A WORD FOR TODAY, April 6, 2026
Peggy Hoppes
We pray you have been blessed by this daily devotion.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, April 6, 2026
“When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad. Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negeb! Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.” Psalm 126, WEB
Many people thought Easter ended on Sunday with worship and baskets full of chocolate. Lent is over, the fasting is finished, but the Easter season has just begun. Easter is a time of joy, and yet we are reminded that the crucifixion was very real and is central part of our faith. We will continue to experience the pain of the death of Jesus Christ as we go forth into all the world being witnesses for the Gospel. Our lives of faith aren’t all sunshine and roses. In the midst of that truth, we are also reminded to trust in God, to live in faith, and to be joyful through the pain because our perseverance will bring us to the time of seeing our salvation in its fullness, enjoying the benefits of eternal life.
The first Easter may not have seemed very humorous to the disciples. They were frightened, hiding behind closed doors. They were angry because they thought someone had stolen the body of their Lord. They were confused because they didn’t understand what was happening. It was a difficult time. Though I doubt many of us will ever suffer the kind of persecution that the early church faced, we all can identify with Peter and the disciples. We’ve had to tell the truth to someone unwilling to hear. We have all experienced fear and doubt. We do not know what tomorrow holds and though we have the hope of eternal life it is hard to remember when we are suffering today. We identify more easily with the suffering of the crucifixion than the joy of the resurrection.
Despite this reality of our Christian life, this is indeed a time of great joy, joy that can be expressed in laughter and revelry. For many Christians around the world, the week after the Resurrection of Jesus was called the Octave of Easter and was observed by the faithful as “the days of joy and laughter” with parties and picnics that concluded on “Bright Sunday” (the Second Sunday of the Easter season). The custom was rooted in the musings of early church theologians (like Augustine, Gregory of Nyssa, and John Chrysostom) that God played a practical joke on the devil by raising Jesus from the dead. Early theologians called it “Risus paschalis: the Easter laugh.” Lately we call it Holy Humor or Holy Hilarity Sunday. The Octave of Easter was a time for joking and laughter. The people played practical jokes on their spiritual leaders and the preachers told jokes in their sermons.
Here’s a joke to start the laughter: “Did you hear the one about the shortest sermon in history? It was titled: ‘Killing Jesus.’ The content: ‘Didn’t work.’”
I read an article that suggested the most important day of Holy Week should be Maundy Thursday rather than Good Friday or even Resurrection Sunday. The writer pointed to the fact that the disciples returned to the Table. The Cross was finished, and the Resurrection was a one-time event, but Christians have returned to the Table regularly ever since. We do so not only in the Eucharist, but also as we gather for potlucks and other events to celebrate our lives together. No part of this incredibly holy season is more important than another because you can’t have one without the others, but there is something to this idea. Our faith in Jesus Christ is fed when we approach the Table through the covenant Jesus established with the bread and wine that is powered by His body and blood.
Risus Paschalis, the Easter Laugh, celebrated the joy of the season, a joy that perhaps was lost in the solemnity of after Lent, the Triduum, and even Resurrection Day. We have long had fun things happening at Easter such as egg hunts and pancake breakfasts, but in some ways Easter has become too dark. We could do well resurrecting the spiritual joy that Christ brings by being raised from the dead. So, let us remember that this week is a time to lighten up, to enjoy the humor of God, to laugh at ourselves, and to experience the reality of our life in Christ, good and bad, with merriment and happiness.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276.