Somewhat lost amidst the tumult of the recent election was the passing of poet and songwriter Leonard Cohen.  He was 82.  Though not necessarily a mainstream musician, Cohen had a solid following throughout the many years he wrote and performed his music. His most famous song is "Hallelujah."
     "Hallelujah" is an interesting observation on the mechanics of the Christian faith.  It revolves around the ethical morass into which Israel's ancient king David plunged when, overcome with lust at the sight of another man's wife, proceeded to pursue her.  The deed done, he then, as the king, ordered that this wife's husband be placed at the head of the army in its next battle.  Uriah the Hittite died, as did, tragically, the offspring of David and Bathsheba's union.  The story is a mirror of numerous Greek tragedies, plays in which a royal figure, fueled by hubris, commits a grave moral error, dragging himself and his family into generations of strife.
     In a letter Cohen wrote to a friend about "Hallelujah," he remarked that, "I wanted to stand with those who clearly see G-d's [out of respect for the Shema, the name of God, many Jews do not write the full word] holy broken world for what it is, and still find the courage or the heart to praise it.  You don't always get what you want.  You're not always up for the challenge.  But in this case--it was given to me.  For which I am deeply grateful."
     In eloquent prose, Cohen captures the heart of the human experience.  We live in a holy but broken world, yes, but it is a world of joy and wonder, a world for which we can every day be grateful to the God who made it.
     So does Genesis say that, "God looked on everything he had made, and it was good." The world was good when it was created, and it remains good today.  Why?  Because God is still--and always will be--good.
     And for this we can be forever grateful.  As former Beatle Paul McCartney remarked in an interview with Rolling Stone about his days as a Beatle, "We lived it, and it was great."
     So it is.