02/01/2026 Traditional Service
“That was a foolish decision.” Maybe you have said that to yourself after a thoughtless word or action. Our human foolishness is noted in two hymns in Lutheran Service Book. In the paraphrase of Psalm 23 in “The King of Love My Shepherd Is,” we sing of our Good Shepherd: “Perverse and foolish oft I strayed, but yet in love He sought me” (LSB 709:3). And in a hymn based on the parable of the prodigal son, we sing, “As rebels, Lord, who foolishly have wandered” (LSB 612:1). Foolishness is not generally seen as a positive attribute. But Paul reminds his Corinthian readers and us that we are called to a certain special foolishness in Christ. “But God chose what is foolish . . . ; God chose what is weak . . . ; God chose what is low” (1 Corinthians 1:27–28). And Paul writes to the Ephesians, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who . . . chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:3–4). We can live as reflections of God’s most gracious choosing!