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Who's the Fool?
April 1, 2007, Lent 6, Palm Sunday
Do you like "April Fool's" jokes? Do you play them or are you the victim? When you get caught in such a joke, do you feel like a fool? If it is a good joke, enjoy it, and just be glad it's not for real! And let's realize that we all are really probably bigger fools than we think!
Jesus was not a person who played "April Fool's" jokes. Some people thought Jesus was a fool, some thought he was just a joker. And some people were afraid of looking like a fool in front of Jesus. In their pride, they didn't want anyone to know how big a fool they really were.
So when Jesus taught the people and told parables some people were really upset, because Jesus made them look like fools. It is not that they were bad sports; because Jesus was not having fun with them. He was doing some very serious business. He was trying to get them to see their foolishness and "wise up," that is, to trust in God and repent. The religious leaders may have been fools, but they were not stupid. When Jesus told parables, they immediately understood what Jesus meant. And we too may be fools sometimes, but we are not not stupid. We know that Jesus speaks to us, too.
Through the ages, people have thought that Christianity is a big joke. There are some things that might seem strange to unbelievers. Unbelievers often think that Christians are fools to believe the Bible. Of course, to believers, because we believe in and trust in God, even something that to the world might seem weird and really strange can be accepted, if God says so.
We believe that God created the world and takes care of it, even though science can not see it.
We believe that God loves us and disciples us and guides us, even though therapists say that we control our own destiny as if we were our own god.
We believe there is an ethic greater than the pursuit of wealth and happiness. That ethic leads us to love our enemy and to love people who need our love.
We believe that God does care what we do and how we act.
We believe that God takes sin seriously.
We believe that God would rather forgive than punish us sinners.
We believe that he sent his Son.
We believe that the death of Jesus was caused by us, even though we live almost 2000 years later.
We believe that his death gives us forgiveness.
We believe that his death gives us forgiveness, and that his resurrection gives us eternal life.
We look forward to life eternal when Jesus returns at the end of the world.
Is it foolish to believe this? Maybe love does what seems foolish sometimes. So the love of God might seem foolish, to die to save fools like you and me. But we do not think the Gospel is foolish because the Holy Spirit has given us faith. And the Holy Spirit has given us the wisdom to understand that the love of God is never a joke.
Do you think God has a sense of humor? I think so. There are many animals and birds and flowers and plants that seem that God had fun creating them! There are monkeys, kangaroos, and even humans. The words in the benediction at the end of the worship service, "May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you" could probably also be translated, "May the Lord smile upon you." God smiles and rejoices when we accept that his death on the cross was for our salvation.
The Gospel is not a joke, but it is something to laugh and sing and make merry about! Some of the happy words in the Bible are "Hallelujah," "Hosanna," and ...
"Amen!"
Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church
Special, April Fool's Day Suppliment Catholic Elementary School Test
Pay special attention to the wording and spelling. If you know the Bible, even a little, you'll find this hilarious! It comes from a Catholic elementary school test. Kids were asked questions about the old and new testaments. The following statements about the Bible were written by children. They have not been retouched nor corrected. (i.e., incorrect spelling has been left in). @ 1. In the first book of the bible, Guinessis. God got tired of creating the world so he took the sabbath off. 2. Adam and Eve were created from an Apple tree. Noah's wife was called Joan of Ark. Noah built an ark and the animals came on in pears. 3. Lots wife was a pillar of salt during the day, but a ball of fire during the night. 4. The Jews were a proud people and throughout history they had trouble with unsympathetic Genitals. 5. Sampson was a strongman who let himself be led astray by a Jezebel like Delilah. 6. Samson slayed the Philistines with the axe of the Apostles. 7. Moses led the Jews to the Red sea where they made unleavened bread which is bread without any ingredients. 8. The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert, Afterwards, Moses went up to Mount Cyanide to get the ten ammendments. 9. The first commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple. 10. The seventh Commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery. 11. Moses died before he ever reached Canada. Then Joshua led the Hebrews in the battle of Geritol. 12. The greates miricle in the bible is when Joshua told his son to stand still and he obeyed him 13. David was a Hebrew king who was skilled at playing the liar. He fought the Finkelsteins, a race of people who lived in bibical times. 14. Solomon, one of Davids sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines. 15. When Mary heard she was the mother of Jesus, she sang the Magna Carta. 16. When the three wise guys from the east side arrived, they found Jesus in the manager. 17. Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption. 18. St. John the blacksmith dumped water on his head. 19. Jesus enunciated the Golden Rule, which says to do unto others before they do one to you. He also explained, a man doth not live by sweat alone. 20. It was a miricle when Jesus rose from the dead and managed to get the tombstone off the entrance. 21. The people who followed the lord were called the 12 decibels. 22. The epistels were the wives of the apostals. 23. One of the oppossums was St. Matthew who was also a taximan. 24. St. Paul cavorted to Christianity, he preached holy acrimony, which is another name for marraige. 25. Christians have only one spouse. This is called monotony.