ALLELUIA FROM HEAD TO FOOT

This year, for Holy Hilarity Sunday, I collected the following theological quotes and jokes and delivered them for my sermon. That's me in the HA dress below. Click here to see more pictures and video from that celebration.

"Christianity is a strangely cheery religion."

FLANNERY O'CONNOR

"God weeps with us (on Good Friday) so that we may some day laugh with Him (after Easter)."

JURGEN MOLTMANN

"In Nigeria, the name of God is 'Father of Laughter.'"

JOSPEH R. VENEROSO

"You have as much laughter 

as you have faith."

MARTIN LUTHER

"Humor is, in fact, the prelude to faith & laughter is the beginning of prayer."

REINHOLD NIEBUHR

"The world will never be converted to God until Christians cry less and laugh and sing more."

CHARLES SPURGEON

“Keep company with the more cheerful sort of the Godly; there is no mirth like the mirth of believers.”

RICHARD BAXTER

"From somber, serious sullen saints, save us, O Lord."

TERESA OF AVILA

"Walk cheerfully over the world."

GEORGE FOX

“The Christian should be an alleluia from head to foot.” 

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO 

"A good joke is the closest thing we have to divine revelation."

G.K. CHESTERTON

Q & A JOKES

Q: Why shouldn’t you tell an Easter egg a joke?

A: Because it might crack up!

Q:Why was the Easter Bunny so upset?

A:He was having a bad hare day!

Q: Did you hear the one about the fifty pound jelly bean?

A: It’s pretty hard to swallow.

Q: What did the pink rabbit say to the blue rabbit?

A: Cheer up!

Q: Why are people always tired in April?

A: Because they just finished a 31 day March

Q: Why did the apples in Noah's ark have any worms in them?

A: Because they all came in pears.

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NARRATIVE JOKES

A mother went shopping for an Easter pet for her little girl. She looked at a baby chick and a baby duck. They were both very cute, but she decided to buy the baby chick. Do you know why? The baby chick was a little cheeper!

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Joseph of Aramathea had a neighbor who just couldn’t understand why he had given his beautiful, hand-hewn tomb to the followers of Jesus to bury him there. “Why! Why would you do that?’ Dramatically asked the neighbor.

Joseph replied: “It's okay, he only needed it for the weekend.”

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A man and his nagging wife went on vacation to Jerusalem. While they were there, the wife died. The undertaker told the husband "I could ship your wife's body back home to be buried, but it will cost you $10,000. Instead, I could just bury her right here in the Holy Land and it will only cost you $100."

The husband thought about it for awhile, and then told him to just ship her back home. The undertaker was perplexed. "But it will cost you $10,000 to ship her back, why not just do it here?"

The husband replied: "I heard that a man died here once, was buried, and after three days, he rose from the dead. I just can't take that chance."

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God is talking to one of his angels. He says, "Boy, I just created a 24-hour period of alternating light and darkness on Earth." The angel says, "What are you going to do now?" God says, "Call it a day!”

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A Baptist and an Lutheran were discussing religion. The Baptist started off, "Do you mean to tell me you really believe in infant baptism?" The Lutheran replied, "Believe in it? I've seen it!"

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Ole is the Pastor of the local Norwegian 

Lutheran Church and Pastor Sven is the minister of the Swedish Covenant Church across the road. One day they are seen pounding a sign into the ground, which said:

DA END ISS NEAR! 

TURN YERSELF AROUNT NOW 

BAFOR IT ISS TOO LATE! 

As a car speeds past them, the driver leans out his window and yells, "Leave people alone, you Skandihoovian religious nuts!" 

From the curve they heard screeching 

tires and a big splash. 

Shakin' his head, Rev. Ole says "Dat's da terd one dis mornin'." 

"Yaa," 

Pastor Sven agrees, then asks, "Do ya tink maybe da sign should yust say, “Bridge ISS Out?'"

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A trucker goes to church every Sunday, no matter where he is. He is in Illinois when he spots a golden telephone on the vestibule wall and was intrigued with a sign which read "$10,000 a minute." Seeking out the pastor he asked about the phone.  The pastor answered that this golden phone is, in fact, a direct line to Heaven and if he pays the price he can talk directly to God.  The man thanked the pastor and continued on his way. As he continued to visit churches in Missouri, Minnesota, California, New York, and all around the United States, he found more phones, with the same sign reading “$10,000 a minute” and got the same answer from each pastor. 

Finally, he arrives in Lansing, Iowa Upon entering a church, behold, he saw the usual golden telephone. But THIS time, the sign read "Calls: 25 cents." 

Fascinated, he asks to talk to the pastor. "Reverend, I have been in cities all across the country and in each church, I have found this golden telephone and have been told it is a direct line to Heaven and that I could talk to God, but, in the other churches the cost was $10,000 a minute. Your sign reads 25 cents a call. Why?" 

The pastor, smiling, replied,"Your in Lansing now. This is God's country... it's a local call."

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KNOCK KNOCK JOKES

Knock Knock

who's there?

Cash

Cash who?

no thank you. I prefer walnuts!

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Amish

Amish who?

Well you certainly don't look like a shoe.

Knock Knock.

Who's there?

There's a chicken...

There's a chicken Who?

There's a chick in the egg. Come on, it’s Easter.

Knock Knock.

Who's there?

Interrupting cow.

Interrupting...MOOOOO!

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"A church is in a bad way

when it banishes laughter from the sanctuary."

HELMUT THIELICKE

"When you laugh, aside from the endorphin rush, there’s also a spiritual opening. You’re not so tight inside yourself. That opening I’ve found to be a real gift, in people being able to absorb spirituality."

 RABBI SYDNEY MINTZ

"A good laugh heals a lot of hurts."

MADELEINE L'ENGLE

“For God so loved the world that He gave his only son so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have EVER-LAUGHING life.”

—A five year old’s version of John 3:16

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May we live an ever-laughing life, my friends, and be an Alleluia from head to foot!

THE BANANA PEEL OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

A Sermon for Holy Hilarity Sunday
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."

May you live as joyful resurrection people today and every day. Christ is risen, indeed! ha ha ha!


© 2009 Laura Gentry

HE HE HE HE IS RISEN!

A Sermon for Holy Hilarity Sunday
March 30, 2008
by Pastor Laura Gentry

John 20:19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. (NRSV)


Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Here we are on our second annual Holy Hilarity Sunday! I thank you for indulging me and assume you enjoy these silly celebrations as much as I do.



Easter, as we’ve said, is God’s great joke on death. Now the thing that makes a joke funny is that there is something unexpected that catches us off-guard. By this definition, resurrection is comic. The people who originally witnessed it were not expecting Jesus to be risen. Oh, he’d told them that he would be rising but they thought it was a more of a spiritual metaphor than something this outrageously real! Here he is, alive again! He beat sin and death, isn’t that funny?

You could go so far as to claim that the empty tomb is the "banana peel" of the Christian faith. Easter is the cosmic pratfall as God pulled the rug out from under the powers of darkness and death by the resurrection.

So this celebration of Eater with humor isn’t so strange after all. In fact, there is evidence that post-Easter lightheartedness is part of our Christian heritage. Even Martin Luther was a fabulous laugher. He once said, “If you’re not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don’t want to go there.”



So for this laughing celebration, I have some new Easter jokes and funnies for you.

This was sent to be by Bob Grover. It is entitled: “Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from the Easter Bunny” and I will give you a few of the highlights.



• Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
• Walk softly and carry a big carrot.
• Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.
• Keep your paws off other people's jellybeans.
• Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.
• Some body parts should be floppy.
__________________________________________



Here are some other fun jokes:

Good Idea: Finding Easter eggs on Easter.
Bad Idea: Finding Easter eggs on Xmas.
__________________________________________

The problem: How to get two pounds of chocolate Easter candy home from the store in a hot car.
The solution: Eat it in the parking lot.
__________________________________________

This one is a picture and if you haven’t seen it, you can imagine it. One chocolate Easter bunny has a bite taken right out of his back side. He complains to his fellow chocolate bunny, “My butt hurts.” But the other one’s ears have been bitten off so he says, “What?”
__________________________________________



Secret Service
A man was heading out of church on Easter morning. The pastor greeted him at the door, then pulled him aside and said to the man: "You need to join the Army of the Lord!"

“But Pastor, I'm already in the Army of the Lord!” he said emphatically.

Pastor questioned, "How come I don't see you except at Christmas and Easter?"

He leaned in and whispered, "I'm in the secret service!"


__________________________________________

Post-Resurrection Visit
It cannot be found in the scriptures, but one story has it that upon his resurrection, the Lord appeared to a certain fisherman.

"I am Jesus - My death has saved all who do or will believe, and I am returned to show the Father's love and power.

"No, you're not Jesus, so bug off, you're scaring all the fish," answered the old fisherman.

"I see thou are full of doubt. What would thee have me do to show who I am?"

"Walk across the river," he tells Jesus.
So Jesus starts walking across the river. Next thing, he sinks and disappears under the water. After he swims back to shore, the old man says to him,

"There you are, see, you're not Jesus, you can't walk across water"

Jesus responds, "Well, I used to be able to do it until I got these darned holes in my feet!"


_________________________________________

Top Ten Reasons to Celebrate Easter
10. You absolutely love the movie, "The Ten Commandments".
9. You look really, really good in yellow.
8. You just went on a low cholesterol diet and didn't want to waste all those eggs in the fridge.
7. You figure any Holiday that starts with a "Good Friday" can't be all bad.
6. You love to bite the heads off chocolate bunnies.
5. It's a good time to check out your neighborhood church and not be noticed.
4. You have this bunny suit you love to wear, but are too insecure to wear it without a reason.
3. Even though you don't know what it is, you really like the sound of going to a "Passion Play."
2. You figured since Jesus went to all THAT trouble to make it to the first Easter, you'd give it a shot.
1. As a Christian you celebrate the resurrection every Sunday, why not Easter too?
_________________________________________



This morning, we heard the story of doubting Thomas. Poor Thomas, though he went on to do such good work, we always think of him as Mr. Doubtful. The other disciples have seen the risen Christ and so they believe. But they tell Thomas and since he wasn’t there, he just won’t believe that Christ is risen. He tells them: "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

Perhaps Thomas' real problem was that he was so devastated by what had happened that he could not see the wonderful reversal that God has accomplished in the resurrection. He was blind to the miraculous power of God. Even his friends shiny, happy faces could not convince him. Thomas could not connect to their joy.

No doubt there are some of you here today in the same boat. Life has dealt some crushing blows — financial struggles, loss of loved ones, insurmountable problems, diseases, depression, the list goes on and on. We so desperately want to be Easter people but at times, our lives look a lot more like Good Friday. Hope seems to have dried up and our joy is no where to be found.

The message of the story of Thomas is: open your eyes! You might not see it at first, you might doubt it, but the resurrection is real! The resurrection if for you! Celebrate! Go ahead and laugh!

We need this reminder so much. Life can be so hard and we can get so down that we forget which way is up. And then along comes Holy Hilarity Sunday and we are given the chance to have laughter and light-heartedness, for comedy and silliness. We can throw our hearts into celebrating the victory of the resurrection. The psalmist says that God "sits in the heavens and laughs," and I believe God invites us to do join in the heavenly laughter. God wants us to live in the joy of the Lord.



So here’s one last joke for you.

A man was blissfully driving along the highway, when he saw the Easter  Bunny hopping across the middle of the road. He swerved to avoid hitting the bunny, but unfortunately the rabbit jumped in front of his car
and was hit. The basket of eggs went flying all over the place. Candy,  too.
 
The driver, being a sensitive man as well as an animal lover, pulled over to the side of the road, and got out to see what had become of the bunny carrying the basket. Much to his dismay, the Easter Bunny was dead!



The driver felt guilty and began to cry.  A woman driving down the same highway saw the man crying on the side of the road and pulled over. She stepped out of her car and asked the man what was wrong.
 
 "I feel terrible," he explained, "I accidentally hit the Easter Bunny and killed it. What should I do?"
 
The woman told the man not to worry. She knew exactly what to do. She went to her car trunk, and pulled out a spray can. She walked over to the limp, dead bunny, and sprayed the entire contents of the can onto the little furry animal.
 
Miraculously the Easter Bunny came to back life, jumped up, picked up the spilled eggs and candy, waved its paw at the two humans and hopped on down the road. 50 yards away the Easter Bunny stopped, turned around, waved and hopped on down the road another 50 yards, turned,  waved, hopped  another 50 yards and waved again!!!!



 
The man was astonished. He said to the woman, "What in heaven's name is in your spray can?" The woman turned the can around so that the man
could read the label.  It said:
 
"Hair spray. Restores life to dead hair. Adds permanent wave."

Happy Holy Humor Sunday! Be joyful. Let us never live another day as if Jesus were dead. Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed, so let’s laugh! Amen.

 
 
© 2008 Laura Gentry

HOLY HILARITY SUNDAY

A Sermon for the Second Sunday of Easter
April 15, 2007
by Pastor Laura Gentry

John 20:19-31
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.(New Revised Standard Version)

Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

Easter is God’s great joke on death. What is a joke? It is something that turns the tables on the expected, something that hinges on the unpredictable. The resurrection is comedy of the best sort, the unexpected reversal of expectations. What a wonderful surprise—Jesus isn’t dead as we expected! He is alive!!!

In fact. some have said that the empty tomb is the "banana peel" of the Christian faith. Easter is the cosmic pratfall as God pulled the rug out from under the powers of darkness and death by the resurrection.

We can imagine God laughing out loud on Easter morning. And we can laugh too! We can laugh at all the things that try to hold us back, to snuff out our joy, we can even look death in the face now...and laugh! Because it has no sting, no power over us any more.

Church historians tell us that there is considerable evidence that during the early centuries of Christianity, Easter celebrations went on for days and even weeks. And the tradition of Holy Hilarity Sunday, of post-Easter lightheartedness, goes back a very long way, and is especially rooted in the religious life of Eastern Europe.

Saint Paul wrote that we should all be "fools for Christ." The cross is foolishness to those who do not believe; it is salvation, hope, love, and joy to those who do. Some have argued that April Fool’s Day should really be included in our church liturgical calendar! How fun to know that we can be fools for Christ.

St. Francis of Assisi advised many years ago: "Leave sadness to the devil. The devil has reason to be sad." We don’t! And G.K. Chesterton wrote: "Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly!” So, let's fly around with the angels for a moment by way of some levity!

Now, you’ve probably seen the funny church bulletin bloopers like: "the peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict," or "The senior choir invites any member of the congregation who enjoys sinning to join the choir."

Now my favorite Easter joke. Perhaps you’ve heard me tell this one before. If so, please bear with me and laugh loudly at the end.

Three blonds die and arrive at the gate of heaven. Saint Peter meets them at the gate and tells them they’d be allowed in if they can just answer this question: what is Easter all about?

The first blond quickly answers, “I know, I know, it’s when we all eat turkey and cranberry sauce!”

I’m afraid not, says Saint Peter, looking sad.

“Well, I know what it is about,” chimes the second blond. “It’s when you open presents around a decorated fir tree and sing carols and eat cookies.

“No, I’m afraid that’s not it either,” replies Peter, his head downcast.

Finally, the third blond steps forward and says confidently, “Easter comes at the same time as the Hebrew holy day of Passover. The Roman Soldiers crucified Jesus after mocking him and putting a crown of thorns on his head. He was buried in a cave and a large stone was placed over the entrance.”

St. Peter smiles approvingly, nodding in spite of himself.
She continues, “And then, once a year, they roll the stone away and Jesus pops out and if he sees his shadow, we’ll have six more weeks of winter!”

And then, of course, we have some Easter egg jokes:

Q: Why shouldn’t you tell an Easter egg a joke?
A: Because it might crack up!

Q: Why did the Easter egg hide?
A: He was a little chicken

And some Easter bunny jokes:

Q: What is the best way to send the Easter bunny messages?
A: hair mail

Q: What do you call rabbits that marched in a long sweltering Easter parade?
A: Hot, cross bunnies.

Q: What do you call ten rabbits marching backwards?
A: a receding hareline.

Q: What is the difference between an irate rabbit and a counterfeit bank note?
A: One is bad money and the other is a mad bunny!

There’s a one-liner about the Easter story. A neighbor asked Joseph of Arimathea why he gave his beautiful hand-hewn tomb to the followers of Jesus to bury him there. Joseph replied, "Well, he only needed it for the weekend."

Then there are true stories to make us laugh. One pastor recalls a time he as trying to get his congregation excited about Easter and so he invited everyone to sing and shout out whatever would make them joyful such as "Praise the Lord!" or "Thanks be to God!" One small boy had his own prescription for joy; he yelled right out, "I want to go home."

Another story goes that a pastor’s wife wanted to impress her husband by teaching their children to respond to the Easter cry of “Christ is Risen!” by saying “He is risen, indeed!” But her young son got so excited that Easter morning, he ran into his parents room, shouting “ Daddy, daddy, God’s back!”

This morning, we heard the story of doubting Thomas. Poor Thomas, though he went on to do such good work, we always think of him as Mr. Doubtful. The other disciples have seen the risen Christ and so they believe. But they tell Thomas and since he wasn’t there, he just won’t believe that Christ is risen. He tells them: "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

Perhaps Thomas' real problem was that he was so devastated by what had happened that he could not see the wonderful reversal that God has accomplished in the resurrection. He was blind to the miraculous power of God. Even his friends shiny, happy faces could not convince him. Thomas could not connect to their joy.

No doubt there are some of you here today in the same boat. Life has dealt some crushing blows — financial struggles, loss of loved ones, insurmountable problems, diseases, depression, the list goes on and on. We so desperately want to be Easter people we look around and at times, it looks a lot more like Good Friday. Hope seems to have dried up and our joy is no where to be found.

The message of the story of Thomas is: open your eyes! You might not see it at first, you might doubt it, but the resurrection is real! The resurrection if for you! Celebrate! Go ahead and laugh!

We need this reminder so much. Life can be so hard and we can get so down that we forget which way is up. And then along comes Holy Hilarity Sunday and we are given the chance to have laughter and light-heartedness, for comedy and silliness. We can throw our hearts into celebrating the victory of the resurrection. The psalmist says that God "sits in the heavens and laughs," and I believe God invites us to do join in the heavenly laughter. God wants us to have joy.

So here’s one more bit of Holy Humor to close my sermon. It was following the resurrection and disciples were still scattered about Jerusalem and the surrounding villages. John finds Peter and runs up to him. Excitedly he says, "Peter, Peter! I've got some good news and some bad news."

Peter takes hold of John and calms him down. "Take it easy, John. What is it? What's the good news?"

John says, "The good news is Christ is risen."

Peter says, "That's great! But, what's the bad news?"

John, looking around, says, "He's really steamed about last Friday."

Happy Holy Humor Sunday! Be joyful. Let us never live another day as if Jesus were dead. Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed, so let’s laugh! Amen.

Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

© Laura E. Gentry 2007