Yesterday our congregation celebrated Holy Hilarity Sunday. This tradition dates back more than a thousand years, but I didn't know it until a few months ago. The early Church witnessed to the fact that in Jesus' death and resurrection God had pulled a fast one on the devil (Hebrews 2:14-16). The early and medieval Church saw the defeat of death as a kind of prank on the Evil One: "you thought you could defeat God by killing God's Son . . . ha, ha!" So the Church decided that pranks, humor, and hilarity had a place in the life of the faithful.
Thus a tradition developed for the week after Resurrection (aka Easter) Sunday to be a week of humor, pranks, and comedy. Apparently, even the monastic traditions bought into this, and invited pranks on fellow monks and nuns in celebration of God's great unexpected gift. (I am starting the unconfirmed rumor that Brother Menard invented the whoopie cushion from a goat's stomach as part of a prank on his abbot during Holy Hilarity week.)
Our worship committee decided to try it out this year. So we had a worship service that included joke-telling by congregants, two fun songs by our Kingdom Puppets, a bagpipe choir accompaniment to the hymn "Amazing Grace," and a rousing round of the Hokey Pokey (as catechetical tool, of course). We did more laughing together yesterday than in a month of Sundays, which was fun. Faith can be serious business, but it also ought to have the joy of the kingdom in it.
I had an early fear that some members of the congregation would object that the service was not reverent enough; but I didn't hear any such critique. In fact, someone said that yesterday's sermon was the best one they'd ever heard me deliver. So all in all I'd say it was quite a success. Here's to resurrecting old traditions in the name of joy! And here's to celebrating the great surprise of life that is ours in Christ, a surprise echoed every time a punch line surprises us into laughing.
I'm ready to do another Holy Hilarity Sunday--even if I didn't get to preach a sermon.
~emrys
1 comment:
Hello, this is going to be a very random comment. My name is Joshua Raskin. I was directed to your blog today by a mutual friend, Shannon Lewis. She told me about it because I found out today that I am receiving Fuller's 2010 Parish Pulpit Fellowship award, and my wife and I were considering going to IBTS in Prague. Shannon told me you guys had received the fellowship as well and when I checked out your old posts I saw that you had also gone to Prague! Anyway, I know you don't know me at all but I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing a little insight with my wife and I, because we are really excited but have no idea where to begin! My email is joshua.raskin@gmail.com. Thanks a lot, and sorry for the random comment but I couldn't find your email on the page, so you can delete this after you've read it!
Blessings,
Josh
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