Holy Humor Sunday
(a.k.a. 2nd Sunday of Easter)
April 8, 2018
John 20:19-31
I had a lot of fun doing research for today. It’s not
every day when you get to look up jokes to use in worship! And, actually, it
made me wish I’d been celebrating Holy Humor Sunday every year that I’ve been a
pastor, instead of only learning about it now. I’d have had a lot more fun on
the first Sunday after Easter for the past seven years, and I think those
congregations would have enjoyed it, too! I did know that the Easter season,
which lasts for 50 days, is supposed to be a time of joy, and my second year
pastoring instead of a Lenten bible study, I led an Easter bible study and we
used the book that had recently come out called “Between Heaven and Mirth: Why
Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life,” by Father
James Martin, a Jesuit priest. We had a lot of fun with that study, sharing
jokes and favorite funny movies, while also gaining a solid understanding of
why joy and humor are essential parts of faith.
This morning’s Gospel reading is a familiar one to many
of us. After the resurrection and the early morning in the garden, Jesus
appears to his disciples, who are overjoyed
when they see him! They’d been hiding behind locked doors, hunkered down in
fear, and then Jesus shows up! Their joy knows no bounds. But, Thomas isn’t
with them, and he refuses to be taken in by this story. So, a week later, again
the disciples are hunkered down behind locked doors, this time Thomas is there,
and again, Jesus shows up. Thomas responds with worship, “My Lord and my God!”
And you can imagine Thomas in a reverent posture, now with his heart at peace.
Do you think, later on, in retelling the story, Thomas could laugh at himself?
“Yeah, I was really skeptical. I thought those guys were pulling my leg. But it
turned out the joke was on me! Jesus really was alive!” “And, oh, the joy that
flooded his soul.”[1] Yet
note what happens next. John, the author, makes a little aside note to the
reader, saying, “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his
disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you
may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing
you may have life in his name.”[2]
These things are written so that you may have life. Earlier in John’s Gospel,
Jesus has already said, “I came that you may have life and have it to the
full.”[3]
Other versions say “have it abundantly,” or “live life to the fullest.” Take a
minute and think about what an abundant life or a full life means. What do you
imagine? A harvest overflowing? Joy, peace, love, goodness, patience, kindness,
and all the other fruits of the Spirit?
A few years ago at a conference I met a colleague who
serves in the North Georgia Annual Conference. He’s around my age, has three
kids, and was in the middle of a doctorate program at the time, in addition to
serving a church and occasionally speaking at conferences like the one I was
at. I commented to him on how busy his life must be. He replied back that it
was full. There is a difference between a busy life and a full life. A busy life
is busyness for the sake of being busy, or because you’re expected to be, or
because that’s what makes you look good, or because you don’t know how not to
be. Especially in the D.C./Maryland area, there are A LOT of busy people. I
think a full life, however, is a
little different, even though it may not appear that way on the surface. A full
life keeps God at the center, rather than the idol of busyness. A full life has
more joy than anxiety. A full life can still be quite active and involved, yet
comes from a place of peace rather than one of stress. Something I once heard
is that we are to work from rest rather than rest from work. And when we
studied the Mary and Martha passage in bible study this past week, that came up
again. They’re the sisters Jesus goes to visit. Martha gets caught up in all
the preparations and work, while Mary sits at Jesus’ feet. Martha complains and
asks Jesus to tell her sister to help her. And Jesus replies that Mary has chosen
what is better, and it won’t be taken from her.[4]
Begin with rest. Begin with time with Jesus. Then go to work. That’s the
framework for a full life. And a full life has those fruits of the Spirit,
which may or may not be in a busy life. If you’re trying to move from a busy
life to a full life, then joy, laughter, and a sense of humor will certainly
help.
First, it really helps to be able to laugh at yourself.
Don’t take yourself or your work or the church too seriously. There are some
things when you can’t laugh at the time, but you know you’ll laugh about them
later. One of my first thoughts when I clunked my head here a couple weeks ago
was that if I have a scar, it’s going to look like Harry Potter’s. Other things
you have to laugh, because the other option is to cry, like having snow in
April. I’d rather laugh at the absurdity of the weather than feel frustrated
that the weather hasn’t warmed up yet. The author G.K. Chesterton once said
that “angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.” And even many of
the saints throughout time could easily laugh at themselves. Or think about the
saying, “laughter is the best medicine.” That’s because it decreases those
stress hormones and strengthens your immune system. It relaxes you. And when
you’ve got a busy life, you need things that lighten the stress and tension.
Did you know that we’re naturally drawn to happy people?
Think about it, when you’re choosing a check-out lane at the grocery store, are
you going to walk about to the cashier who’s grumpy or the one who has a smile
on their face? We’re attracted to joyful people. And the reason why we’re drawn
to joy is because we’re drawn to God. God
is the source of all joy. The disciples hiding in the upper room knew that.
That’s why they were overjoyed when Jesus appeared in their presence. “Joy is
the surest sign of God’s presence.”[5]
Consider all the times and places you find joy and delight. In the garden. With
your children or grandchildren. With pets. A project turning out just right.
Joy is a sure sign that God is there, too.
The
problem is that unfortunately, suffering is linked to our faith journey far
more often than joy is. Church attendance swelled after 9/11. Many of us have a
story about a journey through the valley of the shadow of death and meeting God
there. Yet God not only meets us there, God also meets us in joy and laughter
and humor. We are quick to take the credit when something goes right, often
forgetting that it was God who gave us those skills and talents and gifts. The
truth is that joy and humor build a more lasting and healthier community than
suffering and despair do. Instead of the grocery store example, think about our
front door here. If our ushers and greeters are squabbling and complaining,
even lifelong members are not going to have a good feeling coming in to
worship. But joy and humor welcome and attract and build up the body. They show
hospitality. They show friendliness. Remember, we’re not talking about biting
sarcasm or laughing at someone; we’re talking about a welcoming laugh, a joke
that makes the other person smile and brightens their day.
A
full life includes joy and laughter. John wrote these things so that you may
have life in Jesus’ name, eternal life. Who wants an eternal life that’s
miserable?! However it is that you picture heaven, it probably includes joy. As
we catch glimpses of heaven on earth, as we pray and work toward God’s kingdom
come, it’s going to include joy and peace and goodness and those other fruits
of the Spirit. A full life, a life that honors God, is going to include those
things as well. So cultivate them, be intentional about seeking joy, creating
joy, finding reasons to laugh, and engage your sense of humor. It’ll keep you healthier, not just physically
but emotionally and spiritually, too.
One more thought to leave you with as you consider how to
cultivate joy and laughter and humor in your life. There’s another place in
John’s Gospel where Jesus talks about joy. He says, “I have told you this so
that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”[6]
The “this” that Jesus is referring to is his command to “Love one another just
as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down your life
for your friends.”[7]
Love one another just as Jesus loves you so that you may know his joy and your joy may be complete. This is also what Paul says as he begins
the section on the fruits of the Spirit. Before he compares the two different
ways of living, living according to the Spirit versus living according to your
own selfish motives, Paul writes, “You were called to freedom, brothers and
sisters; only don’t let this freedom be an opportunity to indulge your selfish
impulses, but serve each other through love. All the Law has been fulfilled in
a single statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.”[8]
Loving your neighbor as yourself, loving one another just as Jesus has loved us
leads us to that life of joy and peace, that full and abundant life that Jesus
came to offer us. Jesus didn’t come just so that you could have a life of mere
existence; Jesus came that you might have a full life. That you might have joy.
That you might be able to laugh at whatever life throws your way, whether it’s
snow in April or whatever other ridiculous thing has happened this week. Laughing
has just as much to do with God as crying. Thanks be to God.
[1]
“He Touched Me”, UMH ?
[2]
John 20:30-31
[3]
John 10:10
[4] Luke
10:42
[5] Between Heaven and Mirth, p. 15
[6]
John 15:11
[7]
John 15:12-13
[8]
Galatians 5:13-14, CEB
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