God's Last Words

FOOLISH THINGS

John 6: 35, 41-51

Over the years, “The Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch” has sponsored an annual contest of the most absurd warning labels. Among their top place winners have been:

"Do not use this snow blower on the roof."
"Do not allow children to play in the dishwasher."
A Clothes Iron: "Warning! Never iron clothes while they are being worn." 
On a Superman costume: “Warning: Cape does not enable user to fly.”
On a bottle of hair coloring: “Do not use as an ice cream or snow cone topping.” 
On a cardboard sunshield for a car: “Do not drive with sun-shield in place.”
On a toner cartridge: “Do not eat or apply toner as eye shadow.”
On a portable stroller: “Caution: Remove infant before folding for storage.”
And lastly - In a microwave oven manual: “Do not use for drying pets.”

Why would they make these labels? Doesn’t it seem obvious enough that you shouldn’t use these products in this way? Well yeah… but you just know somebody must have actually tried the things these labels warned against! Just imagine someone saying, “Hey this might just work…”

Warning labels often warn about the obvious.But as one person once said “The desire to make something foolproof vastly underestimates the creativity of fools.”

Engaging in these types of behaviors would get you labeled as a fool, laughed at, and at worst hospitalized. But we also call people fools who don’t think, talk, or present their ideas in ways that make sense to our understanding of the world.

There’s really only one place that being foolish is positive: Literature is full of the author’s use of what’s called a literary device called the fool. Fools can say and do absurd things to advance plots, relieve tension, and throw monkey wrenches into stories. Fools generally are immune from rules of grammar, logic, and hidden agendas.

Fools can be used for dramatic effect. In fact some places relish the use of fools: Mexican TV always has the fool wearing a funny or strange hat so you can “tell” which one they are.

Sometimes those we perceive as fools know a lot more than they are given credit for or are agents of change for the better that people don’t want to recognize or have anything to do with. So sometimes “playing the fool” might be a good thing.

Remember also that God and Jesus, in their relationships and communication with humanity, sometimes uses human nature, psychology, and behavior for effect, and to get us to listen and understand.

In today’s Gospel lesson the people in the crowd around Jesus are starting to respond to Him as if he were a fool who is putting His pet in a microwave after washing him in the dishwasher. People are starting to get angry at Jesus for His “stupid” statements they think don’t make sense. Listen to John 35, 41-51:

Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

 Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ 

Jesus answered them, ‘Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. 

It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 

Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. 

Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’

I going to assume you remember last week’s message and what I said about the crowd that was seeking Jesus. From 6:24-35: They were actually chasing Jesus, looking for Jesus, and demanding to know more about Jesus. They want to see signs, because they are uncertain about Jesus.

But this crowd doesn’t really want to know more about Jesus, they don’t accept the bread of life proposal. It’s clear by inference that these folks are the “Temple insiders” being taught in the synagogue in a few later verses who are more skeptical the more they hear Jesus teach. And like people who don’t believe what Jesus says they are thinking Him a fool and a dangerous interloper.

They are akin to “Church people” who can’t or won’t see who Jesus really is because they are certain that he is just Mary and Joseph’s son. Nothing more, nothing less.

It’s similar to a congregation who stops listening to the pastor because he’s no longer relevant of somebody who no longer matters.

It is at this point that Jesus’ methods change a little and He seems to adopt the literary devices of the fool. If we look at the characteristics of the theatrical archetype of “The Fool” we see many similarities with Jesus. 

The Fool is: 1) usually a homeless, marginal wanderer; 2) who interrupts the daily life of those around him by violating etiquette, using elements of surprise, and mockery; and 3) Is often irreverent of cultural and religious customs.

Jesus often goes where he is unexpected (eating with Tax Collectors, sinners, prostitutes, Gentiles) and does the unexpected (welcomes, heals, challenges, comforts).

Sadly, the Jews begin to think of Jesus as out-of-touch, out-of-control, dangerous, politically incorrect, irrelevant, and just downright foolish.

Jesus becomes the ultimate ironic protagonist in his world changing Crucifixion/ Resurrection event that has elements of great comedy (Where did the body go?)!

The whole dialogue of Jesus’ birth, life, and death is a panorama of comedy and tragedy marked by unexpected changes in circumstance:

The virgin birth; that he is the son of a laborer from a backwater town (Can anything good come from Nazareth?); He is the Son of God, but doesn’t follow the rules of God in Hebrew scripture; Uses hyperbole, parables, and comedy to set up and challenge authority and embarrass the established religious hierarchy.

Jesus is “raised up” by the Romans as the “king of Jews” in a grotesque display of Empire and mockery that ends in Jesus revealing the powerlessness of the Romans and even of death itself.

One can even say that Jesus has the last laugh on everybody because they really didn’t know Him.

In our world today culture/society is starting to put “DON’T BE A FOOL” labels on Christianity to keep people from foolishly believing or doing things Christians do:

Family values and marriage. Sanctity of life.  Human sexuality and gender identity.     Tolerance/applying codes of conduct to one’s life.  Political correctness and so on.

We see the labels being added daily regarding sexual preference and identity, on abortion, and in the definitions of truth and human dignity trumping God’s laws.

And any pastor, teacher, or believer who points it out becomes like Jesus as someone to target and get rid of.

We need to remember that as Christians we too will be called foolish if we side with and abide by God’s Laws, but that’s okay – Jesus was called a fool first.

A latter scripture passage even offers a comment on this: 1 Corinthians 4: 10 -“We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!”

Being dishonored for Christ will honor both Jesus and the community of faithful believers. The world sees faith and Hope in Christ as foolishness. We see it instead as eternal Hope.

Where you stand on this matter of foolish things will be the defining issue of eternity! 

Does the Bible need a warning label? Should there be warning banners above the altar? Should believers be required to warn non-believers before any discussions. Is the world headed that way?

God loves us and has prepared a place for us. If the world views that as foolish thinking then they are the ones who are foolishly building on ground prone to sink holes. Amen.