St. Pauls United Methodist Church
April 11, 2010 Rev. Lyle Hamilton Psalm 150
The custom of Easter Monday and Bright Sunday celebrations (Holy Humor Sunday for us) were rooted in the musings of early church theologians (like Augustine, Gregory of Nyssa, and John Chrysostom) that God played a practical joke on Satan by raising Jesus from the dead. Easter was “God’s supreme joke played on death.” The early theologians called it “Risus paschalis, the Easter laugh.”
As we chuckle and laugh today, let us remember that God laughs with us, lives within us, teaches us, and continues to form and shape us. In doing so, we will live out the inclusive and embracing spirit of Psalm 150, which calls us to praise God with our whole beings, whenever and wherever we happen to be.
LOL – How many of you know what that means? In text messaging, one thing it is short for is “Laughing our Loud.” And laughing out loud is what we often do not hear, see, or do enough, especially in church.
Some of you will have heard of laugh therapy or that laughter is the best therapy. It really is true . . . when we laugh, we release the body’s natural healing enzymes called endorphins. Singers get that kind of release when they sing. Runners, bikers, and swimmers reach a high endorphin level as they exercise and compete. You get endorphins from hugs, from listening to music, from chocolate. Humor is one of God’s great gifts, and also encourages an upsurge of endorphin levels in our bodies. It is one of the ways that God grants us release from all that binds us, holds us down, confines us, and overwhelms us. It is one of the ways that God grants us healing and wholeness.
Bishop William Willimon, in his book, The Laugh Shall Be First, says that “among all of God’s creatures, human beings are the only animals who both laugh and weep – for we are the only animals who are struck with the difference between the way things are and the way things ought to be. In those priceless moments when we are struck with the incongruity of this world, humor results. A stern, smug, gentleman slips on a banana peel and ends up sprawled on the sidewalk, and we laugh (so long as he is not hurt); W.C. Fields throws a pie in the face of a haughty woman in an evening gown – we laugh.” Humor is a wonderful way of holding up a mirror for us to see ourselves, including our many foibles and frailties, so that we can even laugh at ourselves. It is good for us, it is good for all, and “God Laughs with us.” Reflect upon the following:
There once was a man who had been shipwrecked on a remote island in the Pacific, and was alone for 20 years. When a ship finally arrived, his rescuers were impressed with the three buildings he had built and asked him about them.
“Well,” the man replied, “this one is my house, and that building over there is my church. It’s a wonderful church and I hate to leave it.”
“And what’s the third building yonder?” a rescuer asked.
“Oh, that’s the church I used to go to,” the man replied.
We laugh . . . and we perhaps cry a little.
Reinhold Niebuhr, the great 20th century theologian, said that . . . “the very essence of sin is taking ourselves too seriously.” If that’s true, the very essence of grace is to receive the gift of laughter, especially when the joke is on us, particularly when the most laughable incongruities consist of the gap between who we have been and are, and who God would have us become.
So, let us laugh with God and each other today, to see ourselves as we are, to find grace, compassion, forgiveness, hope, and have some fun together . . .
Adam had a conversation with the Lord one day after he was finished naming all the animals. He had noticed that every animal had a mate except for him. So Adam asked God if he could make him a mate, also. Therefore, God told Adam, “I will make for you a creature that will be absolutely beautiful to look at and be with. She will always be submissive and in agreement with you, she will bring coffee to you every morning, prepare all your meals, and will bless you in many other ways.”
Being a little skeptical, Adam asked the Lord, “How much will this cost me?”
God replied, “Only an arm and a leg.”
Then Adam asked, “What can I get for a rib?”
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Top 10 reasons God created Eve (as you may guess, this was ably written by a woman)
10] God worried that Adam would be lost in the Garden of Eden because he wouldn’t ask for directions.
9] God knew that someday Adam would need someone to hand him the TV remote.
8] God knew that Adam would never make a doctor’s appointment.
7] God knew that when Adam’s fig leaf wore out, he would never buy a new one for himself.
6] God knew that Adam would not remember to take out the garbage.
5] God wanted Adam to be fruitful and multiply, but also knew that Adam would never be able to handle labor pains and childbirth.
4] As “keeper of the garden,” Adam would need help in finding his tools.
3] Adam needed someone to blame for the Apple Incident, and for anything else that was really his fault.
2] As the Bible says: “It is not good for man to be alone.”
1] And the number 1 reason that God created Eve: God stepped back, looked at Adam, and declared: “I can do better than that.”
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A little boy was overheard praying: “Lord, if you can’t make me a better boy, don’t worry about it. I’m having a real good time like I am.”
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A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they were on the way to church service: “And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?” One bright little girl replied, “Because some of the people are sleeping.”
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A mother was preparing pancakes for her two sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. “If Jesus were sitting here, he would say, ‘Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.’ After a moment of silence, Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, “Ryan, you get to be Jesus!”
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A woman invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to her six-year-old daughter and said, “Would you like to say the blessing?” The girl replied: “O Mommy, I wouldn’t know what to say.” The woman answered, “Just say what you hear Mommy say. At this, the daughter bowed her head and said, “Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?”
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Given the time of year that it is, here is a taxes, politicians, children, and religion joke all rolled into one: A little boy wanted $100.00 very badly and prayed for weeks, but he did not receive the money. Then he decided to write God a letter asking for the $100.00. When the US Postal Service received a letter addressed: “God, USA” they decided to send it to the president. The president was so amused that he instructed his secretary to send the little boy a $5.00 bill, thinking this gift would appear to be a lot of money to a little boy. The little boy was delighted with the $5.00 bill and sat down to write a thank you note to God, which read:
“Dear God: Thank you very much for sending the money. However, I noticed that for some reason you sent it through Washington, D.C, and those people deducted $95.00 in taxes.”
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How about a heaven joke:
One day God was looking down to earth and saw all the evil going on. So, God decided to send an angel down to earth to check it out. A female angel was called and sent to earth for a time. When she returned she told God that yes, it is bad on earth: 95% is bad and 5% is good.
Well, God thought for a moment and said that maybe a male angel should be sent down to earth in order to get both points of view. A male angel was called and sent to earth for a time. When the male angel returned, he told God that yes, the earth was in decline: 95% was bad and 5% was good.
God said that this is not good, so God would send a letter to the 5% that was good and encourage them, something to help them keep on going. Do you know what that letter said?
Oh, you didn’t receive one either?
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Finally, a second Top Ten list: The top ten things you will never hear at church.
10] Nothing inspires me and strengthens my commitment like our annual stewardship campaign!
9] Pastor, we would like to send you to this Minister’s Conference in the Bahamas.
8] Since as members and visitors, we’re all here, let’s start the worship service early!
7] I love it when we sing hymns I’ve never heard before!
6] Let’s stop all those potlucks and special meals so we can all lose a little weight this year.
5] I volunteer to be the permanent teacher for the Junior High Sunday School class.
4] I’ve decided to give our church the $2,000 needed to upgrade the computers in the office.
3] Personally, I find being in church much more enjoyable than golf or skiing.
2] I was so enthralled, I never noticed your sermon caused the service to be 20 minutes longer than usual.
And the number 1 thing you’ll never hear at church:
1] Hey! It’s MY turn to sit in the front pew!
Someone has well said that there are only two kinds of people in the world: there are those who wake up in the morning and say, “Good morning, Lord,” and thre are those who wake up in the morning and say, “Good Lord, it’s morning.” May we be that first kind of person, at least most days, because we have heard the good news of the love of God . . . a God who loves us more than we know, a God who inspires true joy in the living of each day, a God who in the person of Jesus invites us to love God, love other persons, and care for ourselves in the process. A God who cries with us when we feel broken, and a God who laughs with us when we take the barriers down and allow ourselves to be healed and redeemed.
May we laugh with God as God laughs with us, today and always . . . so let it be . . . Amen!
