Now it’s “Merry Christians”

Anti-Christmas grinches, who renew each year’s battle to retire the words “Merry Christmas” for more secular ones, will be less than pleased with Easter’s big resurgence of the “Merry Christians”. Merry Christians are finding huge success with the resurrection of an old Easter custom--Holy Humor Sunday--and are bringing in the sheaves to boot. “Many American churches are resurrecting an old Easter custom begun by the early Greek Christians--”Bright Sunday” or “Holy Humor Sunday” celebrations on the Sunday after Easter (April 19).” (Christian Newswire, March 3, 2009). “On Holy Humor Sunday, many churches featured on their bulletin covers the Fellowship of Merry Christians’ phenomenally popular print of “The Risen Christ by the Sea’, a painting of a joyful, smiling, triumphant Risen Christ surprising His disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.”

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At the very time when politicians are depending on depressing the masses, the “laughing-is-good-for-you” Fellowship of Merry Christians, which got its start back in 1988, is making this year’s theme “Humor and Hope for the Hard Times”. “Even in churches which did not have a Holy Humor Sunday program, many pastors, including western and eastern Catholic priests, acknowledged the “Easter laugh” theme in their sermons on the Sunday after Easter. “Pastor Jim Arends of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in La Crescent, MN, said, “This gives us a chance to celebrate the joy of Easter in a fun way a week after we’ve celebrated it in a glorious way...We don’t celebrate this to increase attendance, but it has had that effect.” Holy Humor Sunday, “solidly grounded theologically and historically” at a time when peoples’ spirits could use a lift, is here to stay. “Merry Christians”, growing like the proverbial weed in the face of the battle over wishing folk a “Merry Christmas” and humor as an antidote to mainstream media daily news chronicling the end of America, comes as a double whammy for the spreaders of doom and gloom. Bleak 2009 seems to have a lot in common with 1929’s small `d’ and capital `D’ Depression. People keep hearing that they will lose their jobs and their homes and have heard from a president--who promised hope--that it will be a lot worse before it gets over. There are some who insist that depressing and demoralizing the chattering classes is a necessity for politicians who want to control them and that sunny days will return again. “The financial crisis now appears to have been purposefully initiated with an incident in September prior to Election Day, in which an electronic run on major US banks of several billions of dollars was perpetrated, knowing it would create a cascade of failures,” writes Alan Caruba in his column today. “There is nothing accidental about the current financial crisis. “Every single American as well as Americans yet to be born will be saddled with huge debts tied to a multi-million-dollar deficit that President Obama has endorsed and Congress has created. It is a deficit he promises to cut in half, but not until he is re-elected. Do you believe him?” The years 1929 and 2009 are sounding like the Terrible Twins. But it was also in 1929 when Readers Digest with its Laughter is the Best Medicine feature, hit the newsstands. The 13th Annual Holy Humor Sunday at Mantua (NJ) United Methodist Church was based on Proverbs 17:22--”A cheerful heart is a good medicine.” Holy Humor has even reached Afghanistan, where Lieutenant Commander James M.T. Connolly, CHC, USNR, a Catholic chaplain, wrote that he uses the humor in The Joyful Newsletter to lift the spirits of the U.S. Marines he serves. “Out on the front lines, humor is an awesome morale-builder,” he wrote. Another Catholic chaplain, Fr. James Shell, pastor of Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, which serves U.S. Army families at Fort Stewart, GA presented 35 framed prints of “The Risen Christ by the Sea’ to the children in Confirmation classes shortly before Easter. “It’s an inspirational painting in these turbulent times,” he said.
 Meanwhile, “Merry Christians” to all!

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