When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called his elder son Esau and said to him, “My son,” and he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “See, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt game for me. Then prepare for me savory food, such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die.”
Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game for his father, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father say to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me game, and prepare for me savory food to eat, that I may bless you before the Lord before I die.’ Now therefore, my son, obey my word as I command you. Go to the flock, and get me two choice kids, so that I may prepare from them savory food for your father, such as he likes, and you shall take it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a man of smooth skin. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.” His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my word, and go, get them for me.” So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared savory food, such as his father loved. Then Rebekah took the best garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob, and she put the skins of the kids on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. Then she handed the savory food and the bread that she had prepared to her son Jacob.
So he went in to his father and said, “My father,” and he said, “Here I am; who are you, my son?” Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, so that you may bless me.”
- Genesis 27:1-19
Today is April Fools’ Day, a date celebrated across western cultures for centuries. Some scholars believe that Chaucer made reference to the day in his 14th century Canterbury Tales. Although we are uncertain as to WHY this day came into being, we still mark it by playing practical jokes and pranks. As a young person, I remember pranks that seemed to fall just short of criminal behavior. Learning where to draw the line between “fun” and “cruelty” doesn’t always come easily to everyone.
Tricksters are honored through folktales and legends across the globe; these tricksters cross boundaries, shapeshifting to deceive others. Tricksters are part of our own tradition, and are often viewed as clever and quick witted. This is certainly the case in the biblical account of Jacob fooling his own mother Rebekah, his father Isaac, and his brother Esau in order to receive the stolen blessing from Isaac. Yet, at the same time in the traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Satan is typically described as the Great Deceiver, the one who achieves evil through lies and deception. Many of us love playing tricks on others, yet we are often less than willing to be the butt of the joke, to be the one who is fooled. Gullibility is not usually understood to be a virtue in our world.
Intent seems to make all the difference. If our pranks harm others, or are intended to make others feel stupid, or “less than” others, we may be engaging less in “prank” and more in “humiliation”. Belittling others is not the the best way to make ourselves stand out in this world. My own sense of humor has missed the mark more than once in my life. But I am trying to learn that playing the fool is often much more loving than making others look like fools. Perhaps this is what St. Paul meant when he spoke of “being a fool for Christ’s sake”. I give my best when I can be humble enough to laugh at myself joyfully. When we lose our sense of humor on this wild and crazy planet, we begin to lose our playful humanity. How many autocratic leaders in our world have a difficult time learning the difference between laughing AT others and laughing WITH others. It is cruel to laugh at those who struggle with poverty, migration, addiction, and violence. It is cruel to rejoice at the death of others even if they are not our friends. This laughter feels cheap and unkind; it is less “prank” and more “humiliation”, less “hoax” and more “cruelty”. One of our baptismal questions is “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?”
Lent is a fitting time to look at those in our world who are humiliated by others simply because of the circumstances of the world around them: economic, ethnic, political, racial, and religious situations in which people find themselves. We are responsible for the words that come out of our mouths, the actions we take toward others, and the inaction we may take when in the presence of cruelty and hatred. So, enjoy the fun of April Fools’ Day. Play a prank or two and have some fun. But, if in doubt, ask yourself this, “Can I still sit down and break bread with the one I’ve pranked?” Our response will tell us much. God gives us this world to share laughter and mercy and food and wealth and forgiveness and ideas and LOVE. Do not be deceived by anything (or anyone) offering you less than this. It’s no laughing matter.
Musical Reflection - The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again
O heavenly Creator, you have filled the world with beauty:
Open our eyes to behold your gracious hand in all your works;
that, rejoicing in your whole creation, we may learn to serve
you with gladness; for the sake of him through whom all
things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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