Clergy from left, The Rev. Mary Ann Hill, Pastor Nicolé Ferry, Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, retired, Associate Priest Lynn Finnegan and Pastor Deb Church. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com
By LYNN FINNEGAN
Associate Priest
The Episcopal Church of the Holy Faith
Santa Fe
“Then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue with shouts of joy.” Psalm 126:2
“Humor is a prelude to faith, and laughter is the beginning of prayer.” Theologian Reinhold Niebuhr
Easter, despite the reduced-price candy sales at Smith’s, is not over. Easter is a season, not a day, and it lasts fifty days. “Seasons” in a church year help us celebrate and understand more fully the entire mystery of Jesus Christ, from birth, life, death, and resurrection on through ascension and the promise of his glorious return. During the fifty days of Easter, our hymns are filled with jubilant alleluias and the scripture passages focus on Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances. The day after Easter Sunday is (appropriately named) Easter Monday, which we in the Western Church just celebrated last week.
Easter Monday holds the additional distinction of being referred to as Risus Paschalis—Easter Laugh. Early churches gathered on the Monday after Resurrection Sunday to tell jokes and funny stories. Their joke-telling and laughter was in celebration of Jesus’ triumph of life over death. God, some theologians taught, played the ultimate joke on the devil by letting him kill Jesus, only to then raise Jesus back to life on the third day. Ha! Ha! to you Satan! As St. Paul taunted in one of his letters, “Where, O Death, is your sting?”
During the Middle Ages, the custom evolved and it became common for priests to tell jokes and amusing stories on Easter Sunday. Joy on Easter is never a bad idea! Unfortunately, congregations are tough audiences. Over time some priests told increasingly risqué stories to elicit laughter, the jokes told became crude, and the sermons included obscene hand gestures and animal noises. In the 1700s, Pope Clement X banned the practice in response to the abuses that arose.
Ribald humor and somewhat suspect theology aside, the celebration of Easter and Jesus’ resurrection does stir in us laughter and rejoicing. Churches today include joyful music and jubilant Alleluias! in their services. Some observe the Easter Laugh by including (family friendly) humorous anecdotes in their Easter Sunday sermons. Others emphasize laughter on the second Sunday of Easter (this year April 8th), sometimes called Holy Humor or Hilarity Sunday. Bring it on! The power of the Easter message is persistent hope and joy, even amid uncertainty. As Easter people, we have the opportunity to proclaim with our hands, feet, hearts, and LAUGHTER, that persistent hope.
Need an Easter Laugh? Here’s one, courtesy of the Internet:
Jesus and the devil were arguing over who had superior computer programming skills. A contest was held, with God as the judge. Each bragged as they speedily typed away. Suddenly, the power went out and their screens went completely black. After a few moments, power was restored. The devil was beside himself with rage. “I have nothing!” he cried. “I lost it all when the power went out.” Jesus then entered a command on his keyboard, and voila! the screen came to life in vivid display, all his programming intact. “What!” the devil screamed at God. “How did he do that?” God smiled, all-knowingly, “Jesus saves.”
Editor’s note: ‘All Shall Be Well’ is a column written by local women clergy including ELCA Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, M.Div., retired (czoebidd@gmail.com); Pastor Nicolé Ferry, Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church (pastornicole@bethluth.com); Associate Priest Lynn Finnegan, The Episcopal Church of the Holy Faith, Santa Fe (rev.lynn@holyfaithchurchsf.org); Pastor Deb Church, White Rock Presbyterian Church (pastor@wrpchurch.com) and The Rev. Mary Ann Hill, Rector, Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Church (momaryannhill@gmail.com).
