Dear Friends,

"WHITSTABLE CHURCHES AGREE TO BUILD ARK TO HELP WITH CITY COUNCIL FLOOD DEFENCE STRATEGY!"

I’ve always looked forward to the opportunity to play pranks on April Fool’s Day, though more often I find myself the target of the family’s clever ruses! I suppose most of us have been successfully tricked on this rather unusual day in the calendar. Lists of the most persuasive April Fool’s Day jokes can be easily accessed on the internet, including the very famous 1957 BBC Panorama item on spaghetti trees which convincingly duped many gullible viewers.

The origins of April Fool’s Day might well lie in the changeover from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar. According to popular tradition, when this occurred in France in 1582, many people refused to accept this or simply remained in the dark about the required shift of New Year’s Day from 1st April to 1st January. Caught out as they celebrated the beginning of the year on the 1st April, they then became the butt of jokes. They were tricked into believing something equally false or were sent off on ‘fools’ errands’.

The Bible has quite a lot to say about foolishness and gullibility. By way of colourful illustrations, the book of Proverbs warns us not to follow the way of the fool and to watch out for dangerous traps. The fool is graphically described as ‘hot-headed and reckless’ and an easy target for those who wish to lead him astray. Perhaps the strongest Old Testament condemnation of foolishness is the stark statement that ‘the fool has said in his heart “There is no God”’ and therefore any sense of moral accountability to his Maker is thrown out the window. The personal and social consequences of such foolish thinking are ruthlessly laid bare in Scripture and are also clearly revealed in our society today.

Paradoxically, when we come to the New Testament, we find a debate centred on the foolishness of Christ’s cross versus human wisdom. In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, Paul admits that the cross seems utterly futile and ridiculous to those who have not grasped the message of the Gospel. He concedes that, to the proud Jew and sophisticated Greek, the concept of a crucified Saviour is sheer foolishness. Yet Paul, the highly educated Pharisee, has now embraced the wisdom of the cross. The once vicious opponent of Christianity has now experienced the power of the cross. Hence he preaches Christ crucified with such boldness and joy, for His cross is the means of our salvation.

It is my prayer that we might be gripped afresh by the wisdom and the power of Christ’s cross and that we might proclaim it with confidence in our day. What seemed so foolish has secured for us an eternal glory. I’m also really pleased that our deacons have agreed to call a special Day of Prayer and Fasting on 1st April as this gives us an opportunity to turn a foolish day into a highly significant one!

Your friend and pastor,