For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (I Corinthians 1:18 ...)
Did you know that the date of Easter changes from year to year as it falls on the first full moon after the spring equinox? This year, the first full moon will be on April 1st. This year, no fooling, Easter is on April Fools day.
Maybe it's a good thing to have Easter on April Fools' Day once in a while. In a world that values money, prestige, power that comes through dominance, and getting ahead of the pack, it can sound pretty foolish to follow a humble servant of God who exclaims that the first will be last and the last will be first, who knows that in order to shine forth God’s Glory and love, he must first be crucified.
Paul the apostle writes that we can find strength and purpose in being “fools for Christ.” Consider this, there are even late night comedians who not only love foolishness, they call themselves fools for Christ. Steven Colbert defines foolishness for Christ as the willingness “to be wrong in society, or wrong according to our time, but right according to our conscience, as guided by the Holy Spirit.”
As we ready ourselves for Easter, let us be fools for Christ and grow in our faith, guided by the Holy Spirit — “we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.” We already are marvelous fools for Christ when we worship Sunday after Sunday in a little church while the throngs are at Best Buy, playing video games, or don’t even realize churches have services on Sunday mornings. We are fools for Christ when we think just a few disciples of our church can create nurturing events for the many in our community, when a little choir fills our sanctuary with glorious music, when just a few kids and youth get together believing they can make a difference in helping to feed the hungry.
We are fools for Christ when we persevere as a church that can, does and will do all such good works that Christ has prepared us to do. We are fools for Christ when we commit to the ways of humility and forgiveness in a culture that seeks revenge. We are fools when we seek to love God by doing the hard and labor intensive work of serving our community without recompense. And we are very foolish and wonderful indeed when we carry our crosses, have faith in resurrection, transformation, and the power of good to overcome all evil. When we persevere for a new day of hope, not only for ourselves but for the world we live in, we pray: Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.
Blessings on you during the Easter season. Let us build ourselves up as people of faith, lovingly and “foolishly” together with gratitude, trust, and being of service to others.
