SPECIAL DAYS: Holy Humor Sunday

April 11, 1999 - LESSON: Luke 15:20b-24, NRSV

SERMON TITLE: It's Time to Celebrate

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  1. Easter releases us from gloom and dreariness.
    1. We are to take time to celebrate and rejoice.
    2. Quotations from the ancients:
      1. 'Risus paschalis - the Easter laugh,' the early theologians called it. And the theme has echoed down through the centuries.
        1. St. Francis of Assisi advised: 'Leave sadness to the devil. The devil has reason to be sad.'
        2. Meister Eckhart, a 13th-century Christian mystic, wrote: 'God laughed and begat the Son. Together they laughed and begat the Holy Spirit. And from the laughter of the Three, the universe was born.'
        3. Martin Luther wrote: 'God is not a God of sadness, but the devil is. Christ is a God of joy. It is pleasing to the dear God whenever thou rejoicest or laughest from the bottom of thy heart.'
        4. John Wesley said: 'Sour godliness is the devil's religion.'
      2. The custom of Easter Monday and Bright Sunday celebrations may be rooted in the musings of early church theologians like Augustine, Gregory of Nyssa, and John Chrysostom that God played a practical joke on the devil by raising Jesus from the dead.
      3. FMC member Rev. Donald B. Strobe, former pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Ann Arbor, MI, describes Easter as 'God's supreme joke played on that old impostor, death.'
      4. Dr. Terry L. Lindvall, an authority on the wit and humor of C. S. Lewis, suggested that April Fools' Day should be put in the calendar of the Christian year.
        1. Wrote Lindvall: 'There are two kinds of fools in the world: damned fools and what Paul calls 'fools for Christ's sake.' Paul himself is the one who legitimizes April Fools' Day for Christians. The cross is foolishness to those who do not believe; it is salvation, hope, love, and joy to those who do. It is a divine joke on Satan, the great deceiver.

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      5. At Eastertide, wrote Protestant theologian Jurgen Moltmann, began 'the laughing of the redeemed, the dancing of the liberated.
      6. Episcopal Bishop William C. Frey of Ambridge, PA, writes: 'What, after all, is a joke? Isn't it something that turns the tables on the expected, something that hinges on the unpredictable or unreasonable? There's nothing more unreasonable than the resurrection of Jesus. And to believe in it is to be part of that huge practical joke that God plays on those who trust blindly in the sufficiency of human reason to unravel all problems and to answer every question.'

'Easter is the morning when the Lord laughs out loud, laughs at all the things that snuff out joy, all the things that pretend to be all-powerful, like cruelty and madness and despair and evil, and most especially, that great pretender, death. Jesus sweeps them away with His wonderful resurrection laughter.'

    1. Jesus loves a good party.
      1. He performed his first miracle at a wedding reception in Cana, turning water into wine.
      2. In the parable of the Prodigal son, Jesus tells us that the overjoyed father threw a big party for his returning son:
        1. But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe--the best one--and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate, (Luke 15:22-24, NRSV).
        2. Don't forget the response of the other son in Luke 15:28-30.
          1. 28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him.
          2. 29 But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends.
          3. 30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!'

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    2. One of the most important antidotes for over-seriousness is laughter.
  1. In her article, It's No Joke: Humor Heals, Laughter may be jest what patients need, by Patricia Barry (1)
    1. "It is hard to imagine a more anxious scene: A child about to have a heart transplant waits with her anxious parents in a room at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. But then a clown is invited in and makes a suggestion: 'I think we need to perform a red-nose transplant.'
      1. "The clown measures the parents' noses, then offers a selection of scarlet globes: 'OK go ahead and pick your nose.'
      2. Or, if one drops and rolls on the floor: 'Can't use that one - ifs a runny nose.' The child laughs, the parents relax, the mood in the room lightens perceptibly.
    2. "The power of humor is at work, consoling and healing.
      1. "Or take another example: An 82-year-old patient at Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, Fla., who has suffered chronic hip pain for seven years, confides in her doctor that she's always wanted to be a clown.
        1. So he writes out a formal prescription: 'Send this lady to Clown School.'
        2. She takes the class and joins the hospital's volunteer comedy team.
        3. On one of her wig-and-makeup days, someone asks how she is, and she replies, 'I feel no pain right now.'
    3. "Such scenes are slowly becoming more common as health professionals begin to accept the value of mirth as a vital force in care and recovery. A small but growing number of American hospitals, nursing homes and recuperation centers now bring in clowns, provide 'humor carts' to distribute funny books and videos or send patients to 'humor rooms' for daily doses of jokes and laughter.

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    4. "'Humor undoubtedly has positive health benefits,' says Steve Sultanoff, a California psychologist and president of the 600-member American Association for Therapeutic Humor (AATH). 'It changes our emotional state, our perspective on life and, through laughter, our physiological state.'
    5. "The idea is scarcely new. 'A merry heart doeth good like a medicine,' says the Bible. And lightening up makes anyone feel better. But it is only over the past decade that humor in medicine to the extent of joking around with seriously ill patients-has gained respectability.
    6. "It is promoted by organizations like the AATH and the Humor Project Inc. through international conferences and training workshops. Journals, newsletters and Web sites are devoted to it. Lists of jokes are posted on the Internet.
    7. Now, with actor Robin Williams playing the true story of Patch Adams, a Virginia doctor who defied medical gravitas for three decades to make patients laugh, there's even a movie.
    8. "Much of the impetus for today's humor advocacy began almost 30 years ago when writer Norman Cousins published 'Anatomy of an Illness,'
      1. (This is) an account of how he fought intense pain and beat a deadly disease by deliberately dosing himself with humorous books and reruns of 'Candid Camera.'
      2. His story raised a new question: Can humor actually modify the effects of disease, and, if so, how does it do it?
    9. "Real understanding will not come until scientists have unraveled the complex biochemistry of emotions.
      1. But research by such pioneers as William F. Fry Jr., M.D., emeritus professor of clinical psychiatry at Stanford University, and Lee Berk and Stanley Tan of Loma Linda University, Calif., already suggests that 'mirthful laughter' does much more than we think.

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      2. It can:
        1. provide exercise by increasing the heart rate, stimulating blood circulation and breathing, and improving muscle tone. Fry found that he could double his heart rate while convulsed by Laurel and Hardy and calculated that 100 laughs equals, 10 minutes on a rowing machine. Cousins called it 'inner jogging.'
        2. reduce pain, probably by firing the release of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers. Several studies show that laughing lessens the need for medication and shortens recuperation time.
        3. reduce stress by lowering levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that can weaken the immune System.
        4. stimulate the immune system, probably in complex ways. Berk and Tan found 'significant increases' of interferon-gamma, a hormone that fights viruses and regulates cell growth, in a group of healthy men while they watched a 60-minute humorous video-and that levels remained higher than normal 12 hours later.
        5. stimulate mental functions, such as alertness and memory, perhaps by raising levels of adrenalin and other chemicals that prepare the body for action. One study recorded a wave of electricity sweeping through the entire brain half a second after the punch line of a joke.

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  2. Here are some resources that will help you to put more laughter and personal enjoyment in your life.
    1. For a good time, call...
      1. American Association for Therapeutic Humor: professional training, information, speakers. Call: (314) 863-6232. Web site: www.aath.org.
      2. Humor Project Inc.: humor resources and products, information, speakers. Call: (518) 587-8770. Web site: www.humorproject.com.
      3. Comedy Connection, Morton Plant Hospital, 323 Jefford St.-MS 16, Clearwater, Fla. 33757: information packets and tours explaining how a volunteer humor program works. Call: (727) 462-7841.
      4. Humor and Health Journal: Web site offers articles on therapeutic humor and links to other sites: www.intop.net/~jrdunn/.
      5. There are a lot of other sites that you can visit and you can find them in the one's noted above.

To help you get a laugh or two the following is taken from the AATH web site noted above

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A young woman brings her fiancee home to meet her parents. After dinner, her mother tells her father to find out about the young man, so the father invites the fiancee to his study for a drink. 'So what are your plans?' the father asks the young man. 'I am a Torah scholar,' he replies. 'A Torah scholar. Hmmm,' the father says. 'Admirable, but what will you do to provide a nice house for my daughter to live in, as she's accustomed to?' 'I will study,' the young man replies, 'and God will provide for us.' 'And how will you buy her a beautiful engagement ring, such as she deserves?' asks the father. 'I will concentrate on my studies,' the young man replies, 'God will provide for us.' 'And children?' asks the father. 'How will you support children?' 'Don't worry, sir, God will provide,' replies the fiancee. The conversation proceeds like this, and each time the father questions, the young idealist insists that God will provide. Later, the mother asks, 'How did it go, Honey?' The father answers, 'He has no job and no plans, but the good news is he thinks I'm God.'

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###

Jesus was strolling through Jerusalem and realized that he needed a new robe. He discovered a tailor named Rubinstein who made him a beautiful robe. Jesus asked Rubinstein, 'How can I pay you for your work?'

Rubinstein replied, 'You owe me nothing. However, since you are pleased with your robe, I ask that as you travel and give sermons, you mention that Rubinstein made your robe.' Jesus happily agreed.

Months later when Jesus returned to Jerusalem, he stopped by Rubinstein's shop to see how he was doing. Rubinstein informed Jesus that he was very busy making robes and thanked him profusely. Rubinstein suggested that they go into business together. Jesus agreed and suggested that the business be called 'Jesus and Rubinstein'. Rubinstein preferred that it be named, 'Rubinstein and Jesus'. They argued for many hours before settling on 'Lord and Tailor'. (for those of you who may not be aware Lord and Taylor is a well known clothing and apparel store.)

###

Michael Jordan, Bill Gates, the Dali Lama, and a Hippie are flying across the country. Suddenly the pilot rushes into the cabin screaming, 'We are losing power and are going to crash. There are 4 parachutes, and I am wearing one.' With that he jumps out of the plane.

Without a moment of hesitation Michael Jordan jumps up and says, 'I am one of the world's greatest athletes, and not one is going to catch me.' With that he grabs the second parachute and jumps out of the plane.

Bill Gates then says, 'I am the world's smartest man, and the world needs me.' He grabs a parachute and jumps out of the plane.

The Dali Lama turns to the Hippie and says, 'Son, I have lived a long and fruitful life. Please, take the final parachute and jump to safety.'

The Hippie wearing a sly grin replies, 'Don't worry, we can both be saved. The smartest man in the world just jumped out of the plane with my backpack!'

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###

A middle-aged woman experiences a heart attack. While on the operating table she has a 'near-death' experience during which she sees God and asks, 'Is this it?' God replies 'No, you have another 30 years to live.'

With another 30 years to live, she decides to remain in the hospital and have a face lift, liposuction, breast augmentation, and a tummy tuck. She even changes her hair color. As she walks out of the hospital after the last operation she is killed by an ambulance speeding up to the emergency room.

When she arrives in heaven she sees God and asks, 'What happened? I thought you said I had another 30-40 years!' God replies, 'I didn't recognize you.'

###

A man and his wife went to a psychiatrist to see if they could gain some relief for the man's belief that he was a refrigerator.

After meeting with the husband, the psychiatrist assured the wife that there was nothing about which to be concerned.

A bit perturbed the wife stated, 'But doc at night when he sleeps with his mouth open the light keeps me awake!'

###

For all you Baseball fans out there. Baseball season begins this week and remember that God meant for there to be baseball. After all the Bible reads, 'In the Big-Inning....'

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###

Billy Bob always wanted a job as a signalman on the railways. To test Billy Bob's ability to be a signalman, the railroad inspector met him at the signal box. The inspector asked, 'What would you do if you realized that two trains were heading for each other on the same track?' Billy Bob replied, 'I would switch the points for one of the trains.' 'What if the lever broke?' asked the inspector. 'Then I'd dash down out of the signal box,' said Billy Bob, 'and I'd use the manual lever over there.' 'What if that had been struck by lightning?' 'Then,' Billy Bob continued, 'I'd run back into the signal box and phone the next signal box.' 'What if the phone was engaged?' 'Well in that case,' persevered Billy Bob, 'I'd rush down out of the box and use the public emergency phone at the level crossing up there.' 'What if that was vandalized?' 'Oh, well then I'd run into the village and get my uncle.' This puzzled the inspector, so he asked, 'Why would you do that?' Billy Bob answered, 'Because he's never seen a train crash.'

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###

Heavenly Entrance Exam-Forrest Gump Style

The day finally arrived: Forrest Gump dies and goes to Heaven. He is met at the Pearly Gates by Saint Peter himself. The gates are closed, however, and Forrest approaches the gatekeeper Saint Peter says, 'Well, Forrest, it's certainly good to see you. We have heard a lot about you. I must inform you that the place is filling up fast, and we've been administering an entrance exam for everyone. The tests are fairly short, but you need to pass before you can get into Heaven.'

Forrest responds, 'It shore is good to be here, Saint Peter. I was looking forward to this. Nobody ever told me about any entrance exams. I sure hope the test ain't too hard; life was a big enough test as it was.

Saint Peter replies, 'Yes, I know Forrest. But, the test I have has only three questions, and here they are: First, what days of the week begin with the letter 'T'? Second, how many seconds are there in a year? Third, what is God's first name?'

Forrest goes away to think the questions over, and returns the next day. Saint Peter then asks, 'Now that you have had a chance to think the questions over, tell me your answers.'

Forrest says, 'Well, the first one, how many days of the week begin with the letter 'T'? Shucks, that one's easy; that'd be Today and Tomorrow.   The saint's eyes opened wide and he exclaims, 'Forrest! That's not what I was thinking, but... you do have a point though, and I guess I didn't specify, so I give you credit for that answer.' 'How about the next one?' says Saint Peter, 'How many seconds in a year?'

'Now that one's harder,' says Forrest. 'But, I thunk and thunk about that, and I guess the only answer can be twelve.' Astounded, Saint Peter says, 'Twelve! Twelve! Forrest, how could you come up with twelve seconds in a year?'   Forrest says, 'Shucks, there gotta be twelve: January second, February second, March second.......'

'Hold it,' interrupts Saint Peter. 'I see where you're going with it. And I guess I see your point, though that wasn't quite what I had in mind. I'll give you credit for that one too.' 'Let's go on with the next and final question.' says Saint Peter, 'Can you tell me God's first name?'

Forrest says, 'Well, sure, I know God's first name. Everybody knows it. It's Howard.' 'Howard?!' asks Saint Peter. 'What makes you think it's Howard?!' Forrest answers, 'It's in the prayer.'  'The prayer?' asks Saint Peter, 'Which prayer?'  'You know, The Lord's Prayer,' responds Forrest: 'Our Father, which art in Heaven, Howard be thy name......'

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###

Subject: KGB Place and time: Somewhere in the Soviet Union in the 1930's.

The phone rings at KGB headquarters. 'Hello?' 'Hello, is this KGB?''Yes. What do you want?' 'I'm calling to report my neighbor Yankel Rabinovitz as an enemy of the State. He is hiding undeclared diamonds in some fallen trees on his property.' 'This will be noted.' Next day, the KGB patrol arrives at the Rabinovitz's house. They chop the trees into pieces, but find no diamonds. Later the phone rings at the Rabinovitz house. 'Hello, Yankel! Did the KGB come?' 'Yes. Did they chop your firewood?''Yes, they did.' 'Okay, now it's your turn to call. I need my vegetable patch plowed.

###

A young couple got married & went on a cruise for their honeymoon. When they returned from the honeymoon, the bride immediately called her mother. 'Well, darling,' questioned her mom, 'how was the honeymoon?' 'Oh, mother,' she replied, 'the honeymoon was wonderful! So romantic, we had a terrific time! But, mother, as soon as we returned, Sam began using really horrible language... Stuff I'd never heard before... Really terrible 4-letter words... You've got to come get me and take me home... PLEASE MOTHER! 'With that the new bride began to sob over the telephone. But honey,' the mother countered, 'WHAT 4-letter words?' 'I can't tell you, mother,' said the daughter, 'they're too awful! COME GET ME, PLEASE !!!' 'Darling daughter, you must tell me what has you so upset...Tell mother the 4-letter words!' Still sobbing, the bride said, 'Mother...it's just terrible. Words like DUST...WASH......IRON....COOK.'

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A man enters a a fancy restaurant, but the head waiter refuses to seat him without a tie. Undaunted, the man retreats to his car to search for a tie. To his dismay he cannot find a tie or even anything that might resemble a tie. Finally, in desperation he grabs a pair of jumper cables, wraps them around his neck, and ties them under his shirt collar in some semblance of a tie. He returns to the restaurant where the head waiter stares at him for some time, and finally says: 'OK, I will seat you, just don't start anything!'

###

A man follows a woman out of a movie theatre. She has a dog on a leash. He stops her and says, 'I'm sorry to bother you, but I couldn't help but notice that your dog was really into the movie. He cried at the right spots, he moved nervously in his seat at the boring parts, but most of all, he laughed like crazy at the funny parts. Did you find that unusual?' 'Yes,' she replied, 'I found it very unusual...because he hated the book!'

###

A burglar broke into a house on Christmas Eve and pointing his flashlight at the gifts under the tree he snatched a CD player and placed in his sack. He then heard a strange, disembodied voice echo from the dark saying, 'Jesus is watching you.' He nearly jumped out of his skin, turned off the flashlight, and froze. After minutes of dead silence, he shook his head assuming he had been hearing things. He then clicked on the flashlight and began adding more gifts to his loot. Just as he grabbed a notebook computer, clear as a bell he heard, 'Jesus is watching you.'Freaked out, he shone his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice. Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot. 'Did you say that?' he hissed at the parrot. 'Yep,' the parrot confessed, then squawked, 'Get out of my house.' The burglar relaxed and retorted, 'Who are you to tell me to leave?' 'I am Moses,' replied the bird. 'Moses' the burglar laughed. 'What kind of stupid people would name a parrot Moses?' The bird promptly answered: 'Probably the same kind of people that would name a Rotweiller Jesus!'

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You know it is a bad day when:

You see a '60 Minutes' news team waiting at your office. Your birthday cake collapses from the weight of the candles. You turn on the news and they're showing emergency routes out of the city. Your twin sister forgot your birthday. Your boss tells you not to bother to take off your coat. The bird singing outside your window is a buzzard. You call your answering service and they tell you it's none of your business. Your income tax check bounces. Your pet rock snaps at you.

###

A man trying to understand the nature of God asked 'God, how long is a million years to you?' God answered: 'A million years is like a minute.' Then the man asked: 'God, how much is a million dollars to you?' And God replied: 'A million dollars is like a penny.' Finally the man asked: 'God, could you give me a million dollars?' And God said, 'In a minute.'

###

A famous scientist was on his way to yet another lecture when his chauffeur offered an idea. 'Hey, boss, I've heard your speech so many times I bet I could deliver it and give you the night off.'  'Sounds great,' the scientist said. When they got to the auditorium, the scientist put on the chauffeur's hat and settled into the back row.  The chauffeur walked to the lectern and delivered the speech. Afterward he asked if there were any questions. 'Yes,' said one professor. Then he launched into a highly technical question.  The chauffeur was panic stricken for a moment but quickly recovered. That's an easy one, 'he replied. 'So easy, I' m going to let my chauffeur answer it!'

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A nun was sitting at a window in her convent one day when she was handed a letter from home. Upon opening it a $10 bill dropped out. She was most pleased at receiving the gift from her home folks, but as she read the letter her attention was distracted by the actions of a shabbily dressed stranger who was leaning against a post in front of the convent. She couldn't get him off her mind and, thinking that he might be in financial difficulties, she took the $10 bill and wrapped it in a piece of paper, on which she had written, 'Don't despair, Sister Eulalia,' and threw it out of the window to him. He picked it up, read it, looked at her with a puzzled expression, tipped his hat and went off down the street. The next day she was in her cell saying her beads when she was told that a man at her door insisted on seeing her. She went down and found the shabbily dressed stranger waiting for her. Without saying a word he handed her a roll of bills. When she asked what they were for he replied, 'That's the sixty bucks you have coming. Don't Despair paid 5-1.'

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A pious man who had reached the age of 105 suddenly stopped going to synagogue. Alarmed by the old fellow's absence after so many years of faithful attendance the rabbi went to see him. He found him in excellent health, so the rabbi asked, 'How come after all these years we don't see you at services anymore?' The old man looked around and lowered his voice. I'll tell you, Rabbi,' he whispered. 'When I got to be 90 I expected God to take me any day. But then I got to be 95, then 100, then 105. So I figured that God is very busy and must have forgotten about me ..... and I don't want to remind Him.'

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Three elderly men are at the doctor's office for an intelligence test. The doctor asks the first man, 'What is three times three?' '274,' he replies. The doctor asks the second man, 'What is three times three?' 'Tuesday,' replies the second man. The doctor says to the third man, 'Okay, your turn. What's three times three?' 'Nine,' says the third man. 'That's great!' says the doctor.'How did you get that?' 'Simple,' says the third man. 'I subtracted 274 from Tuesday.'

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Walking up to a department store's fabric counter, a attractive young woman asked, 'I want to buy this material for a new dress. How much does it cost?' 'Only one kiss per yard, ' replied the smirking male clerk. 'That's fine,' replied the woman. 'I'll take ten yards.' With expectation and anticipation written all over his face, the clerk hurriedly measured out and wrapped the cloth, then held it out teasingly. The girl snapped up the package and pointed to a little old man standing beside her. 'Grandpa will pay the bill,' she smiled.

  1. It is no wonder that the writer of Proverbs wrote:
    1. A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones (Proverbs 17:22, NRSV).
    2. Good laughing!!!!!

      1. Patricia Barry, "It's No Joke: Humor Heals," AARP Bulletin, Vol 40. No. 4, Washington, DC (April, 1999)

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