“Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” (Psalm 126:2)
If you’re at all like me, you might be finding yourself in need of some laughter these days. We find ourselves navigating an onslaught of bleak and depressing headlines, we seem unable or unwilling to end war or famine, we despair as our planet literally burns, and we find it increasingly difficult to imagine a bright and equitable and peaceful future for our children and grandchildren. It’s grim. What is there to laugh about, rejoice in, celebrate?
When was the last time you laughed so hard that you cried? I remember being a teenager and staying up late watching ‘Saturday Night Live,’ laughing until I was short of breath and my stomach hurt. It was an absolute release. The SNL jokes and sketches were often raunchy and certainly not appropriate for the Trinity Church ePistle. But the laughter - it was holy.
Anne Lamott says “laughter is carbonated holiness.” Have you ever heard Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s laugh? Holy.
The humorist (and Episcopalian) Garrison Keillor quipped, “You know you are a Episcopalian when it’s 100 degrees, with 90% humidity, and you still have coffee after the service,” and “You hear something really funny during the sermon and smile as loudly as you can.” Can you feel yourself grinning and nodding in agreement and recognition?
I think there should be a yearly church commemoration of Robin Williams ‘Top 10 Reasons to be Episcopalian.’ Williams, a cradle Episcopalian, was a master of not taking oneself too seriously, and we were all blessed by his ministry of holy (and unholy) laughter. So here’s the list. Feel free to add your own. Maybe we should nail them to the door of the church, like Luther’s 95 theses. Enjoy.
Robin Williams’s Top 10 Reasons to be Episcopalian:
10. No snake handling.
9. You can believe in dinosaurs.
8. Male and female God created them; male and female we ordain them.
7. You don't have to check your brains at the door.
6. Pew aerobics.
5. Church year is color-coded.
4. Free wine on Sunday.
3. All of the pageantry - none of the guilt.
2. You don't have to know how to swim to get baptized.
And the NUMBER ONE reason to be an Episcopalian:
1. No matter what you believe, there's bound to be at least one other Episcopalian who agrees with you.
Wishing you the blessing of carbonated holiness,
Wesley
