Eric Reece
There was a hospital system that decided to have a new campaign, “Cheat Death.”
It was very unpopular in the community and due to lots of criticism, killed before it rolled out.
I thought marketing didn’t take into account the Christian understanding of death as part of God’s plan of eternal life. Jesus didn’t cheat death, he beat it fair and square.
The week after Easter is a time to continue the Easter celebration. The early Orthodox Christians had a custom celebrating the joy of Easter all week long. They called it “Bright Week.” It is a time for family get-togethers, good humor, harmless pranks and “days of joy and laughter.”
Each day is called “Bright,” as in “Bright Monday” to the first Sunday after Easter, “Bright Sunday.”
Some protestants call it, “Holy Humor Sunday.” Christians of all traditions enjoyed the week following Easter, celebrating the resurrection with joy and laughter.
The traditions behind Bright Week were developed over the years by the writings of early Christian theologians (Augustine of Hippo, Gregory of Nyssa, and John Chrysostom), who recounted God playing a practical joke on Satan by raising Jesus from the dead. The early church called it the “Risus paschalis - the Easter laugh.”
Sadly, in the West, Risus Paschalis was banned by Pope Clement X.
The Easter sermon of John Chrysostom is read every year in many churches around the world. He wrote, “If any man be a wise servant, let him rejoicing enter into the joy of his Lord.”
Joy – I remember as a child the joy on our faces as we sang, “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy. Life can rob us of our joy. Easter is a reminder of the joy in our hearts.
Why celebrate Christ’s victory over death with laughter?
As a younger minister, I took things too seriously.
One Sunday, I was preaching about the prophet Samuel.
His father Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah.
I said, “This was common in ancient Israel, but today is against the law. Do you know what the punishment for bigamy is in the U.S.? – Two mother-in-laws.”
I underestimated how many mother-in-laws were in church that day, including my own. I survived.
Some time later, I read a minister who wrote, “Don’t make jokes about your mother-in-law, one day your wife will be just like her.”
I straightened up after reading this and have been flying right ever since.
Job’s friend Bidad said, “Behold, this is the joy of his way; and out of the earth others will spring. Behold, God will not reject a blameless man, nor take the hand of evildoers. He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouting” (Job 8: 19-21).
Easter is about the joy of Christ’s victory over sin and death. God is a God of joy. King David prayed for the joy of salvation to return to his life.
With all the worries and troubles in the world, I hope you will have joy, joy, joy, joy down in your heart.
Eric Reece is the faith columnist for The Graham Star. He is pastor of Robbinsville United Methodist Church and can be reached via email, ereece@wnccumc.net.