Joke's on You!

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:25 – “For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” (NRSVUE)

April Fools’ Day is more serious than you might think. There is, and should be, lots of silliness: fun, Dad jokes, harmless little gags. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is famous for their elaborate April Fools’ Day pranks or “hacks”, such as getting a police car on top of the Great Dome or tricking the world into thinking the university had been purchased by the Walt Disney Company.

But there are little cruelties as well. Dropping a bucket of water from a doorway. Telling little kids it snowed and they have the day off from school until they look out the window. I remember one year, my father’s associates swiped his keys and moved his car to a different part of the parking lot so he’d think it was stolen. There is a difference between playing the fool and humiliating someone else.

But if human foolishness can seem harmless, but contain a hidden cruelty, then God’s foolishness may seem harsh, but contains marvelous kindness and love. The apostle Paul spells out this wonderful paradox of an omniscient God being foolish when he contrasts the way in which Jesus died on the cross with the ways that the wise and learned would consider a triumphant king or heavenly messiah to act. And indeed, from one perspective, the entire terrible passion might seem like a cosmic joke on the disciples and even on Jesus himself.

But the message of Holy Week, from the suffering of the cross to the victory at Easter, is that God gets the last laugh. What seems foolish is wise. What seems weak is strong. And in doing so, God reveals all our pride and self-satisfaction for what it is: a joke. What is the point of being smart and powerful if the result is suffering, cruelty, and humiliation?

So, as you envision the perfect prank for today, remember how Jesus made the greatest “hack” of them all: dying to save the world. Spend today giggling with God and finding joy. It can be the best medicine in a world that could use a good laugh.

Prayer: God of foolishness, let me laugh at wisdom and embrace folly. Let me love you and love others when it makes no sense, for that is my greatest joy. Amen.

Image credit: Digital Mom Blog