The Risen Christ was the punch line of God’s Great Surprise.
The resurrection of Jesus is the greatest surprise in the history of humanity.
Until then, once people died and were buried, they stayed put.
There is no doubt in my mind that these disciples happy people when they encountered the Risen Christ.
They must have been laughing and carrying on.
There must have been high-fivin’ and back-slappin’.
They knew the joke was on them, because they hadn’t believed what they had been told.
And now the joke is on all those who refuse to believe.
The resurrection of Jesus is the greatest surprise in the history of humanity.
Until then, once people died and were buried, they stayed put.
There is no doubt in my mind that these disciples happy people when they encountered the Risen Christ.
They must have been laughing and carrying on.
There must have been high-fivin’ and back-slappin’.
They knew the joke was on them, because they hadn’t believed what they had been told.
And now the joke is on all those who refuse to believe.
Jesus must have been grinning from ear to ear! – grabbing his friends by the neck, hugging and rustling hair.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-4
John 20:19-20
OK, now you’ve heard it said, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
Well, looking around, I’d say that there must be a lot of folks that really, really, love our church.
Maybe we should do what this other church I know did.
They had what they called a “No Excuses Sunday”!
They put the word out that on this one particular Sunday, “No Excuses Sunday:
● Pillows will be placed in the pews for those who say "Sunday is my only day to sleep in".
● Scorecards will be available for those who wish to list the hypocrites present.
● We will have hard hats for those who say, "The roof would cave in if I ever came to church."
● Eye drops will be available for those with tired eyes from watching TV late Saturday night.
● We’ll open the windows for those who like to seek God in nature.
● Doctors and nurses will be in attendance for those who plan to be sick on Sunday.
● Finally we’ll try to find a Christmas poinsettias and an Easter lily for those who have never seen the church without them.
Not at this church, but at another church I used to serve, almost every Sunday I would be up here going through my sermon and I would hear a mumbling from a man in the choir.
I never could make it out.
But it became regular like clock work – right in the middle of my sermon, I would hear: “mble mble mble. “
After this went on for a while, I figured out who was doing it, and one day, I just confronted him about it.
He was duly embarrassed, but ‘fessed up.
He said it was a little prayer ditty he learned long ago at his father’s knee.
John 20:19-20
OK, now you’ve heard it said, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
Well, looking around, I’d say that there must be a lot of folks that really, really, love our church.
Maybe we should do what this other church I know did.
They had what they called a “No Excuses Sunday”!
They put the word out that on this one particular Sunday, “No Excuses Sunday:
● Pillows will be placed in the pews for those who say "Sunday is my only day to sleep in".
● Scorecards will be available for those who wish to list the hypocrites present.
● We will have hard hats for those who say, "The roof would cave in if I ever came to church."
● Eye drops will be available for those with tired eyes from watching TV late Saturday night.
● We’ll open the windows for those who like to seek God in nature.
● Doctors and nurses will be in attendance for those who plan to be sick on Sunday.
● Finally we’ll try to find a Christmas poinsettias and an Easter lily for those who have never seen the church without them.
Not at this church, but at another church I used to serve, almost every Sunday I would be up here going through my sermon and I would hear a mumbling from a man in the choir.
I never could make it out.
But it became regular like clock work – right in the middle of my sermon, I would hear: “mble mble mble. “
After this went on for a while, I figured out who was doing it, and one day, I just confronted him about it.
He was duly embarrassed, but ‘fessed up.
He said it was a little prayer ditty he learned long ago at his father’s knee.
It went:
I’m sitting here, trying not to sleep.
But, the preacher’s dull, and the sermon weak.
If he should stop before I wake
Give me a poke, for goodness sake.
One of my sources of jokes is the doctor’s office.
I’m sitting here, trying not to sleep.
But, the preacher’s dull, and the sermon weak.
If he should stop before I wake
Give me a poke, for goodness sake.
One of my sources of jokes is the doctor’s office.
During one of my latest visits I overheard this women come in all distraught, I heard her say:
“Doctor, doctor, please help me, I seem to be shrinking – my feet don’t seem to be reaching as far as they used to, I find myself trying to stand on tip toe to see what I used to see just fine,
I’m walking on the hems of my pants,
I just don’t know what to do.”
The doctor said, “Now, now, just settle down, and just be a little patient.”
Another person came in and said:
“Doctor, doctor, I haven’t slept in six days!”
The doctor said, “Whoa, you must be really tired.”
The patient said, “No, I’m sleeping at night now.”
Another patient came in and said:
“Doctor, doctor, Please help me! I’m losing my memory!”
The doctor said, “Mmmm, this could be serious. When did you first notice the problem?”
And the patient said: “What problem?”
This patient came in to the doctor and said:
“Doctor, doctor, help me please. It hurts when I do this (lift arm).
And the doctor said, “Well, Don’t do that.”
This man came in to the doctor and said:
“Doctor, doctor, help me, help me. My arm hurts – my elbow hurts, my wrist hurts, my knuckle hurts.” (Touch each place and flinch)
The doctor said, “let me see. Yes, you have a broken finger.”
I know I have mentioned before about the new program of exercises I am doing pretty consistently now.
I think we all agree that exercise has many health benefits, and you may be interested in what I am doing.
Suzanne has been pushing me do something so for the last few months or so,
“Doctor, doctor, please help me, I seem to be shrinking – my feet don’t seem to be reaching as far as they used to, I find myself trying to stand on tip toe to see what I used to see just fine,
I’m walking on the hems of my pants,
I just don’t know what to do.”
The doctor said, “Now, now, just settle down, and just be a little patient.”
Another person came in and said:
“Doctor, doctor, I haven’t slept in six days!”
The doctor said, “Whoa, you must be really tired.”
The patient said, “No, I’m sleeping at night now.”
Another patient came in and said:
“Doctor, doctor, Please help me! I’m losing my memory!”
The doctor said, “Mmmm, this could be serious. When did you first notice the problem?”
And the patient said: “What problem?”
This patient came in to the doctor and said:
“Doctor, doctor, help me please. It hurts when I do this (lift arm).
And the doctor said, “Well, Don’t do that.”
This man came in to the doctor and said:
“Doctor, doctor, help me, help me. My arm hurts – my elbow hurts, my wrist hurts, my knuckle hurts.” (Touch each place and flinch)
The doctor said, “let me see. Yes, you have a broken finger.”
I know I have mentioned before about the new program of exercises I am doing pretty consistently now.
I think we all agree that exercise has many health benefits, and you may be interested in what I am doing.
Suzanne has been pushing me do something so for the last few months or so,
I have been doing a lot more
beating around the bush
and jumping to conclusions,
and climbing the walls.
I even try to pass the buck every once and a while,
and sometimes try to throw my weight around.
But mostly, I get a lot of exercise by making mountains out of molehills,
pushing my luck,
bending over backwards,
running around in circles,
eating crow,
tooting my own horn,
adding fuel to the fire,
opening a can of worms,
putting my foot in my mouth,
starting the ball rolling,
going over the edge,
and picking up the pieces.
Sometimes I even hit the nail on the head.
I’ll keep you posted on how my exercise routine is doing.
I don’t actually remember if Edith O’Brien actually told me this or if it just something that sounds like she would tell:
You heard about that race between a cabbage, a faucet, an egg and a tomato, didn’t you?
The cabbage came out ahead.
The faucet is still running.
The egg got beat,
and the tomato is trying to ketchup.
Today, we are trying to dispel that old prevailing notion that we Presbyterians are God’s frozen chosen.
At least once a year, we try to lighten up.
But, its hard, isn’t it?
It’s not unlike that story about the monks.
This order of monks had a new novice join the order and on his first day he joined all the other monks in the grand dining hall for dinner.
Now, this particular order took a vow of silence all through the day, but they could talk during the diner hour.
So, there they were seated at ten or twelve tables eating their stew out wooden bowls with wooden spoons when one of them stood up and called out in a loud and clear baritone voice: “64"
And that struck every single one them as being hilarious.
They laughed and laughed – and snickered and giggled throughout the meal.
beating around the bush
and jumping to conclusions,
and climbing the walls.
I even try to pass the buck every once and a while,
and sometimes try to throw my weight around.
But mostly, I get a lot of exercise by making mountains out of molehills,
pushing my luck,
bending over backwards,
running around in circles,
eating crow,
tooting my own horn,
adding fuel to the fire,
opening a can of worms,
putting my foot in my mouth,
starting the ball rolling,
going over the edge,
and picking up the pieces.
Sometimes I even hit the nail on the head.
I’ll keep you posted on how my exercise routine is doing.
I don’t actually remember if Edith O’Brien actually told me this or if it just something that sounds like she would tell:
You heard about that race between a cabbage, a faucet, an egg and a tomato, didn’t you?
The cabbage came out ahead.
The faucet is still running.
The egg got beat,
and the tomato is trying to ketchup.
Today, we are trying to dispel that old prevailing notion that we Presbyterians are God’s frozen chosen.
At least once a year, we try to lighten up.
But, its hard, isn’t it?
It’s not unlike that story about the monks.
This order of monks had a new novice join the order and on his first day he joined all the other monks in the grand dining hall for dinner.
Now, this particular order took a vow of silence all through the day, but they could talk during the diner hour.
So, there they were seated at ten or twelve tables eating their stew out wooden bowls with wooden spoons when one of them stood up and called out in a loud and clear baritone voice: “64"
And that struck every single one them as being hilarious.
They laughed and laughed – and snickered and giggled throughout the meal.
The next day at the meal, another monk stood up and called “112".
Again, uncontrolled laughter filled the room and resonated the rafters of the dining hall.
Again, uncontrolled laughter filled the room and resonated the rafters of the dining hall.
The next night, another monk stood up and called out “83".
And they were rolling in the floor with rollicking laughter.
Tears streamed down their faces.
The new guy just didn’t get it.
Oh, he laughed politely, because every one else was laughing.
But, he didn’t understand.
Finally, he went to his counselor and said, “I just don’t understand what’s so funny at dinner.”
And his counselor said, “Oh, that, well you see, in our library, there’s this book.
We have a fine theological library here at the monastery – one of the largest in the world – some of the finest treatises every written are in our library.
And there is this one book of jokes.
Well, everyone here has spent so much time in the library, that we have memorized every joke in the book.
We know the set ups, we know the punch lines,
So we just have to call out the page numbers and we know what it is referring to.
So, wanting to fit in, the new monk goes to the library, finds the joke book, reads through a few pages and finds a good story.
So he is prepared.
He is ready.
He is psyched.
That night at dinner, before anyone else could stand up, he stands up and calls out “191".
And there is dead silence in the room.
Not a word.
Not a muffle.
Nothing.
He is confused.
He sits down, devastated.
He said “I don’t know what happened.
That was one of the funniest jokes in the book. What’s wrong?”
One of his friends said, “Well, some people just don’t know how to tell a joke.”
Now, we all know who the greatest comedian in the Bible is, don’t we?
Samson brought the house down.
And the greatest financier in the Bible had to be Noah. He was floating stock while everyone else was in liquidation.
And the greatest female financier in the Bible was Pharoah’s daughter. She went to the bank of the Nile and drew out a little prophet.
But, some people are intrigued by the automobiles that we find in the Bible:
You remember Jehovah drove Adam and Eve out of the garden in a Fury.
And, we are told that David’s Triumph was heard throughout the land.
And, we are told the Apostles were all in one Accord.
It is good for us to laugh on this day.
It didn’t happen here, but I think I mentioned it before: while I was talking with the children one Easter Sunday, they heard the Easter story, and I asked, “Now, when those women got the gravesite and found the door opened, and saw Jesus for the first time, what did they hear him say?”
And one little girl popped up: “Ta-da!”
Certainly, that’s what he might as well of said, because everyone who saw him was greatly surprised.
Imagine, if you can, being part of the group of disciples on the evening of that first Easter day. They had witnessed a disturbing set of events. Their leader, the one to whom they had sworn their allegiance, the one they thought was going to lead them and the world into a new tomorrow, was tortured, ridiculed, crucified, dead, (for sure,) and buried.
And then, on this third day, they found the tomb in which he was placed, open,
and his body missing –
taken by whom?,
removed to where?,
and why?
They suspected sadism, I’m sure.
The authorities or some enemies just wanted to make sure this troublemaker would never be heard from again.
They were afraid.
What did all of this mean for them?
For sure, the authorities would be coming after them now.
What to do?
They gathered behind locked doors – fearing the worst.
So, there they were, wringing their hands, sighing “Ain’t it awful?”
When, lo and behold, the-e-e-e-re was Jesus.
Samson brought the house down.
And the greatest financier in the Bible had to be Noah. He was floating stock while everyone else was in liquidation.
And the greatest female financier in the Bible was Pharoah’s daughter. She went to the bank of the Nile and drew out a little prophet.
But, some people are intrigued by the automobiles that we find in the Bible:
You remember Jehovah drove Adam and Eve out of the garden in a Fury.
And, we are told that David’s Triumph was heard throughout the land.
And, we are told the Apostles were all in one Accord.
It is good for us to laugh on this day.
It didn’t happen here, but I think I mentioned it before: while I was talking with the children one Easter Sunday, they heard the Easter story, and I asked, “Now, when those women got the gravesite and found the door opened, and saw Jesus for the first time, what did they hear him say?”
And one little girl popped up: “Ta-da!”
Certainly, that’s what he might as well of said, because everyone who saw him was greatly surprised.
Imagine, if you can, being part of the group of disciples on the evening of that first Easter day. They had witnessed a disturbing set of events. Their leader, the one to whom they had sworn their allegiance, the one they thought was going to lead them and the world into a new tomorrow, was tortured, ridiculed, crucified, dead, (for sure,) and buried.
And then, on this third day, they found the tomb in which he was placed, open,
and his body missing –
taken by whom?,
removed to where?,
and why?
They suspected sadism, I’m sure.
The authorities or some enemies just wanted to make sure this troublemaker would never be heard from again.
They were afraid.
What did all of this mean for them?
For sure, the authorities would be coming after them now.
What to do?
They gathered behind locked doors – fearing the worst.
So, there they were, wringing their hands, sighing “Ain’t it awful?”
When, lo and behold, the-e-e-e-re was Jesus.
Can’t you just see and feel what happened?
“Oh man, you really did it this time!
You really put one over on us!
You got us good!
And what about the others?
Just wait until they get a load of this!”
You see, the Risen Christ was the punch line of God’s Great Surprise.
The resurrection of Jesus is the greatest surprise in the history of humanity.
Until then, once people died and were buried, they stayed put.
There is no doubt in my mind that these disciples happy people when they encountered the Risen Christ.
They must have been laughing and carrying on.
There must have been high-fivin’ and back-slappin’.
They knew the joke was on them, because they hadn’t believed what they had been told.
And now the joke is on all those who refuse to believe.
This is the Easter surprise, the Easter laugh, the Easter joy (the Risus Paschalis).
C.K. Chesterton wrote that “surprise is the secret of joy.”
And, far from being so solemn and placid like he is portrayed in so many pictures, Jesus must have been grinning from ear to ear! – grabbing his friends by the neck, hugging and rustling hair.
Zig Zigler writes that “the most destitute person in the world is the one without a smile.”
This is when the disciples broke out of their situation – no longer were they feeling destitute.
A church historian has pointed out that in days of yore, every Easter sermon began with a joke. Somehow, we have misguidedly equated somberism with Christianity.
Clearly, this was not the case in the very beginning.
Those early Christians were so surprised by their Risen Friend that they must have been ecstatic! – totally joyous –completely joy-filled.
Today in many parts of the world, many Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox countries celebrate Easter Monday as a day of “joy and laughter” with parties and picnics to celebrate Jesus’s resurrection.
It is called White Monday, Bright Monday, Dyngus Day, and Emmaus Day in various countries.
It is a time for the faithful to play practical jokes on one another, a time to sing silly songs, a time to dance.
It is a time for clergy and lay people to tell jokes and to have fun.
The custom of Easter Monday and Holy Hilarity Sunday celebrations are rooted in the musings of early church theologians like Augustine, Gregory of Nyssa and John Crysostom that God played a joke on the devil by raising Jesus from the dead.
You see, Easter is seen as “God’s supreme joke played on that old imposter, death.”
It was the very earliest theologians that called it “risus paschalis” – the Easter laugh.
This theme has been passed down through the ages.
“Oh man, you really did it this time!
You really put one over on us!
You got us good!
And what about the others?
Just wait until they get a load of this!”
You see, the Risen Christ was the punch line of God’s Great Surprise.
The resurrection of Jesus is the greatest surprise in the history of humanity.
Until then, once people died and were buried, they stayed put.
There is no doubt in my mind that these disciples happy people when they encountered the Risen Christ.
They must have been laughing and carrying on.
There must have been high-fivin’ and back-slappin’.
They knew the joke was on them, because they hadn’t believed what they had been told.
And now the joke is on all those who refuse to believe.
This is the Easter surprise, the Easter laugh, the Easter joy (the Risus Paschalis).
C.K. Chesterton wrote that “surprise is the secret of joy.”
And, far from being so solemn and placid like he is portrayed in so many pictures, Jesus must have been grinning from ear to ear! – grabbing his friends by the neck, hugging and rustling hair.
Zig Zigler writes that “the most destitute person in the world is the one without a smile.”
This is when the disciples broke out of their situation – no longer were they feeling destitute.
A church historian has pointed out that in days of yore, every Easter sermon began with a joke. Somehow, we have misguidedly equated somberism with Christianity.
Clearly, this was not the case in the very beginning.
Those early Christians were so surprised by their Risen Friend that they must have been ecstatic! – totally joyous –completely joy-filled.
Today in many parts of the world, many Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox countries celebrate Easter Monday as a day of “joy and laughter” with parties and picnics to celebrate Jesus’s resurrection.
It is called White Monday, Bright Monday, Dyngus Day, and Emmaus Day in various countries.
It is a time for the faithful to play practical jokes on one another, a time to sing silly songs, a time to dance.
It is a time for clergy and lay people to tell jokes and to have fun.
The custom of Easter Monday and Holy Hilarity Sunday celebrations are rooted in the musings of early church theologians like Augustine, Gregory of Nyssa and John Crysostom that God played a joke on the devil by raising Jesus from the dead.
You see, Easter is seen as “God’s supreme joke played on that old imposter, death.”
It was the very earliest theologians that called it “risus paschalis” – the Easter laugh.
This theme has been passed down through the ages.
Francis of Assisi advised: “Leave sadness to the devil. The devil has reason to be sad.”
Meister Eckhart, a 13th century theologian, wrote: “God laughed and begat the Son.
Together they laughed and begat the Holy Spirit.
And from the laughter of the Three, the universe was born.”
Martin Luther wrote: “God is not a God of sadness, but the devil is.
Christ is a God of joy.
It is pleasing to the dear God whenever one rejoices or laughs from the bottom of your heart.”
Easter is the morning when the Lord laughs out loud, laughs at all the things that snuff out joy,
all the things that pretend to be all-powerful, like cruelty and madness and despair and evil, and most especially, the great pretender, death.
Jesus sweeps them away with his wonderful resurrection laughter.
The Bible talks about a resurrection appearance of Jesus before an audience of over 500 people.
One writer ruminates:
“How would 500-plus people react to an appearance by Jesus, the one who had been crucified and buried?
Would they applaud politely? (With a proper Presbyterian clap.)
My guess is that 500-plus folks rose to their feed with a standing ovation.
This was the most incredible comeback story of all time.
They would have jumped for joy and hugged their neighbors, don’t you think?
These 500-plus folks, because of Jesus, had the best belly laugh of their lives.
Easter had taught the 500-plus how to celebrate.”
We ought to pay attention, don’t you think?
Martin Luther wrote: “God is not a God of sadness, but the devil is.
Christ is a God of joy.
It is pleasing to the dear God whenever one rejoices or laughs from the bottom of your heart.”
Easter is the morning when the Lord laughs out loud, laughs at all the things that snuff out joy,
all the things that pretend to be all-powerful, like cruelty and madness and despair and evil, and most especially, the great pretender, death.
Jesus sweeps them away with his wonderful resurrection laughter.
The Bible talks about a resurrection appearance of Jesus before an audience of over 500 people.
One writer ruminates:
“How would 500-plus people react to an appearance by Jesus, the one who had been crucified and buried?
Would they applaud politely? (With a proper Presbyterian clap.)
My guess is that 500-plus folks rose to their feed with a standing ovation.
This was the most incredible comeback story of all time.
They would have jumped for joy and hugged their neighbors, don’t you think?
These 500-plus folks, because of Jesus, had the best belly laugh of their lives.
Easter had taught the 500-plus how to celebrate.”
We ought to pay attention, don’t you think?
Church historians indicate that there is considerable evidence that during the early centuries of Christianity, Easter celebrations went on for days – even weeks.
Today, many churches all over the country are trying to lift up the hilaritas of the Easter season -- celebrating the risus paschalis: the Easter Laugh.
Michelangelo wrote rather indignantly in 1564 to his fellow artists:
“Why do you keep filing gallery after gallery with endless pictures of the one ever-reiterated theme of Christ in weakness, of Christ upon the cross, Christ dying, Christ hanging dead?
Why do you stop there as if the curtain is closed upon that horror?
Keep the curtain open, and with the cross in the foreground, let us see beyond it to the Easter dawn with its beams streaming upon the risen Christ, Christ alive, Christ ruling, Christ triumphant.
“For we should be ringing out over the world that Christ has won, that evil is toppling, that the end is sure, and that death is followed by victory.
That is the tonic we need to keep us healthy,
the trumpet blast to fire our blood and send us crowding in behind our Master,
swinging happily on our way,
laughing and singing and recklessly unafraid, because the feel of victory is in the air and our hearts thrill to it.”
Michelangelo!!!
One writer puts it this way:
“While there is much terror and sordid ugliness in the world, there is also a stream of health, cascading like a clear mountain rivulet of melted snow through human experience.
This stream is the flow of wholesome, spontaneous laughter – God’s gift for refreshing and renewing our souls.
A life lived with little laughter is like land devoid of springs, streams, lakes, or ground water;
there are some things such a life cannot grow.
We cannot take ourselves seriously if we cannot occasionally take ourselves lightly.
Laughter is an affirmation of God’s final triumph of the worst that can befall us.”
It is right that today we laugh and celebrate the joy of the Risen Christ.
It’s the Easter Laugh – the risus paschalis –
God’s gift for refreshing and renewing our souls.
it’s about deep-felt joy,
it’s about being extremely happy to be in the presence of the risen Christ,
it’s about celebrating God’s great surprise –
and if the devil doesn’t like it, he can sit on a tack.
Let’s have some fun.
Amen.
The congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, experienced this sermon during a worship service celebrating Holy Humor Sunday, April 15, 2012.
The congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, experienced this sermon during a worship service celebrating Holy Humor Sunday, April 15, 2012.
