I don’t ever remember this happening before. Ash Wednesday will fall on Valentine’s Day. And Easter will fall on April Fool’s Day. Or perhaps I should say the reverse: Valentine’s will fall on Ash Wednesday and April Fool’s will fall on Easter. Surely the observance of the Christian traditions of Ash Wednesday and Easter pre-date Valentines (496) and April Fools (1582).
We could explore how the holy days/holidays are radically different. Ash Wednesday is the day we get somber and ponder the seriousness of our own death, fragile nature and need to radically change our distorted lives back into the ways of a graceful God. And Valentine’s is a frivolous celebration of romantic Eros where we spend extra money on flowers and candy to delight the senses. April Fool’s is a day to play practical jokes whereas Easter is a day to blast the trumpets and sing hallelujah because evil is defeated and new life is given to all.
Or we could talk about how the holidays are similar. For surely, at its core, Ash Wednesday is about love, how much God loves us and longs to have us know that and live lives consistent with that powerful force of grace. And Easter is the truth that seems foolish to the world, that one would save us by giving up power and control and dying and then God getting the final say, a shocking truth that most couldn’t believe when it was right in front of them. Folly for sure, in the cosmic sense.
Or we could just use this calendar year to remind us that we always live in two worlds. You and I live in a secular culture that marks days with common customs. And we live in the Christian reality, where we claim a unique set of values and beliefs that shape us and nudge us to live a different kind of life. Each day on the calendar is both God’s day and the world’s day. Every day, we have to decide which truth will shape us – the love and folly of God revealed in Jesus or the culture that nudges us elsewhere.
When I think about the best things that have ever happened in my life, most of them involved loving in foolish ways. As you meander from Valentine’s to April Fools, from Ash Wednesday to Easter, take time to ponder what has made your life worth living. Maybe God is still calling us to kneel with ash smudged faces and shout the joy of resurrection.
