“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt.”

–President Abraham Lincoln

Well, we made it through another April Fools’ Day. Like Halloween, not my favorite day of frivolity. Call me a Donnie Downer, but such celebrations are nearly devoid of any redeeming value. Don’t get me wrong; I like to kid my family and friends just as much or more than the next person, but I don’t devote an entire day to it.

That said, I’ll admit there have been some corporate pranks that were pretty clever. My favorite was the April Fools’ joke Taco Bell pulled off in the 90s, when they announced the company had bought our nation’s Liberty Bell. That’s right … and they were going to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell! Just imagine: two tacos and a chance to ring the bell, all for five dollars! Silly, but funny.

It’s believed that it all started in 16th Century France, when the country switched from the Julian Calendar, with the new year starting at the spring equinox, to the Gregorian Calendar, with a January 1 new year. Those citizens who didn’t watch the news or have internet continued to celebrate the time around April 1 as the new year. They came to be known as April fools.

The word “fool” is not to be tossed around carelessly. In fact, in the greatest sermon ever preached, Jesus said, “But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell” (Matthew 5: 22; NIV). That was in reference to someone angry with his brother or, in greater context, anyone else. Wow!

Place that admonishment and condemnation in the middle of our culture today. A lot of folks would be feeling the heat. After all, without calling anyone a fool, let’s admit there are a lot of foolish notions gaining significant traction.

One such notion is that Jesus was simply a man, not God incarnate. He was a just a moralist, a goody two shoes–a pied piper of a preacher who drew people to him like moths are drawn to light. Well, if that were true and it was all just a canard, then pastors, preachers, and priests should resign and get real jobs, and the rest of us could spend our Sundays on the golf course or at the lake.

Like Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday every year, this year Easter bumped up right beside April Fools’ Day. Their temporal proximity  reminds us of the secular silliness of the latter and the divine meaning of the former. For us believers, the discovery of an empty tomb that first Easter morning is proof enough of the Resurrection.

That event took a dozen somewhat clueless, disheartened disciples and turned them into evangelists who ignited a movement that has changed the world. They finally understood what Jesus had been telling them for three years–all because they were witness to His resurrection.

We weren’t there, of course, so we have to rely simply on our faith. As my pastor often quotes, “Faith isn’t belief without proof, it’s trust without reservation. ” It is by faith believers live their lives and feel certain about their destiny, all because Jesus died for our sins and then overcame death by His resurrection.

Doubt that notion if you dare, but the consequences of non-belief will be dire … and that’s no April Fools’ joke!