out to a movie theatre to see the latest super heroes’ motion picture. He buys popcorn; they go for a ride in the community to look at the Christmas lights that are still on many families’ homes. They are enjoying life, as they did when grandma was alive. When his Christian friends come by, he reminds them that people of faith are better known by their actions than what they quote from the Bible. He tells them, “Life goes on, despite his losses in both a wife and retirement dreams as he is raising his granddaughter.” His friends give him brochures for church summer camps to his granddaughter to this year. This might be as close to a witness as he may receive from them. [Sources: Brown, William P, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Ecclesiastes, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000); Metzger, Bruce M. and Michael D. Coogan, editors “Ecclesiastes, Book of,” The Oxford Companion to the Bible, (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1993)].
Revelation 21:1-6a
Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Revelation 21:6a. Regardless of how one’s past year has progressed or regressed, this verse is a reminder that the God of creation still rules and is caring for creation. It is contested as to whether to take the phrase, “The first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.”…literally that the old creation is to be destroyed back to it primordial beginnings of gas, outer space and tundra sort of landscaping, or is this symbolism for the destruction of the anti-Christian order which is often symbolized as “Babylon” throughout the apocalyptic vision (Beasley-Murray, 306)?
This text has many preaching possibilities. First, one can assure people of faith that the Book of Revelation is a vision of assurance, that all things will work out (cross reference Romans 8:28). After all of the horrible acts of judgment, geological and cosmic shifts of the land which have occurred throughout history, God does win! This is like reading the last page of a thriller novel and discovering the outcome to be a positive one.
Another direction a preacher may pursue is to redefine what it means to be a “holy” people in Revelation. It is not moral correctness, but rather fidelity, faithfulness and singing God’s song in times of difficulty and testing. The opening letters to the seven churches in Revelation define how this continuum of luke warm discipleship (Laodicea 3:14) contrasts with more persistent saints of the faith (Philadelphia, 3:7). The man in the opening illustration is indeed proving himself to be a loyal family man as he is caring for his daughter and granddaughter. How does active loyalty compare to words of confessing values of fidelity?
Another direction might be to identify those forces of chaos that emerge out of the metaphoric seas of chaos in our lives. Revelation 21 invites Christians to transform areas of disunity to conform closer to the city that glorifies god, rather than the false idols of any time era. For example, is a more social media, online stream fed church service on a popular media podcast the magic bullet for any congregation? Could including outsiders, caring for other people through food ministries, be another direction for ministry? What would an “ideal city” look like in a given state or community?
Revelation was written to encourage a persecuted, downtrodden community of saints during the reign of Roman ruler Domitian in 95 A.D. (C.E). The good news is that God’s kingdom is coming and it is intended to comfort, if not re-energize, those faithful saints who have been the work horses in any organization, church or community who have only seen the successes of the false gods (of Babylon) in any age. [Sources: Beasley-Murray, G.R., The New Century Bible Commentary: Revelation, (Grand Rapids, William B. Erdman’s, 1974); Boring, M. Eugene, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Revelation, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1989); Resseguie, James L., The Revelation of John: A Narrative Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009)].
Matthew 25:31-46
“She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
As the New Year arrives, everybody, regardless of their age, comes closer to their final years on this earth. Life goes on anyway. At first glance this Matthew 25 text seems a bit judgmental if not a dampener of any holiday moment. However, in the larger context of Jesus’ ministry (Matthew 1:21) to save people from their sins, there is a reminder that sin is one reason why people die. As one serves Jesus as Lord, they will indeed be part of the sheep that are invited enjoy the Kingdom of Heaven.
The discourse is a final judgment scene. The text is unique to Matthew among the gospel accounts. This message concludes Jesus’ formal teachings in this gospel. The purpose of this message is to underscore the importance of conduct toward those who are: hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked or in prison. Such works of kindness need not be incompatible with salvation as a divine gift, but rather a subset of making disciples of all peoples (Matthew 28:16-20, Hagner, 742-743).
There is a contested issue regarding the separation of sheep and goats. It revolves around terms such as “inherited” and “preparation.” If one has an inheritance, can they lose it if they are not properly prepared for the return of the Son of Man? One conclusion is those who live as one as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, are also already living according to God’s eternal purpose (Hagner, 743).
Another contested question the text raises is do acts of support and love of the needy only apply to fellow Christians or to all people in the broader community? The response to this might determine if church resources should be prioritized within the immediate church community, before trying to solve the problems of the larger society. A sermon on this distinction might be appropriate. Conservative scholars George Ladd, and RT France favor the more restrictive interpretation. Other scholars (Schweizer, 478; Hill, 331) broaden the group to include all of the needy in any given time and society (Hagner, 745).
This text also echoes the imagery of the Son of Man image in Daniel 7:13-14. It is a reminder to those who have experienced the pain from injustice, that there is a final day of reckoning of divine justice. To the person who feels that the coming year is the same old grind and dreary plunge into life’s quagmires and injustices -- there will be a day of recognition and reward. Meanwhile, the way one treats those who are at the lower end of the social-economic totem pole is within the divine eyesight of the Son of Man in Matthew 25.
One illustration might be about the church council of a church that has an old, large, gothic building. That struggles in Sunday worship attendance. The council is approached by a school social worker to host the summer school lunch program for children whose parents cannot or choose not to provide lunches. On one hand, their fellowship hall was named after the prominent wealthy donor “Wilhelm Shicklegruber.” It has fine tables, carpeting and a nice kitchen facility. The risk is that the neighborhood kids may spill beverages on the carpet; run up and down the church hallways; soil the rest rooms and leave dirt all over the floors. The church council has a Matthew 25 moment of deciding how they will treat the “least of my brothers” in the use of the Schicklegruber Building (Matthew 25:40).
The last sentence of the text refers to the righteous entering eternal life. The Greek word is “Zway,” meaning there is an energetic, life-giving quality to the life that is promised here. This life is part of Gods’ eternal purpose, which one day will be visited and reconciled in the second coming of the Son of Man. During this upcoming (new) year, what sort of life-giving qualities can a community of faith both model and offer to the broader society? “Worship” in Matthew 25 is defined as either caring for the ones who are in or supporting those who do with money, time and resources. [Sources: Hagner, Donald A., World Biblical Commentary: Matthew14-28, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1995); Hill, David, The New Century Bible Commentary: The Gospel of Matthew, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Erdmann’s, 1972); Keener, Craig S., The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Erdman’s, 20090; Schweizer, Eduard, The Good News According to Matthew, Atlanta: GA: John Knox Press, 19750].
Application
This New Year rather than making the usual “resolutions” related to losing weight, making more money or enhancing one’s household or business property, why not resolve to find new and creative ways to serve those in the community (however they define “community”). A pastor at a church membership class reminded the attendees that one way to face apocalyptic texts such as Matthew 24, 25 and the entire Book of Revelation is the acronym: HOPE= How One Prepares Everyday. Matthew 25 provides one roadmap in establishing the Kingdom of Heaven (as the Lord’s Prayer suggests in Matthew 6:10, “Thy Kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”). How does one make a difference that also provides meaning in life for the upcoming year? One church does not have to do it all, but selecting a need and ministering to it may a place to start.
An illustration is that pastor got a phone call that one of his confirmation students is in the county jail for the weekend pending a hearing the upcoming Monday. The hearing fell on a holiday, so the court session would be later. The pastor brings the coming week’s catechism lesson to the young man’s local place of incarceration. Together, the pastor and the young man read the Bible and the churches’ catechism lesson. The young man is later confirmed and never forgot how he was still a baptized and claimed child of God -- even while spending the weekend in the local jail.
Alternative Application
Is there a need for a teaching on “eternal punishment” or Hell? Have many people simply embraced a universalistic view that all people who die “go to a better place?” To some the idea of eternal punishment seems harsh if it is a friend or loved one who is not particularly faithful to any church or belief system. Usually, many will justify this by suggesting, “God truly knows what is deep in their hearts, which other people cannot see.” On the other hand, what does one say to families and relatives of loved ones who have suffered brutal atrocities and simply evil acts from unrepentant power people who would do it all over again if given the chance? They remain unrepentant. Does a “just” God also require a place of divine retribution in response to the cries of the oppressed in any age who have suffered at the hands of brutal dictators, murderers and those who supervise torture of other humans?
