8^th April 2013

Rev Dr Max Champion at St John's UCA Mt Waverley Easter Day 31 March 2013

Lessons - Isaiah 65:17-25; Luke 24:1-12

'The men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the
dead? He is not here. He has risen."' Luke 24:5

What a joke! The tables are turned. Death cannot hold the crucified Jesus.
The spell of evil is broken and we begin to hear what Dante once called 'the laughter of the universe'.

We do not usually associate laughter with Easter. In fact Christians are often accused of lacking a sense of humour. Nowadays, especially at Easter, Christianity is more an object of ridicule than a source of laughter.

Sometimes Christians are so solemn and serious that laughter seems completely out of place. In Umberto Eco's famous novel / film The Name of the Rose, the misplaced seriousness of a monk leads to murder and arson when he tries to stop others reading books lampooning faith. He calls laughter 'base, weak, corrupt, the foolishness of our flesh, the peasant's entertainment, the drunkard's licence. (It) frees the villain from fear of the Devil, because in the feast of fools the Devil also appears poor and foolish, and therefore controllable. (p474)'

Even if we enjoy a good joke, we probably do not think that God has much of a sense of humour. He's too busy running the universe, sorting out prayer requests and condemning sins to have time for frivolity. If, though, we listen carefully to the Easter story, we may hear the laughter of God unexpectedly breaking through where there does not seem to be any cause for mirth.

The laughter of God must not be confused with scornful laughter that belittles others. Such 'laughter', that aims to humiliate the weak, vulnerable and different, is the result of smug superiority or envious inferiority.

This kind of derisive humour certainly is present at Easter.

* The soldiers ridicule Jesus by placing a crown of thorns on his head, dressing him in a purple cloak of royalty and kneeling before him in mock humility.

* The passing crowds laugh at him because, although he has saved others, he is powerless to save himself.

* The chief priests ridicule his claim to be the Messiah.

* According to Luke, one of the criminals crucified with him sneers at his failure to escape a horrible death.

* There is a great deal of laughter at Easter - scornful, spiteful and bitter sarcasm aimed at Jesus for having promised a kingdom which ends in humiliation!

Their laughter only dies down when the figure on the cross dies. The joking stops only when it is clear, so they think, that this trouble-maker will not pose further threats to public order or religious devotion. Only then is their laughter silenced.

On Easter morning, however, the silence is broken by a very different kind of laughter. The 'holy laughter' of God is heard. Grief turns to jubilation. Despair gives way to hope. Defeat is overcome by victory and we hear the faint sound of divine chuckling at the joke played on those who ridiculed the crucified Jesus.

A most unexpected punch-line! Usually we are saddened by stories about good, brave people who are ultimately defeated by evil. But we are flabbergasted by this story of a crucified man who triumphs over the authority of the State, the power of religion and the hysteria of the masses. Dead men are not resurrected. This must be some kind of sick joke or April Fools' Day prank!

Indeed it is a joke, but not a sick or frivolous joke, as Christianity's detractors (then and now) imagine. In the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, God is poking fun at evil by showing that it does not have the 'last laugh'. The resurrection is the 'punch-line' to a story about a crucified man. The incongruity of the situation is the point of the joke. It undermines the laughter of all who mocked Christ's claim to be the life- giving presence of God on earth. The joke is on those who held (and hold) Jesus up to public ridicule!

God's laughter is not disdainful. The God of resurrection is not a distant Fate unmoved by suffering and evil and playing cruel jokes on pathetic, hopeless humanity. He laughs as One who, knowing what it is to be rejected by those whom he loves, has forgiven them from the Cross. He does not sneer at the sinful. When God laughs at evil he knows its power, and its limits.

The resurrection of the crucified Jesus shows how ludicrous it is to assume that we can defeat the goodness and mercy of God.

On this Easter Day let us listen carefully to the sound of divine laughter which makes life joyful because it comes from the heart of God whose power has been displayed in Jesus' ministry. The laughter of God mocks our pretensions without treating us with contempt. It makes us glad that evil - and our part in it - does not have the final word. In the resurrection of Jesus the joke is on evil!

As we all know, it is not always easy to hear the laughter of God. We may miss the joke. Often, there is little to smile about. War and hunger continue to kill millions. Many are exploited and abused. The good do not necessarily prosper. God seems silent. Events can so overwhelm us that we experience the absence of divine laughter or mistake it for the 'twisted sense of humour' of a heartless Fate.

Sometimes, however, as on the day when the women visited Jesus' grave, it can be heard as a whisper. When the tomb is found to be empty there is no 'uproarious laughter'. In fact, they are terrified. They do not even get the joke about 'why they are seeking the living among the dead' (v5). Nor are the disciples amused when they hear the punch-line. 'You've got to be joking.' This is a sick joke - an 'idle tale' (v11). Even Peter does not yet see the funny side of things. He simply 'wonders' at what it all means (v12).

The full extent of the joke is not yet fully appreciated. That comes later when the 'presence' of the crucified Christ indicates that his 'absence'
from the tomb is the sign of God's victory over sin and death. Only then can the punch-line be greeted by glad and open-hearted merriment.

The fact that divine laughter can be heard at all is a sign of hope for humanity. In the face of sin, evil and death we can enjoy the joke that God has played on them in the resurrection of Christ from the dead. In this event - that has no parallel in history - we may hear the (faint) sound of laughter (now) in anticipation of that time when 'gales of laughter' shall echo through the universe because evil and death are no more.

If we listen carefully to the story about the resurrection of the crucified Jesus, we shall hear the sound of divine laughter poking fun at our pretensions and enabling us to rejoice in Christ's triumph.

Not everybody gets the joke. It often falls flat. Some will think it most inappropriate. Like all good jokes it cannot be 'explained'. But it must continue to be told because it can bring a smile to the face of even the most cynical, despondent or humourless person. It is our happy task, as the Church of the crucified and risen Jesus, to tell this joke so that others may come to share in the 'laughter of the universe'.

The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed. Hallelujah!

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Rev Dr Max Champion is minister in the St John's Uniting Church, Mt Waverley, Victoria, Australia. Dr Champion is Chair of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations within the UCA.