I usually don’t begin my homilies with jokes, but I begin my easter homily in this uncustomary way, at least for me, because there’s a bit a tradition behind it…and by the way, I’ll try to keep this short…I
know my homilies can be like reading in the car…alright at first, but then after about 15 minutes you start to feel a little queasy. Anyway…
During the 15th century in southern Germany, a delightful custom sprung up in many parishes. At the end of the Easter Mass, the priest would leave the altar and come down among the people and lead the congregation in what was called the “Risus Paschalis”, Latin for “the Easter laughter.” The priest would tell funny stories and sing comical songs to evoke Easter laughter.
There was a protestant minister named Johannes Oekolampadius, a funny name for a very unfunny man. He condemned Catholic Easter laughter and the priests who encouraged it for behaving like comedians. And there were some excesses on our part. Supposedly, Risus Paschalis evolved into pranks that were causing property damage and Pope Clement X had to restrict the practice.
But, why did this practice arise? Of Easter Laughter? Perhaps it’s because laughter is often a sign of the joy that should mark this day. Joy is to bubble up in us like laughter after a good joke. Ecclesiastes speaks of “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance” well, the time of Lenten weeping and mourning is now finished. And that means a new time has begun, marked not by weeping but laughing and dancing.
Perhaps Risus Paschalis arose because Easter is the greatest, most elaborate, most memorable prank in history. Think of it…everyone was convinced Jesus was gone, dead, done away with for good. The Pharisees and Sanhedrin thought so; they had done everything in their power to be rid of Jesus who they thought to be guilty of the most heinous of blasphemies—claiming to be God. Pontius Pilate and the Roman soldiers thought so; with Jesus dead, they wouldn’t have to worry about an insurrection. The crowds that called for Jesus’ crucifixion thought so, in their minds, Jesus was a charlatan and got what he deserved. Satan himself must have thought that he had pulled off a great triumph in frustrating the plans of God.
But then the surprise.. the ultimate Peekaboo. The most unexpected punchline. Death and violence do not get the last laugh. The work of the evil one is undone by turning his own weapons against him. Cruel torture and death become instruments of the consolation and divine life. Suffering and death, which entered the world as a consequence of sin, were to become the very means by which sin was vanquished.
Easter is the morning when God laughs out loud, laughs at all the things that snuff out joy and life. Psalm 2 says, “The One enthroned in heaven laughs” And because of our faith, Christians are in on the joke. The prophet Job says, “He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.” On the sermon on the plain, in Luke’s Gospel, the Lord himself says,” Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.”
The Acts of the Apostles tells us that following Easter wherever the disciples went, “there was great joy” (8:8); even amid persecution they continued to be “filled with joy” (13:52). And it’s a joy that comes from knowing that there is nothing the devil or the world can do to us to stop the Gospel message. There is nothing the government or whatever world power is actually running things can do to keep us from pursuing holiness and eternal life. Christ is victorious. Nothing can separate us from the Love of Christ Risen from the Dead.
Pope Francis wrote “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ, joy is constantly born anew.”
As Abraham and Isaac were walking back down the mountain. You can imagine Isaac was a bit shaken, but the whole incident of being bound and placed on altar. Abraham perhaps tried to pass that one off as a joke too. So Abraham tries to lift Isaac’s spirits by sharing that good news that he has to upgrade their family computer to Windows 10. Isaac said, "But father, we don't have enough memory!" To which Abraham replied, "Don't worry, my son, the Lord will provide the RAM."
And he did. God provided for our salvation. And he won. The Lord has provided everything we need for a joy-filled life. Even in the midst of our sorrows, we can look that sorrow, that cross, right in the face…and say, you don’t get last word. In a sense, we laugh, with God, when evil seeks to convince us of it's strength.
You just remember the time Esau asked Jacob to round up his 37 sheep…and Jacob said…40…round-up 37 you get 40. It's a math joke! Or you remember the parade of aging easter bunnies who could only hop backwards, they were a receding hare-line.
I encourage you to share some Easter Laughter with each other today...I get all my material off of popsicle sticks...you might consider the same...
May the joy of Easter fill your hearts more than I just filled the church with groans with that last one…for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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