.png)
Holy Sillyness
- Gethsemane Lutheran Church
- Apr 12
- 4 min read
What’s with all the jokes and silliness today?! Well, sometimes people say that when Jesus was resurrected, then death did not get the last word, or Jesus laughed in the devil’s face, making a joke of death. So: ha ha, we get to laugh about it. That’s the deep theological reason for a Holy Humor Sunday.
Also this week after Easter, after all the busy-ness, tends to be a Sunday that fewer people show up. Well, joke’s on them—they’re missing all the fun today. It’s not that often we sing a hymn with kazoo accompaniment.
In any case, God’s grace is big enough to receive all of us, even with our silly-ness. And what do you think the word “silly” means? Possibly lighthearted and amusing, or frivolous as in unnecessary. Sometimes it means “lack of common sense” or maybe even “weak in intellect,” which is a very kind way to say “not smart.”
But what I learned from a youth minister several years ago is that the word “silly” is etymologically related to the word for “blessed.”[1] And this is not a joke; this is true! Apparently in old English, the early version of the word “silly,” in the 1200s, first meant “blessed” or “fortunate.” Then in the next centuries, silly meant innocent or pious—yes, “pious” as in “religiously faithful.” Then by the 16th century, silly meant mentally slow or foolish. Even still the German word selig—related to this word “silly”—can be translated “blessed.”[2]
There is something blessed by God in being silly—silly-ness doesn’t have to mean disrespectful. Perhaps it is a blessing to be lighthearted, to have some joy. Faith in God does not mean everything is only serious, all the time. I just cannot imagine that Jesus never laughed.
And how hilarious is this story of Jesus appearing to his disciples after his death? I mean, after Jesus has told his disciples to love one another, and then Jesus dies, the disciples don’t know what else to do, so they lock themselves in a room. But locked doors can’t stop the resurrected Jesus—he somehow shows up inside the room with them.
And, like, I guess if you have died, and everyone else knows you have died, how do you prove you’re alive again? How do you prove that you are who you say you are? Do you look different? The risen Jesus still bears the scars of crucifixion, so he shows the disciples his wounded hands and his side where he’d been stabbed. And if that’s not enough, he breathes on them—Jesus says to receive the Holy Spirit, but isn’t he also proving that he has the ability to breathe, unlike a typical dead person?
In the post-resurrection appearance stories, the risen Christ will also eat with his disciples. You know, eating—another thing dead bodies cannot do. Which brings me to my t-shirt.
Maybe you are wondering, why is Pastor Cheryl wearing a shirt that says “I will not buy the wienies. I will not buy the wienies. I will not buy the wienies.” Here’s what it means. This shirt was created over 25 years ago by some youth ministers in southwest Texas, who got together to encourage each other in their ministry. They were talking about the struggles of getting their youth together because people are so busy; they couldn’t get folks to commit to showing up and sharing leadership.
One of the youth ministers said she had planned a wienie roast—you know, a nice activity for a group of young people, standing around a fire and roasting hot dog wienies—but she was so worried that no one would bring the actual hot dog wienies that she went out and bought some anyway. But overfunctioning became exhausting, and with a sigh she said, “I’ve been buying too many wienies lately.” So this became a refrain for the youth ministers, their own promise to themselves and to each other, “I will not buy the wienies.”
And the back of the shirt has the next step: “I will teach you to buy the wienies.” And they included a verse of Scripture taken from Ephesians, chapter four (verses 11 and 12), “…and God’s gifts were that…some should be pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for building up the body of Christ.”
Building up the body of Christ—isn’t that what we are here to do? We’re here to to lift up and encourage one another in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, to share our knowledge and teach one another. This is the serious business of community and why we take humor and joy seriously.
The entirely practical reason for Holy Humor Sunday is that Easter Sunday and the three holy days leading up to Easter—it’s a pretty big production. Ask the altar guild, the choir members, the assisting ministers—we are tired. The church staff have been up here at the church so much that we’re just exhausted and slaphappy. So we want to have some fun. We are human, after all.
And because we know Jesus Christ, we know that God understands what it is like to be human. So throughout his ministry and when he is resurrected, Jesus is explaining to disciples the three messages of Easter: don’t be afraid, come and see, and go and tell the others. The message of today’s Gospel sounds a little different but means much the same: instead of saying “Don’t be afraid,” the risen Christ is saying “Peace be with you.” And in place of saying “Come and see,” the risen Christ today is saying, “Do you believe because you have seen me?” And in a riff on “Go and tell,” Jesus tells his disciples, “As the Father sent me, so I send you.”
The story doesn’t end with your own personal salvation. Jesus feeds his disciples and says, now you go and feed others. Jesus washes his disciples’ feet and says, I washed your feet, now you go and wash others’ feet too. The Good News keeps spreading as God’s love keeps moving through the world, over and over again.
Like telling and retelling a really good joke. Have you heard the one about death and resurrection? It’s silly and very much blessed.
Amen.
Pastor Cheryl
Comments