The Tradition of Holy Humor Sunday (Luke 15:1-32; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-9) April 12, 2015 (Palisades Community Church)

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1 The Tradition of Holy Humor Sunday (Luke 15:1-32; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-9) KNOCK-KNOCK INTERLUDES: April 12, 2015 (Palisades Community Church) Welcome: KK. (Who s there?) Gladys. (Gladys who?) Glad it s Sunday, aren t you? Greeting: KK. (Who s there?) Sharon. (Sharon who?) Share in the Good News by greeting each other. Pardon: KK. (Who s there?) Marvel. (Marvel who?) Marvelous is God, Who forgives unconditionally. Scripture: KK (Who s there?) Rita. (Rita who?) Read the Bible if you want to hear the Good News! Scripture: KK (Who s there?) Luke. (Luke who?) Look around you at the smiles on your neighbors! Scripture: KK (Who s there?) Oliver. (Oliver who?) All of our joy comes from God in Jesus Christ! Prayer: KK (Who s there?) Lettuce. (Lettuce who?) Lettuce pray. Offering: KK (Who s there?) Phillip. (Phillip who?) Fill up the plate as it s passed to you! INVOCATION: Loving God, we thank you for this day which You have made, and we rejoice in it. On this Holy Sabbath, we remember not only the cross, but the resurrection, and we sing of Christ s victory. We praise you for bringing life out of death, hope out of despair, and laughter out of sorrow and granting life, hope, and laughter to us as part of our eternal inheritance in Jesus. We pray that you would restore our hearts with the joy of Your love, now and evermore. Amen. PASTORAL PRAYER: (Rev. April Fiet) God, giver of joy and laughter, we thank you for the moments of spontaneous laughter and unbridled joy that we experience: for opportunities to laugh at ourselves; for the giggles of children; for friends and family who love us because of our quirks; for artists who help us see the world through the surreal; for the courage to smile even when difficulties arise; for those who hope when there seems to be no hope; for saints who spread your joy to all of us. God, giver of joy and laughter, we thank you for the words of Jesus that defy our logical minds; for the woman who finds a lost coin and celebrates with her neighbors; for the absurdity of a camel fitting through the eye of a needle; for the father who runs like a fool to greet his prodigal son; for the generosity of the landowner who pays workers for a whole day when they worked only an hour; for bits of faith that can move entire mountains; for the reality that nothing lives unless it first dies. God, giver of joy and laughter, we thank you for the great reversal of the Gospel; that the last shall be made first; that the lost shall be found; that the small will become great; that to be great one must serve; that when we are weak your strength sustains us. We thank you, God, that we can laugh because of the most amazing gift of all: that you conquered death, that the tomb is empty, that light shines so bright that it overcomes the darkness. We pray in the name of the one who taught us to say when we are together:

2 PRAYER OF DEDICATION: (Rev. Richard Fairchild) Most Loving God, as you have given yourself to us in Christ Jesus, now we give ourselves to you: our bodies that they may be vessels for your Spirit; our souls that they may be made pure by your grace; our hearts that we may always love you; our minds that they may always reflect your wisdom. Receive all that we offer, we pray, and use it for your honor and glory. Amen. CHILDREN S MESSAGE: We re having fun today, so I thought that we would think about funny things we sometimes say: Did you ever notice that there are no eggs in eggplant? No ham in hamburgers? No pine and no apple in pineapple? Did you know that English muffins were not invented in England? French fries were not invented in France? Boxing rings are square? A guinea pig is not from Guinea and is not a pig? If more than one tooth are called teeth, why isn t more than one phone booth called phone beeth? Why do people park on driveways, but drive on parkways. When a barn burns up we say it burned down? Can you think of other funny things about what we say? (pause for responses) When you say your nose is running, how come it s still on your face? When your mom says she s going to run some errands, how come she gets in the car? When your dad says your mom is running late, how come she returns home in the car? When you wind up a clock it starts, but when I wind up the Children s Message, it ends? THE TRADITION OF HOLY HUMOR SUNDAY In Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 we read that for everything there is a season a time to weep, and a time to laugh, and yet many of us have been taught that the sanctuary is not the place to laugh or have fun. But don t you think Jesus had a laugh or two, or at least a smile, with a child on his lap? An old Easter custom known as Laughter Sunday was started by the Greeks in the early centuries of Christianity. Bavarian churches in the 15 th century observed Risus Paschalis on the Sunday after Easter. Risus Paschalis means God s Joke or Easter Laugh : It was a way of celebrating the resurrection of Christ, the ultimate joke that God played on Satan by raising Jesus from the dead! Pastors and people subjected one another to practical jokes even drenched each other with water

3 sang and danced. They were having so much fun that Pope Clement X disallowed Risus Paschalis in the 17 th century! Holy Humor Sunday is also known as Bright Sunday, and is increasing in popularity with helium filled balloons, butterflies, smiley faces, and even baseball-themed worship experiences. One pastor in Alaska reports that Holy Humor Sunday is what finally brought his fractured congregation together. He had tried everything else without success. But joyful songs, inspiring scriptures, joke-telling, and practical jokes on anybody and everybody changed the mood to cheerful camaraderie. People realized that they could feel good again about church, and healing began to happen. There is more humor behind stories in the New Testament than Jesus is usually given credit for. The three parables in Luke 15 talk about lost-ness in an unforgettable manner. They are funny because they are so real, and so powerful in the way in which they demonstrate God s grace. The lost sheep that is found, the lost coin that is found, the lost son that is found, are all cause for partying! Surely Jesus was having fun in telling the stories, and a little satisfaction in surprising his listeners with the outcomes. (Story of Danny losing his wallet/permit, which I found in the couch) So let s tell some jokes. Let s share some humorous stories. Let s experience the laughter in knowing that God is good, the laughter of the wonder of all that God does. GROUCHO MARX One day Groucho Marx was getting off an elevator and he happened to meet a clergyman. The clergyman came up to him, put out his hand and said I want to thank you for all the joy you ve

4 put into the world. Groucho shook hands and said: Thank you Reverend. I want to thank you for all the joy you ve taken out of it. THE POPE AND THE RABBI The Pope, pressured by the Cardinals, decided that all the Jews had to leave Rome. That caused a huge uproar in the Jewish community, so the Pope made a deal: He would have a religious debate with a member of the Jewish community; if the Jew won, the Jews could stay; if the Pope won, the Jews would have to leave. The Jews selected a respected Rabbi to represent them, but asked for one condition to make the debate more interesting: neither side would be able to talk. The Pope agreed. The debate began with a long silence, before the Pope raised his hand and showed three fingers. The Rabbi looked back at the Pope and raised one finger. The Pope waved his fingers in a circle around his head. The Rabbi pointed to the ground. The Pope set out a loaf of bread and a glass of wine, broke and ate the bread, and sipped the wine. The Rabbi grabbed an apple and took a bite out of it. The Pope then stood up and said: I give up. This man is too good. The Jews can stay in Rome as long as they want to. Later, the Cardinals asked the Pope what happened. The Pope explained: First, I held up three fingers to represent the Trinity, and he held up one finger to remind me that there was one God common to both of our religions. Then I waved my fingers around me to show him that God was all around us and is Lord over the church, and he pointed to the ground to remind me that God may be all around, but God was also right here with us

5 and is God of the Jews as well as of the church. Then I broke bread and drank wine to show that God absolves us from our sins, and the Rabbi bit an apple to remind me of original sin and how it still affects us. He had an answer for everything. What could I do? At the same time, the Jews were asking the Rabbi what happened. Well, the Rabbi said, First the Pope said that the Jews had three days to get out of here, and I told him that not one of us was leaving. Then he told me that this whole city would be cleared of Jews, and I let him know that we were staying right here. Someone asked: What happened then? I don t know, said the Rabbi. He took out his lunch, and I took out mine, and now we can stay as long as we want! THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE A fisherman and his wife were blessed with twin sons, whom they named Toward and Away, because as infants one always turned toward the sea, while the other one always faced inland. No matter how the parents positioned them, the same child always faced the same direction. The boys grew over the years, and the fisherman finally told them it was time that they learned how to make a living from the sea. They said good-bye to their mother, and set off on a three-month voyage with their father. But three months passed, and then another three months, and the ship did not return. Finally, after three years, the grieving woman saw her husband approaching their house alone. What happened to my darling boys? she cried!

6 We were barely a day out to sea, the fisherman said, when Towards hooked into a great fish. Towards fought fiercely, but the fish was more than his equal. For a whole week they wrestled upon the waves without either of them letting go. Yet eventually the great fish started to win the battle, and Towards was pulled overboard, swallowed whole, and we never saw the great fish or Towards again. My dear that must have been terrible said the mother. What a great fish indeed! Yes, it was, said the fisherman, but you should have seen the one that got Away! 10 WAYS TO REJOICE IN THE RESURRECTION (Wheat Ridge Ministries, Itasca, IL) 1) Rejoice: He is Risen Indeed! 2) Refresh: Your body by sound sleep and good eats! 3) Renew: Acquaintances and habits of health and hope! 4) Redeemed: Know that you are loved forever by the Lord! 5) Review: Your past lumps and bumps, and know you are forgiven! 6) Relate: Talk, and listen closely, to those around you! 7) Restore: Unto me a clean heart, O God (Psalm 51:10) 8) Revive: Your faith through the Word and Sacrament! 9) Refocus: On all the great gifts the Lord has given you! 10) Remember: Those special people around you!