"Take a Pew": four short comedy skits for Lenten "refreshment"
Gratis post
In the Western tradition, the Fourth Sunday in Lent is known as Laetare (“Rejoice”) Sunday, also known as “Refreshment Sunday.” The vestment colors customarily change from dark purple to “rose” to indicate gladness. Halfway through the penitential season, it is a brief “rest” before resuming the fast and moving into the even more somber period of Passiontide.
This coming Sunday (the 30th) will be that Sunday, and with that as my lame excuse for this frivolous post — before I publish a proper one later this week, that is — here are four humorous videos to anticipate your Sabbath “refreshment.”
I realize that taste in humor differs and that some of you may not appreciate mine. Incidentally, I don’t regard humor (when it’s good-natured, not crass, and not intended to ridicule) as antithetical to the ascetical. That said, all the short skits below are British and tend to poke fun at old-fashioned, staid, circumspect Anglican religion (something I recall with fondness). I grew up as an Episcopalian, so these vignettes resonate with me. They may not with you, but you will almost certainly recognize some of the faces in them.
Here they are:
This first one (click here) you will only be able to see if you have a Facebook account.
The second (“Take a Pew”) is an outtake from Beyond the Fringe (1964), which featured Alan Bennett (the sermonizer in it), Jonathan Miller, Peter Cook, and Dudley Moore. To view it, click on the “Watch on YouTube” notice below.
The third video was also written for Beyond the Fringe, but it was redone in 1977 with Jonathan Miller and John Cleese. Its satirical target is “Oxbridge” philosophers, but if one were to exchange “philosophy” in it for “theology,” it could work just as well. Many a time (mostly on social media and podcasts these days), I have listened to stuff almost this stultifying about “deep,” abstruse theological matters. This is funnier, but only marginally so.
Lastly, you have probably seen this one before:
These video clips are not something one should watch if one is suffering from a respiratory illness. The inevitable laughter and tears quickly turns into a coughing fit with even more tears. Thank you Addison for brightening up the day with these links!