Four people were riding in a passenger train car…an army general, a private, a beautiful young maiden and her mother. The car went through a tunnel and the lights went out in the car. There was the sound of somebody giving someone a kiss and then the sound of someone’s face being slapped. The car came out of the tunnel and everyone was still sitting where they were before? What happened?
The mother thought to herself: ‘Obviously one of these men took advantage of my daughter but she had the decency to reprimand them.’
The beautiful maiden thought to herself: ‘Somebody kissed me and my mother must have given them a slap’.
The army general thought to himself: “Somebody got a kiss, but why did I get slapped?’
The private smiled and said to himself” ‘Ah, what a great day. It’s not every day you get to kiss a maiden and slap a general!’
What a great day today is… Holy Hilarity Sunday. It’s not a formally recognized by any denomination, but congregations across the nation are celebrating it today anyway. And if you go into any of these congregations you will hear more laughter than usual coming from the sanctuary. That’s because the Sunday after Easter has been designated a day to share jokes and to unleash the laughter of God’s people. It is not the beginning of some new quirky thing, rather it is the recovery of a very old tradition. It was customary in the ancient Greek Orthodox Church to tell jokes after Easter because the biggest joke of all happened on Easter Sunday to the devil! Jesus was thought to be dead and gone, but he rose from the grave and lives again! So the last laugh of life goes to Jesus. We who are followers of Christ should laugh along with him because we have been included in this great joke…Christ as raised us as well. So today we celebrate Holy Hilarity Sunday, sharing the laughter and spreading joy throughout the sanctuary and out into the world.
Now I know some people think that laughter is not a fitting response for church. Presbyterians have long taught that religion is a serious matter and some feel that there is no room for anything as frivolous as laughter in church. (Perhaps that is why Presbyterians have the historical reputation of being a dour bunch.) The truth is, humor is a serious matter – in fact humor can be an expression of faith. The opposite of laughter is not sadness but despair and despair is a sign of defeat. To despair is to admit defeat to the challenges and difficulties of this life. But laughter is a sign of victory - it signifies that the challenges and difficulties of life, however formidable, have not overpowered us. Our spirit is still strong and our faith is intact. To laugh then is a declaration of triumph. So let us learn to laugh in the face of adversity and hardship! And as we get older there is plenty to laugh about, isn’t there?
An elderly man says to his friend:
‘I just got a new hearing aid. It cost $3,000 but I can hear perfectly now.’
The friend said to him: ‘What kind is is?’
The man said: ‘4:30!’
Two elderly couples are talking together over coffee. The one man says to the other man ‘We had supper out at a new restaurant and it was the best meal I’ve ever had at a restaurant before.
The other man said ‘What was the name of the restaurant?’
The first man says ‘What do you call that flower with red pedals and thorns?’
‘A rose?’
‘Yea, (turning to his wife) Rose, what was the name of that restaurant we ate at last night?’
Harry is on his deathbed and call out for his wife Ethyl.
‘Ethyl, you were with me through the Great Depression in the 30’s weren’t you?
‘Yes, Harry’.
‘And you were with me through the drought back in the 50’s too!’
‘Yes, Harry, I was.’
And you were with me when the farm burned down after those brushfires in the 90’s’
‘Yes, Harry.
‘And now you’re with me as I’m about to die.’
‘Yes Harry – I am’
“Ethyl…I’m beginning to think you must be bad luck!’
The challenges of life give us plenty to laugh about.
I have been part of a Presbyterian study group called Rehoboth. For over a year now we have been studying this very subject: The place of humor and laughter in the Christian faith and church. We have read and discussed six books on the subject as well as a number of articles. One of the best sessions we’ve had was a meeting with Terry Lindvall, professor at Virginia Wesleyan and author of the book ‘The Mother of all Laughter’. He claims that the biblical root of laughter is found in Sarah, Abraham’s wife – who laughed when she was told she would give birth to a son. Hearing that news was like music to her and Abraham’s ears, but there was just one small problem. Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90! She was long past child rearing years. How could she possibly give birth to a baby? Frederick Buechner sums it up in a humorous fashion with these words:
‘Why did the two old crocks laugh? They laughed because they knew only a fool would believe that a woman with one foot in the grave was soon to have her other foot in a maternity ward. They laughed because God expected them to believe it anyway. They laughed because God seemed to believe it. They laughted because they half-believed it themselves. They laughted because if by some crazy chance it just happened to come true they would really have something to laugh about, and in the meanwhile it helped keep them going…Faith is laughter at the promise of a child called laughter.’ (Wishful Thinking pg 25)
We know how the story goes. Sarah does indeed have a son and his name is Isaac, which is a Hebrew word for laughter. So God gets the last laugh… but God never laughs alone. Sarah and Abraham share in this hilarious joke and so do we, because we are all offspring of Sarah and Abraham. And every time someone new joins the family of God the laughter grows. And grow it has…because laughter is contagious!
Jacob, who lives in Israel calls his son Samuel who lives in the USA and says: ‘I hate to tell you son, but your mother and I are getting divoreced. After 45 years of suffering, enough is enough.’
‘Father, you can’t be serious? And just before the holidays!
‘Well, we’re both tired and fed up. So would you do me a big favor and call your sister Anna in Chicago and tell her the news.’
A short time later Anna calls and says ‘Father, you will not divorce mother. ‘Don’t do a think my brother and I get there. We’ll catch the first flight home tomorrow.’
The father hangs up and turns to his wife and says ‘All’s well Rebecca, both children are coming for the holidays and they’re buying their own plane tickets!’
In the New testament, God’s laughter resounds through the life and ministry of Jesus. The miracles of Jesus are responded to with shouts of joy and the parables of Jesus with the laughter of surprise. One of the gospel writers says that Jesus taught only in parables and that he never explained the parables to the people. I suppose he refused to explain the parables for the same reason you don’t explain a good joke; you either get it or you don’t. If you have to have it explained, it shows that you really don’t understand the Kingdom of God very well at all. Today’s parable is a case in point - Jesus says that the Kingdom of God is like finding a lost sheep or searching and finding a lost coin and then calling all the neighbors in for a party. When you find something of great value that was lost, there is great joy. And to God, there is nothing he values more than his people…you and me and when we return to God there is great rejoicing in heaven.
If you don’t get the parables, you probably are really confounded by the resurrection! The resurrection is God’s best joke ever. When God raised Jesus from the dead he turned death on its head and turned despair inside out. The resurrection blows a huge hole in the future. If God can raise the dead, then anything is possible now with God - both here and the hereafter. This is good news that deserves laughter…and that’s why the Orthodox priests told jokes at Easter.
After the baptism of his baby brother in church on Sunday, little Jason started sobbing on the car ride home. ‘What’s wrong?’ his father asked him. Finally the boy spoke up through his tears: ‘That minister said he wanted us to be brought up in a Christian home, but I want to stay with you guys.’
The Episcopal priest stood up at the pulpit at the beginning of the service. He tapped the microphone but it wasn’t working. So he said ‘There’s something wrong with this microphone.’ And the whole congregation responded ‘And also with you!’
During Holy Week we performed the drama ‘The Room Upstairs’ for the congregation here at Hidenwood. I got to play Jesus – and had the humbling task of joy of washing all the disciples feet. When I got to Peter the dialogue went like this:
Peter says: ‘Lord, you’re washing my feet?’Deborah wanted to take out that smirky line ‘did you bathe today Peter?’ I suppose because she couldn’t imagine Jesus saying it…Jesus is making a joke.
Jesus says ‘You may not understand this now Peter, but you will soon enough.’
‘Lord, you’ll never wash my feet!’
“If I do not then you have no part in me.’
‘Then not just my feet, Master, but my hands and my head also!’
Then Jesus smiles and says ‘Did you bathe today Peter?’
‘O course!’
‘Then only your feet need washing…you are clean!’
But I wouldn’t let her cut it out though - I thought it was perfect! But I’ve heard others in my bible study class say they don’t think Jesus ever said anything humorous.
But what do you think? Can you imagine Jesus having a sense of humor? I can’t imagine him without it. He’d need a sense of humor to handle the ineptness of the disciples for so long. They were forever messing up, missing the point, and doing the wrong thing. And he needs a sense of humor to stand us so long…for we are much the same.
Some of the humor of Jesus is lost in translation. Some of it we miss because of cultural differences in humor. But if we miss it all, it’s because we aren’t expecting Jesus to be funny. Jesus says it’s easier for a camel to get through the eye of an needle than for a rich man to get into heaven.’ Today he’s probably say it this way: ‘It’s easier to get a Mercedes through the revolving door at RBC Centura than it is for a rich person to get into heaven.’
He must have had a sense of humor to remain so hopeful through the darkest days of his life. He must have had a sense of humor to be able to say to his disciples ‘Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
One of my favorite pictures of Jesus is known as ‘the laughing Christ’. His head is flung back and he’s laughing from the depths of his soul. His laughter seems to invite others to laugh with him. It’s a picture that ought to be central to the Christian faith because Christ has overcome the world…and so have we. Let your laughter proclaim the good news.
It happened at a local church service one Sunday while the ushers were taking up the offering. Things were going along as sombrely as usual until the offertory began to play. The two center row ushers started walking towards the front when suddenly one of them tripped and fell down. On the way down he reached out to his partner for balance but he caught the offering plate instead. Bills and coins and offering envelopes went flying everywhere.
The organist stopped. The congregation was hushed, and two very embarrassed ushers peered up at the pastor – not sure what to do next. The pastor looked down at the two kneeling ushers and said to them “For heaven’s sake, laugh!”
And laugh they did. Till the tears rolled down their faces. And while they laughed they picked up the money with the help of the congregation and carried on with the service.
Laughter is a lot like prayer - it may not always solve the problem but it sure puts it into perspective. So keep praying…and keep laughing too. I hope we in the church will take humor more seriously.
Happy Holy Hilarity Sunday.
Amen