Christ Episcopal Church
	Riverton, New Jersey
	Giving up piety for Lent pi·e·ty (pº“¹-t¶) n., pl. 1. The state or quality of being pious, especially: a. Religious devotion and reverence to God. b. Devotion and reverence to parents and family: filial piety. 2. A devout act, thought, or statement. (The American Heritage Dictionary). One of the most helpful volumes in my voluminous collection of books is entitled Holy Humor. It has been out of print a while, but I still try to get extra copies of it to give to those who are beginning their ordained ministry. I gave a copy to a recent ordinand, and begged his indulgence and hoped he wouldn’t be insulted by the gift. I explained that over the years I have been accused of impiety by some because I tend to laugh and joke – a behavior that was considered unbecoming a priest of the church. “I don’t consider myself impious,” I continued, “It is just that my piety is based on the passage from Nehemiah, ‘the joy of the Lord is my strength’”. “That’s all right” my new colleague responded, “I gave up piety for Lent”. I don’t know when devotion to God became humorless. It certainly isn’t the Bible’s fault. I did a quick word count: joy/joyful occurs 39 times, rejoice 175 times, and glad / gladness, 151 times; whereas weep is found 55 times, mourn 57 times and sorrow 50. The Hebrew Scriptures are loaded with puns, which generally don’t translate that way. When St. Paul let down his guard a bit, he was quite a punster himself. The letter to Philemon has several if one reads Greek. Since our Lord was always exhorting his disciples to rejoice, there is reason to believe he was a good example. The Book of Common Prayer mirrors the Bible in the mirth department : joy / joyful – occurs 121 times, rejoice – 76 times, glad / gladness – 22 times; while on the other hand weep shows up 4 times, mourn(ing) 11 times, and sorrow 29 times. I figured that there must be something in the church’s literature that served to squeeze the joy from our faith. So I checked some of the sternest characters I could think of. Yet even many of these folks seem less heavy than their reputations suggest. Here’s a sample: Augustine of Hippo, “The Christian should be an alleluia from head to foot”. Francis deSales, “Humor is the foundation of reconciliation”. Thomas More, “It is possible to live for the next life and still be merry in this”. Martin Luther, “Faith always has as a companion joy in the Holy Spirit:” and "If you're not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don't want to go there”. According to these leading lights of faith, giving up piety as commonly understood is probably a very good thing to do. Being joyful in church, and even laughter itself, is not only appropriate, but necessary if we believe that it is in our public worship that come closest to the experience of the divine – indeed heaven itself. There are certainly times when humor and laughter are not appropriate. When we consider our Lord’s Passion during Holy Week, or our own brokenness and sinfulness (although being healed and forgiven should make us happy). There are things that are inappropriate to laugh at, like other peoples’ misfortune. Yet even at funerals I would suggest, laughter is fine when reflecting upon a happy memory as is joy when considering the eternal life being experienced by the deceased. I generally like to suggest prayers and disciplines that lead us to greater devotion during the Lenten season. I ask that you consider the following that can be done right here in Christ Church. As you enter the front door, take a look at St. Francis of Assisi and consider his advise, “If you, O servant of God, are upset for any reason whatever, you should remain in the presence of the Most High Father for as long as it takes for Him to restore you to the joy of your salvation”. Feel free to stay as long as you like, we won’t lock you in. If you are beset by the sullenness of others, look towards the stained glass window of St. Theresa of Avila and pray as she did, “From somber, serious, sullen saints, save us, O Lord. Lord hear our prayer”. And if your burden seems far to heavy, look to the depiction of our resurrected Lord over the altar and recall his promise, “So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you ... ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete”. (John 16:22,24). May the joy of the Lord be your strength!