The Philosopher's Sermon
Brandon Cook
The most serious judgment of all, perhaps, is that we get exactly what we want
If there is a God, He (I know God doesn’t have a gender, but just go with me)
He, in love, gives everyone what they choose
He cannot force any soul along a path
He is limited by uncoercing nudges
The wind, the light, a hand on the small of a back
No one will be in heaven who does not want to be there
No one in hell who isn’t satisfied, in some way,
And no one will be surprised, either
It all just extends out, this life, like a ripple from the steps we now walk
If you walk up to someone in hell and say, “Are you happy?”
“Yes, of course,” they’ll say
And of course, he said, leaning over his lectern,
Hell isn’t a place at all
It’s a state
A state, perhaps, that many of us have long embraced
Then he stood straight, gathered his papers, and looking up, paused and said, at last,
“Dismissed, good day”
His brow furrowed when he looked up, confused as to why we all sat there still,
Waiting for the next page