Have things grown better? Or…not?

All the hosts of heaven, it seemed, were jostling and pushing their way toward the Great Hall of Justice. The commotion frightened a young angel caught up in the crowd.

“What's happening?” he cried out to anyone who would listen. He hadn't been here long. Until now, his experience of heaven had been one of peace and tranquility nearly to the point of boredom.

“It is Judgment Day,” replied a stern-faced older angel. “The Lord of Years, the Potentate of Time, holds hearings today to decide the fate of Earth. Come along, lad.”

Such a lofty proclamation impressed him not, but the young angel was caught in the press and soon found himself in the throne room.

The throng of heavenly beings packed tight against the walls, shrinking back in awe. They were irresistibly drawn, yet fearful to look at the One upon the throne.

The novice angel worked his way to the edge of the crowd and looked out across at least an acre of gleaming marble. The Being on the throne shone like the sun, so blindingly bright that no eye could bear to look.

A tall, stern-looking angel stepped into the open space, pulled from the folds of her robe a scroll, and began to read. The page was stained and torn, and she held it by her fingertips.

The chamber echoed with the richness of her voice. From where he stood, the newest angel could not make out all the words.

He did hear a phrase, a word, now and again. “Inhumanity to man,” she said, and “violence” and “greed” and “destruction of habitat.” Some of the words sounded foreign: “Bosnia,” “Chechnya.” And with each enunciation, the assembly groaned. Some shook their heads sadly, while others stared mournfully at the floor.

“They have gone too far,” the Angel of Judgment roared. “They have had their chance. Your grand experiment has failed: not even your presence among them, living as one of them, has brought about the change of heart you hoped for. The time of retribution has come.”

For just a moment, a cloud seemed to settle over the shining light before them, dimming it. Thunder rolled. The heavenly creatures averted their eyes, afraid to glimpse God's wrath.

Except for the newest angel. Unsure what he was witnessing, too naive to be scared, he gazed curiously upon the face of God and saw there, not anger, but such sadness that he thought his own heart would break.

I don't know what this is all about, he thought, but it sounds to me as though the Angel of Judgment is selling revenge. She is angry and expects God to be angry too. But I see only sadness there. Maybe I can help.

And before he realized what he was doing, the youth had stepped forward and was standing boldly before the throne.

“Please, Lord?” he ventured. “May I say something?”

The Angel of Judgment turned in amazement, and several others, hushing the lad, reached out to pull him back.

But with a rush of wind, the arm of the Almighty swept over their heads in unmistakable rebuke. They retreated hastily, leaving the novitiate alone before God.

“Please, Lord,” he began again. “Good things are happening on Earth. People who record what's going on tend to overlook them, is all. I'll bet for every bad thing that happens, at least one good one happens too.”

And slowly at first, then so rapidly his words tumbled over each other, the young angel told about relief organizations taking food and medicine to Rwanda; about youth groups collecting baby clothes for the smallest victims of AIDS; about tougher laws reducing the rate of drunk-driving tragedies; about a president-turned-private citizen with a mission for peace.

He told of restaurant workers who save surplus food for the homeless and office workers “adopting” students to tutor and mentor.

He told about people's growing awareness of the need to preserve their history and natural environment.

He told of the relentless efforts of researchers to develop new medicines and technologies to make life better for the ill.

And he told of unnoticed kindnesses of people toward their fellow earthly beings, both human and animal.

“They have a long way to go, Lord,” he said, feeling suddenly shy about what he was doing. “But if you don't give them more time, they'll never finish what so many have begun.”

Silence descended upon the great hall. The lad stood scuffing a toe against the marble floor. When he looked up, he saw the hand of God holding out to him a single sheet of paper.

The newest angel in Heaven solemnly took the page, then turned toward a nearby seraph and said, “What's this for?”

“It's what you asked for,” the three-winged creature replied. “It's a new year for the people of Earth. Not a mark on it, neither good nor bad. God is giving them another chance.”

And exaltation filled the space, cascading down from the heavenly heights and reverberating around the world in church bells and firecrackers and shouts of joy and laughter.

And one small lad in Heaven took it all in and smiled and pronounced his blessing on what he saw.

“Cool,” was all he said.