Pastoral Prayer: Holy Humor Sunday

Here’s a thoughtful pastoral prayer/prayer of thanksgiving for Holy Humor Sunday from April Fiet. Holy Humor Sunday is often celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter.

Pastoral Prayer for Holy Humour Sunday

O Lord, giver of joy and laughter, we thank you for giving us these gifts.

For the moments of laughter and unbridled joy you give to us:
  for opportunities to laugh at ourselves,
  for the belly laughs of children,
  for friends and family who love us because of our quirks,
    and not just in spite of them,
  for artists who give us the opportunity to see the world
    through the surreal,
  for the courage to smile even when difficulties arise,
  for those who have hope even when others think there is
    no hope,
  for saints in the Lord who overflow with laughter and
    spread your joy to all of us.

For the words of Jesus that defy our logical minds;
  for teaching us that we can be born again,
  for the woman who finds a lost coin and calls her
    friends and neighbors to celebrate,
  for the absurdity of a camel
    trying to fit through the eye of a needle,
  for the father of the Prodigal Son who is willing to look
    like a fool as he runs to greet his son,
  for the generosity of the landowner who will pay
    workers a whole day’s wage when they only worked one hour,
  for tiny bits of faith that can move entire mountains,
  for the reality that nothing can live unless it first dies.

For the great reversal of the Gospel:
  that the last shall be made first,
  that the rejected stone became the cornerstone,
  that those who wish to become great must serve,
  that the lost will be found,
  that the small will become great,
  that though you are Wisdom,
    you choose to forget our sins,
  that when we are weak, your strength shines through us.

O Lord, giver of joy and laughter,
we thank you for giving us
these gifts.

Thank you for the gift you give us
that allows us to enjoy these things to the full.
We can laugh because of the most amazing thing of all –
that you conquered death,
that the tomb is empty,
that light shone so bright
that it overcame the darkness.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Amen.

~ written by April Fiet, and posted on At the Table with April Fiet. http://aprilfiet.com/my-thoughts/laughing-church-holy-humor-sunday-resources