At a recent conference, James Joseph reported eloquently on a recent meeting of urban gang leaders in Kansas City in which they made peace with each other. It was a moving moment. James Joseph, a religious leader who had convened that Gang Summit, compared it to the Parable of the Prodigal Son. He said “When the sinner returns home to his Father’s house, it’s Party Time!” He received a standing ovation.

In his recent record cassette, “The Future”, Leonard Cohen sings movingly about “Closing Time”, the end of the party which is life.

It’s Party Time! It’s Closing Time…What time is it, anyway? It is High Noon, the time of decision.

It’s party time when the prodigal son returns
to his own Father’s house, reformed.
It’s closing time when prodigal daughter spurns
her Mother Earth, and sees her deformed.
It’s High Noon time when the train will bring
the one who deals out life or death,
decision time when minutes cling
to every move and every breath.
It’s crisis time. So who are you?
One to break down, or to break through?
For the n-th time since the Earth was formed,
a creature goes down, or lives, transformed.