The first of April is traditionally known as April Fools’ Day. One of the proposed origins of the name of the month of April is that it comes from the Latin word aperire which means “to open”, since April marks the beginning of Spring and that is when the trees and flowers begin to open. I know that April Fools’ Day is generally celebrated by playing (hopefully) harmless pranks on each other, but I think if we consider the meaning of April and of the time of year generally as a time for opening, then we may find that we can draw strength and inspiration by recognizing that when we acknowledge our own foolishness, we are opening the way before us. “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.” (1 Corinthians 3:18-19). It is only when we recognize that we are fools that we will instead choose to trust in the wisdom of the Lord. And as we learn to lean more upon the Lord then on our own understanding, we will become wise indeed. To embrace our own foolishness is to open the way of the path of wisdom.
