Hey Fool!

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 ¹⁸ 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. ¹⁹ For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." ²⁰ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. ²² For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, ²³ but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength. ²⁶ Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸ God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, ²⁹ so that no one might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰ He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, ³¹ in order that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

I’m sure you’ve something foolish…and perhaps even something foolish recently. But have you done something foolish for Christ? In the early centuries of Christianity there were people who did things to make fun of self-righteous Christians who figured you could only follow Jesus a certain way. One of these people was Simeon the Fool…Here’s just some of what he did to “stick it to the man”:

-threw nuts at priests during worship services and blew out candles

-publicly ate sausage on Friday (remember, the church used to have a no meat on Fridays thing)

-dragged around a dead dog on a leash

-tripped people in the streets

-ate vast quantities of beans on fast days

But Simeon didn’t only mock the idiocy of the world. The other thing he did a lot of was to help people. But he did this in secret as to not attract accolades or admiration. Not a bad way to help people, I say.

To quote from ShipOfFools.com, ‘St Simeon the Holy Fool was a secret saint, his story was a holy farce, and his life shows how God chooses "the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; the weak things of the world to shame the strong" (1 Corinthians 1:27).’

So, today I commend to you St. Simeon the Fool!

Peace,

Kevin