01/04/2017
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Bob Fyffe, general secretary of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.
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Script
Good morning,
Happy April Foolβs day. It seems there are lots of ideas about where the custom began whereby until noon, you can set or be the victim of a prank.
Like so many significant dates around this time of year, the 1st of April has a special significance because it was held to be the beginning of the New Year. It involves lots of stories about changing calendars and paying debts.Μύ
But it wasnβt until 1752 that we finally realised that we would have to align our calendar with the rest of Europe and move New Yearβs Day to the 1st of January.
So after the change, those who persisted in celebrating the1st of April as the new year were thought of as βApril Foolsβ. I wonder if itβs so terrible to be thought of as foolish. Sometimes it may mean taking a chance on a course of action that could just be positively life changing. ΜύIt might mean risking going deeper into a friendship, in order to explore its potential. And it might even mean following a dream β a dream, not a fantasy β where we are offered the deepest example of the self-giving love of Jesus.
Μύ
God of Timelessness and time,
Be with us in journeying today.
Whenever or wherever we are thought of as foolish
May it be as fools for Christ
That we may risk all to follow the one
Who was mocked on the cross
Amen.
Broadcast
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