I'm hoping to counteract the traditional 'Low Sunday' expectation of this Sun. after
Easter and call it "Laughter Sunday," because God gets the last laugh on
sin/death/evil. This passage makes the best connection, with its encouragement to rejoice
in spite of everything we see and experience here in this life.
The idea is to fill the service with laughter and joyful/playful music. I've even told
folks they can come ready to tell their favorite harmless religious jokes. Apparently, the
Orthodox Church has an old tradition of gathering informally the day after Easter to tell
funny stories. Any ideas for liturgy, music, sermon along these lines? Thanks and have a
joyful Easter season! Rebecca in MD
Rebecca, "Lord of the Dance" would seem to be a good fit for your service. I
like the "Last Laugh" idea. I want to explore the idea "You love him
although you have not seen him, and you believe in him, although you do not now see
him" I Peter 1:8, especially in light of Jesus' words in John,"How happy are
those who believe without seeing me!" John 20:29(TEV) The TEV version goes on in vs.9
of I Peter 1, "So you rejoice wiith a great and glorious joy which words cannot
express!" What a wonderful phrase, "great and glorious joy". MS in NE
Rebecca, MD, I wish I had read your idea sooner so we could have announced it at the
Easter service! Thanks for giving us a new tradition. So much of what Jesus said (which is
now read from pulpits with lugubrious solemnity) was riotously funny. We only pick up the
most obvious ones, like the poor camel trying to squeeze through the eye of the needle.
When Africans get together here they often say they can't even translate all the funny
things they are laughing at because we don't have the language to convey their humor. Anne
in Providence
Hi, Rebecca in MD. I've been getting lots of goodies from this sight for several weeks
now, and had not given in return. This may be obvious, but "The Joy Of The Lord Is My
Strength" is a good, happy chorus, especially the verse where you simply sing
"ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha...etc." Hope your Sunday is laughter-filled rather than low!
Sam in Miami
I remember reading (ok, so I can't remember where) that this Sunday was referred to as
Quasi Moto (spelling) Sunday. I think I may have heard this while watching the Hunchback
of Notre Dame special last year.
This passage is full of "what's yet to come." Somehow I see Monte Hall
shouting at the last trump..."And now, what's behind curtain number 3!!!"
There was a great story floating around the web about a woman asking to be buried with
a fork in her hand...Homiletics magazine uses it for this Sunday. It's a great story.
Embellish it anyway you want but the jist of the story revolves around the time at a meal
when the host/hostess says..."please keep your fork." Something better than
jello was coming for dessert. It was this woman's way of testifying that something better
was coming for her.
John near Pitts.
Thanks for the input, folks! I'm really enjoying planning this Sunday. I announced on
Easter that before the service begins, we'd have 'open mike' and good clean, harmless
religious jokes will be welcomed.
I did a devotion once on laughter, using Abraham & Sarah's comedy of errors. I got
some wonderful phrases, maybe from Buechner's "Telling the Truth: the Gospel as
Tragedy, Comedy & Fairy Tale." Of their waiting for fulfillment of God's
promises, "the years rolled by like empty baby carriages" and "Laughter is
God's hand on the shoulder of a troubled world." Also the idea that comedy is looking
at ourselves through the wrong end of a telescope, helping us see our smallness and laugh
at our littleness, getting our problems in perspective.
Lois H. Morgan of Mocksville, NC wrote this poem after a time of depression (again
I've lost the source):
Jesus, I believe you laughed as Mary bathed you and Joseph tickled your toes. I
believe you giggled as you and other children played your childhood games. And when you
went to the Temple and astonded the teachers, I believe you chuckled as all children
chuckle when they stump adults. And surely there wer moments of merriment as you and your
disciples deepened your relationship. And as you and Mary and Martha and Lazarus
fellowshiped, mirth must have been mirrored on your faces. Jesus, I know you wept and
anguished. But I believe you laughed, too. Create in me the life of laughter.
The late Willis Wheatley did several pen sketches of the face of Christ. All were well
received except the wonderful "Jesus laughing." Its an exuberant,
head-thrown-back, all-teeth-showing laugh! I've seen copies of it in Catholic bookstores.
It's great! -Rebecca in MD
Faith is the issue of this passage. And it's a tricky thing to deal with in our time.
For Peter, it was a great deal easier to tell his readers that their living hope was kept
unperishable for them in heaven than it is for us to tell our congregations the same
thing. We know more about the heavens than any generation since the beginning of time, and
we have no illusions about a three story universe. We know, past all disbelief, that we
inhabit a small sphere wheeling its tiny orbit in a vast multiverse, and our comfortable
cosmic home has been turned upside down.
We can pretend this is not so, and that God is in his heaven and all is right with the
world. But it will not do, because God is not pretend. God is real. But not having sween
God, we must still depend on metaphors to conceive of Him, and the day of spatial
metaphors is over. We should thank God that Jesus himself regarded the cosmos of his time
as no more than one of many metaphors, that He painted God always as beyond measurement,
and found Him continuously in the relationships, matter and events of this world.
Peace, OKBob
Rebecca,
You need to check out the Fellowship of Merry Christians. I haven't had any contact
with them in a few years but they used to publish a monthly newsletter. Their purpose is
to promote healthy humor and restore the tradition of Easter Monday. Last address I have
for them is in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Sorry I don't have current info. Randy
John near Pitt
I too read the story of the fork in several places. Used it for Easter but it could be
used this week as well.
I added a "prop." I tied colored bows around 140 forks and had them passed
out at the door along with the bulletins. At the end of the sermon I did a litany of
things like....
When it seems as if the worst that could happen is happening and you don't know what
to do.... trust that something better is coming...
And after every "something better is coming" the entire congregation help
their forks in the air and shouted, "Keep your fork." Proved to be a wonderfully
gracefilled and meaningful worship service for all...including the pastor.
CB on the border of PA?NY
Thanks for your suggestions about "Laughter Sunday."
Rebecca, I love the idea of telling jokes and funny stories. I only have to come up with a children's message, not a sermon (thankfully!). I am going to use the jokes idea. I'm going to open with:
knock, knock
who's there?
Israel
Israel who?
Is real good to see you this morning!
and end with:
knock, knock
who's there?
Cheese
Cheese who?
Cheese-us loves you, and he's still alive!
In between, I'll talk to the kids about the great, exceeding joy of being an Easter people, and let them tell some of their favorite jokes. I'm going to tell them about the tradition of sharing funny stories -- I just love that! Most of the children in our congregation are under 7, so I expect we'll get a lot of knock-knock jokes.
Thanks for the ideas, and blessed "Low" Sunday to you all.
Janet in MD
