Have a Blessed Friday the 13th!

 

For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, 

but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
    and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? 

Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

1 Corinthians 1:18-20 NRSVue

Very superstitious, writing's on the wall,
Very superstitious, Ladders bout' to fall,
Thirteen month old baby, broke the lookin' glass
Seven years of bad luck, The good things in your past

When you believe in things That you don't understand,
Then you suffer, Superstition aint the way

                               Stevie Wonder

Today is Friday 13th, which most of are aware is an unlucky day in the minds of some. Apparently this superstition that thirteen is a cursed day originated in a Norse story, although there is also a tradition that Judas was the unlucky thirteen person to be seated at the Last Supper. There is nothing in the gospels to suggest this, and it seems to me that seating order was the least of Judas' misfortunes. 

Are you supersitious? I would say that I am not, generally, although I am not one to tempt fate, when possible. There are plenty of non-theists and anti-theists who would say that anyone who is religious is superstitious, pathetically held captive to the notion of a divine being who not only exists but is active in our lives. The incarnation  in the person of Jesus, is absolutely preposterous, foolishness, from their point of view.

I would agree that religion can be inclined toward superstition, at its worst. We saw and continue to see this when it comes to COVID19. Remember all the Christians who refused to be vaccinated because they were "washed in the blood of the Lamb"? A century or more of scientific advancement was discarded in the blink of an eye, and even though many died as a result, it didn't change the outlook of lots of those left behind. They might as well have walked around with bunches of garlic around their necks. 

While I have experienced seasons of doubt and questioning through the years I continue to put in my lot with the brilliant theologian, Paul of Tarsus, who conceded that the Way of Christ could appear as foolishness to the supposed wise ones of this world. 

I hope I will celebrate scientific advancement and rationality to my dying day, and actively resist shadowy superstition which is used to control others or engender fear. But I continue to affirm the Good News of the Christ who is the Light of the World, a different embodiment of wisdom. 

Now, I wonder if there is a special prayer to expunge the consistent bad luck of the Montreal Canadiens?