Psalm 150, Acts 20:7-12 and John 20:19-31

Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! The call and response Christians use to greet each other on Easter is always punctuated by exclamation points! There is meant to be some excitement communicated! And joy and happiness as well!

One of the ways we remind ourselves of Christ’s victory over Sin, Death, and the Devil is to be light hearted about things even to the point of humor. In essence, Christ’s Resurrection is a joke on the Devil who thought he had won by seeing Christ buried. On the third day…..surprise! Humor works because the punch line is usually a surprise of sorts. Something you didn’t see coming!

Our scripture this Sunday certainly is exciting with exclamation points in both Psalm 140 and John 20:19-31. And in between we get some different excitement in Acts 20 but also some subtle humor. Or at least this passage has been used for humor from the pulpit for generations!

The Sunday after Easter has often been known as Low Sunday as attendance always seems to fall off as the previous Easter attendance is a worship Sunday that brings in many regulars and “occasional regulars (!)” Some don’t come back after Easter and others seem to lose some of the anticipation and emotion of Easter Day. But that following “low” Sunday is also known as Bright Sunday or Holy Humor Sunday with an emphasis on jokes such as “jokes on the Devil!”

We certainly will continue a degree of Easter rejoicing with a look toward some holy humor, a light heartedness in contrast to the heavy heart the reality of life often brings to all. Bright Sunday at the very least is a reminder that the final look of the Christian is a smile not a frown, tears of laughter not tears of sadness.

Join us in the ongoing, never stopping Season of Easter this Sunday! Turn that frown upside down!

Pastor Barry