by Pastor Laura Gentry
Ha ha ha! Christ is risen! Christ is risen, indeed! Ha ha ha!
Happy Holy Hilarity Sunday—the fun Sunday where we get to wear silly costumes and enjoy some laughs in church. Why? Because the early church found humor an appropriate way to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. It’s God’s great joke on the devil. Oh yes, the devil thought he’d won and Christ was dead but three days later...ha ha ha! He is risen! It’s the unexpected ending that really makes it funny. Some call the resurrection the banana peel of the Christian faith, the cosmic pratfall. Yes, with the resurrection, God has the last laugh.
And we can laugh, too, because the joy of the Lord is our strength. Laughter is a holy thing that really helps us embody the exciting reality that Jesus is risen from the dead now death has no more sting. We can laugh in the face of death, fully confident in the power of God. Ha ha ha!So here’s this year’s set of thoroughly researched Holy Hilarity jokes. First, we begin with the knock knock jokes. You’ve got to play along.
Knock,knock.Who’s there?
Ether
Ether who?
Ether bunny.
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Juan
Juan who?
Juan more ether bunny.
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Samoa
Samoa who?
Samoa Ether Bunnies.
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Dewey
Dewey who?
Dewey have to listen to any more ether bunny jokes?
Now, on to the question and answer jokes. I’ll ask the question and you’ll say, “I don’t know!” and then I’ll give you the punch line. Go ahead and groan if you need to.
Q. Where do Easter Bunnies go for new tails?
A. To the retail store.
Q. Do you know how to find the Easter bunny if he was lost?
A. Make a noise like a carrot; he’ll find you.
Q. What’s the best way to catch a unique rabbit?
A. You ‘nique up on him.
Q. How do you catch a tame rabbit?A. Tame way, unique up on it.
Q. What did the bunny say when he only had thistles to eat?
A. Thistle have to do!
Q: What did the rabbit say to the carrot?
A: It’s been nice gnawing you.
Q. What is a rabbit’s favorite dance?
A. The Bunny Hop, of course.
Q. What does the Easter Rabbit get for making a basket?
A. Two points just like everybody!
Q: What do you call the Easter Bunny the Monday after Easter?
A: Tired.
Now on to some story jokes.
The Ten Commandments
A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds. After explaining the commandment to "honor thy father and thy mother," she asked,"Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?"
Without missing a beat one little boy answered, "Thou shall not kill."
Painting the church
A contractor was hired to paint a church and he began the job strong. But soon he realized he wasn’t going to have enough to finish the job. Not wanting to spend any more money on supplies, he simply added some water to the paint. Thing were going well but then he realized he was going to need to water it down even further. By the time he got to the end, the paint was almost entirely water. Just then, a big rain cloud burst out with rain. The whole church began to run. The paint was dripping, dripping down the side of the church and it looked horrible.
In anguish, the contractor suddenly got religious. He looked up to heaven and said, “Oh Lord, this paint job is all botched. Now what shall I do?”
A voice thundered out from heaven with this advise: "Repaint, repaint, and thin no more!"
The Nursery
Once I was at a church and I noticed that they had a nice plaque on a door in the Sunday School area. It that had 1 Corinthians 15:51 on it, which reads: "Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed." I didn’t think anything of it until I opened the door and realized the significance of the verse—it was on the door leading to the church nursery.
Out Of Gas
A nun who works for a local home health care agency was out making her rounds when she ran out of gas. Now there was a station just down the street so she walked to the station to borrow a can with enough gas to start the car and drive to the station for a fill up.
The attendant regretfully told her that the only can he owned had just been loaned out.Since the nun was desperate to see the patient she went back to her car and looked for something to carry to the station to fill with gas. She spotted the bedpan she was taking to the patient. Always resourceful, she carried it to the station, filled it with gasoline, and carried it back to her car.
As she was pouring the gas into the tank of her car two men walked by. One of them turned to the other and said: "Now that is what I call faith!"
God’s Workmanship
A little girl was sitting on her grandfather’s lap as he read her a bedtime story.
From time to time, she would take her eyes off the book and reach up to touch his wrinkled cheek. She was alternately stroking her own cheek, then his again.
Finally she spoke up, “Grandpa, did God make you?”
“Yes, sweetheart,” he answered, “God made me a long time ago.”“Oh,” she paused, “Grandpa, did God make me too?”
“Yes, indeed, honey,” he said, “God made you just a little while ago.”
Feeling their respective faces again, she observed, “God’s getting better at it, isn’t he?”
Laughing for the Joy of the Lord
Now we are going to practice laughing with the joy of the Lord. I am going to read you happy Bible verses and you will respond by throwing your hands into the air and doing a full belly laugh. Ready?
Psalm 98:4: Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
Psalm 2:4: God, who sits in heaven, laughs!
Psalm 30:11: You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.
Isaiah 55:12: You shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and hills before you shall burst into song, and the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Psalm 126:2: Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, the Lord has done great things for them.
Proverbs 17:22: A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.
John 15:11: “I have said these things to you,” Jesus said to his disciples, “so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”
Luke 6:21: Jesus said, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh!”
1 Peter 1:8: Although you have not seen Jesus, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy.
Ha ha ha! Christ is risen! Christ is risen, indeed! Ha ha ha!
Okay, one final joke...
What is Easter?
Three sillies die in a freak banana peel accident and arrive at the pearly gates of heaven. St. Peter tells them that they can enter the gates if they can answer one simple question:"WHAT IS EASTER?"
The first silly is eager to respond. He says: "Oh, that's easy, it's the holiday in November when everybody gets together, eats turkey, and is thankful..."
"No!," replies St. Peter, and proceeds to ask the second silly the same question, "WHAT IS EASTER?"
The second silly replies, "Easter is the holiday in December when we put up a nice fir tree, exchange presents, and celebrate the birth of Jesus."
St. Peter shakes his head in disgust, “Can’t anyone get this simple question?” So he poses it to the third silly: "WHAT IS EASTER?"
Now this silly is very confident. He says: "I know what Easter is. Easter is the Christian holiday that coincides with the Jewish celebration of Passover. Jesus and his disciples were eating at the last supper and but he was betrayed by one of his own disciples so the Romans came and arrested him. They flogged him and made him wear a crown of thorns. They crucified him between two criminals with a sign over his head that read 'the king of the Jews' and when he died, there was a great earthquake and the curtain in the temple was ripped in two. The centurion who saw it said, 'surely this was the son of God.' Then his followers buried his body in a cave tomb and they rolled a huge stone over the entrance to seal it.”
Saint Peter can hardly contain himself, he nods his head and approvingly says, “Yes, yes!”
But then the silly continues: “And every year the stone is rolled aside and Jesus pops out, and if he sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of winter."
Psalm 98:4: Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
Psalm 2:4: God, who sits in heaven, laughs!
Psalm 30:11: You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.
Isaiah 55:12: You shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and hills before you shall burst into song, and the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Psalm 126:2: Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, the Lord has done great things for them.
Proverbs 17:22: A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.
John 15:11: “I have said these things to you,” Jesus said to his disciples, “so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”
Luke 6:21: Jesus said, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh!”
1 Peter 1:8: Although you have not seen Jesus, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy.
Ha ha ha! Christ is risen! Christ is risen, indeed! Ha ha ha!
Okay, one final joke...
What is Easter?
Three sillies die in a freak banana peel accident and arrive at the pearly gates of heaven. St. Peter tells them that they can enter the gates if they can answer one simple question:"WHAT IS EASTER?"
The first silly is eager to respond. He says: "Oh, that's easy, it's the holiday in November when everybody gets together, eats turkey, and is thankful..."
"No!," replies St. Peter, and proceeds to ask the second silly the same question, "WHAT IS EASTER?"
The second silly replies, "Easter is the holiday in December when we put up a nice fir tree, exchange presents, and celebrate the birth of Jesus."
St. Peter shakes his head in disgust, “Can’t anyone get this simple question?” So he poses it to the third silly: "WHAT IS EASTER?"
Now this silly is very confident. He says: "I know what Easter is. Easter is the Christian holiday that coincides with the Jewish celebration of Passover. Jesus and his disciples were eating at the last supper and but he was betrayed by one of his own disciples so the Romans came and arrested him. They flogged him and made him wear a crown of thorns. They crucified him between two criminals with a sign over his head that read 'the king of the Jews' and when he died, there was a great earthquake and the curtain in the temple was ripped in two. The centurion who saw it said, 'surely this was the son of God.' Then his followers buried his body in a cave tomb and they rolled a huge stone over the entrance to seal it.”
Saint Peter can hardly contain himself, he nods his head and approvingly says, “Yes, yes!”
But then the silly continues: “And every year the stone is rolled aside and Jesus pops out, and if he sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of winter."
May you live as joyful resurrection people today and every day. Christ is risen, indeed! ha ha ha!
© 2009 Laura Gentry
© 2009 Laura Gentry
No comments:
Post a Comment