This year’s Maundy Thursday has been a great blessing in my life. I had the joy of meeting a local prolific writer. At a certain point in our soul searching conversation, foolishness for Christ surfaced and topped the entire reflective exchange we were having.
What is exactly foolishness for Christ? Why is it so important in the authentic living of one’s own Christian life? In the Pauline body of teaching there is a powerfully persuasive direction which unravels one of heaven’s life-giving secrets, namely being and living as a fool for Christ. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul spoke about this magnificent spiritual phenomenon with the following words: “We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honour, but we in disrepute” (1 Corinthians 4:10). Within the same letter the Apostle of the Gentiles said that the world’s wisdom is tantamount to foolishness in God’s sight (1 Corinthians 3:19). God’s transforming activity is available to everyone in the cross, which is “folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Moreover the worldly mentality is completely alien to God’s saving grace. That is why God’s love for the world is merciful for the latter misfortunately interprets self-giving love as foolishness. Yet, to the world’s incredulity, God responded by ‘the foolishness … to save those who believe’” (1 Corinthians 1:21).
Both the Eastern and the Western lungs of Christianity have been endowed with eminent fools for Christ. In the Russian version of foolishness of Christ, we encounter the ‘yurodivy’, in other words the Holy Fool. The yurodivy’s aim is to intentionally act foolishly in other people’s eyes. It is obvious that such intentional behaviour is disturbing and provocative. Some of the features that these Holy Fools exhibited in their comportment was going around half-naked, being homeless, speaking in riddles, leading others to believe that the person is a visionary and a prophet, and sometimes being disruptive and confronting to the extent of appearing immoral.
Among the Holy Fools in the Eastern Orthodox Church one finds Isidora Barankis of Egypt, Symeon of Emesa, Saint Procopious, Basil Fool for Christ, Saint Xenia of Saint Petersburg, Rasputin and Grisha. Both Callis and Dewey give us the subsequent description of Grisha: “He was an awesome figure: emaciated, barefoot and in rags, with eyes that ‘looked right through you’ and long, shaggy hair. He always wore chains around his neck... Neighbourhood children would sometimes run after him, laughing and calling out his name. Older persons, as a rule, viewed Grisha with respect and a little fear, especially when he suffered one of his periodic seizures and began to shout and rant. At such times adult bystanders would crowd around and listen, for they believed that the Holy Spirit was working through him.”
Two great examples of fools for Christ in the Western version of Christianity can be found in Saint Francis of Assisi and his follower Saint Juniper. We know with which radicalism Saint Francis lived the Gospel. His literal interpretation of Christ’s salvific message made him give away all his possessions and live as the poorest among the poor. Saint Francis’ poverty led him to reach the outcasts of his time, namely by serving the lepers and preaching to everyone on the need of returning back to Christ.
Saint Juniper, an early companion of Saint Francis, is another typical example of what it means to be fool for Christ. Whenever others requested something from his possessions he would give it away to them happily and generously, not to mention his clothes of course. His life story tells us that one day Juniper cut off the bells from his altar-cloth and handed them to a poor woman. Having said that, even if he shocked his brothers by his typically perplexing behaviour, Juniper earned their respect since he was a shining example of what being a Franciscan truly implies.
Am I courageous enough to be fool for Christ by living the Gospel in each and every life situation I am in?
Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap
San Gwann