Saul was “the man.”  He was born in Tarsus of Cilicia to a Gentile mother and a Jewish father.  His father was even a member of the respected party of the Pharisees.  His father was also from the small, but very proud, tribe of Benjamin.  In obedience to the Law of Moses, little Saul was circumcised dutifully and meticulously on the eighth day of his life.  Not only was young Saul born a “Jew,” but he was raised as a “Hebrew.”  He was taught, and spoke, the Aramaic language fluently.

They had caught him. They had cornered him. They had found him entangled in what they thought was a scandal. There was Jesus, the famed prophet from Galilee, and He was fraternizing with sinners. He was associating with tax collectors.

Toward the end of last calendar year, the Pew Research Center surveyed nearly 6500 Americans and asked them, “In your own words, why do you think terrible things happen to people through no apparent fault of their own?” Here is a sampling of some of the responses.

The day is finally here! The wait is finally over! One year and two days ago, our contract was signed with Advanced Building Corporation, and in the time since then a lot has happened: we broke ground right out there. We put our volunteers immediately to work, pulling away the brick from the north wall of the building. We scurried to get our building permit just in time for the excavation.

She ran down the hallway and into her room.  She slammed the door and flopped onto her bed.  She had had an awful day.  It all started in school with an argument she had with a couple of her friends.  Then, she felt like the teachers all had it in for her.  When she got home, her parents started in on her.  It was too much.  She lay on her bed and cried.  She thought to herself, “No one understands me!”