Folks,
For
centuries, the Sunday after Easter has been celebrated in a lighter, more
humorous, vein. After the
seriousness and intensity of Lent, particularly for those participating in fasts
and study in preparation for joining the church on Easter Sunday, the church
recognized that people needed a little lightening of their spirits. We, too, as a congregation, for the past
two decades or so, have developed the tradition of celebrating Holy Hilarity
Sunday the week after Easter.
This may
seem like an awkward time for humor.
We live in a time where we are surrounded by a hidden killer called
Coronavirus, and each day we see the death and infection tallies on the
news. We are sheltering in our
homes, physically shut off from the rest of the world, and when we do go out, we
are advised to wear masks and keep six feet or more distance from other
people. People are losing their
jobs in unimaginable numbers.
Businesses are closed.
People are running out of money and can’t pay their rent, mortgage,
loans, bills. There are fears the
world is heading for an economic depression worse than the Great Depression of
90 years ago. How could humor
possibly be appropriate now?
Actually, humor is not only appropriate, but necessary,
now more than ever. Psychology and
studies of the brain have shown that laughter helps us relax. It eases stress and anxiety. It releases chemicals in our brain that
are healthy for it. Humor breaks us
out of our obsessing about the negative things in our lives. It can give us a healthier perspective
on the events going on around us, and increases our capacity to deal with
it. It does not dismiss the
seriousness of life, but it helps us to not take life, and ourselves, too
seriously. Too much worry is
physically unhealthy for us, and for that, laughter really is the best
medicine.
So break
out the old Calvin & Hobbes books.
Watch a Pink Panther movie.
See if you can binge-watch Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, M*A*S*H*, or
Monty Python. Google “Church
Jokes,” or call up Bob White and have him tell you a few. Look for ways to laugh. God created laughter to help get us
through times like these.
Ho, Ho,
Ho,
Bo
