(Tripp Ledger – 11/25/2014)

Holiday Fools

As I sat down to write this there was a Norman Rockwell calendar sitting on the table opened to April.  The painting shown, April Fool 1945, is quite a sight.  A man, wearing skis and fishing a blue lobster out of a tomato can labeled “Plums” with a backwards rod, is surrounded by all sorts of foolishness.  Apparently there are 51 “errors” in the painting.  As I contemplated all this, it brought to mind some of the foolishness we see around us during this time of year.

We have just celebrated Thanksgiving, and yet for many, giving thanks takes a backseat to getting a good deal.  It seems this “season” starts earlier and earlier with pre-Thanksgiving sales, of course “Black Friday,” and even with stores opening on Thanksgiving itself.  Instead of wisely giving thanks, we are encouraged to become fools who are willing to fight each other just to save a few dollars on things that really aren’t all that important.  Now that doesn’t mean that everyone who shops during this time is a fool, but we have been fooled if in our busy-ness we neglect to pause and give thanks for all God has blessed us with.

But all that foolishness pales in comparison to the Fool’s Holiday that has been created by the secularization of Christmas.  Again, the fools aren’t those who simply participate in the buying and giving of gifts, but we are fooled if we let those distractions rob us from seriously contemplating the “Reason for the Season.”  In Matthew 13:44-45 Jesus taught, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”  The difference between the wise and the fool is focus.  Often, we think of a fool as someone who is unintelligent, but that makes it easy for us to dismiss the possibility that we, ourselves, are fools.  But what if that definition was changed to distracted?  Are we ever tricked into losing our focus?  How many times have we caught ourselves pursuing foolish things while important things are neglected?  With that understanding, it is probably easier to admit our own propensity towards foolishness.

What is the focus of our holiday season?  Are we focused on the things that matter – God and His Kingdom – or do we allow ourselves to be foolishly distracted by the background noise and shiny things of the world?  Are we willing to sell all the distractions in order to focus on the importance of the pearl that is before us?  As we enter this Advent season, let us resolve to not be holiday fools, but may we be focused on those things that matter. As Psalm 85:8-9 says, “I will listen to what God the Lord says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants— but let them not turn to folly. Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.”

Pastor Barry Nelson