laugh

"When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue was singing." Psalm 126: 1-2

Lent isn't a time that you'll often hear reflections on laughter - so today is your day!

I am a laugher. I am a smiler. I always have been, and I hope I always will be. One big issue I had with church growing up was that there was little room for these two things. I grew up worshipping with lovely godly folks, but laughter and smiles were in short supply in our church - particularly during the worship service. The pastors always seemed so serious, and most congregants appeared dour (almost downright angry). I never heard anyone ever say anything funny during a worship service (at least intentionally). Sometimes funny things happened but people were too serious to laugh it off.

I remember one time, in the very first church that I served as a youth pastor, that bears this out: The senior pastor was a loving, yet very grumpy looking fellow - he loved God and His people but I recall finding him rather intimidating and serious (and I don't think I was alone). We were celebrating communion (as an aside, isn't funny that we say "celebrating" communion, when really our partaking of the sacrament is anything but celebratory - at least in the way that we usually think of celebrating) and our loving, yet dour faced minister fumbled the tray of communion cups during the hand off to the elder. The tray, along with all the cups and juice went flying and spraying everywhere. The minister had this never before seen frazzled and panicked look on his face as the tray fell. It made such a loud crash, and for a moment everyone was silent as the minster and elders just stood there frozen in shock.

I wanted to laugh out loud so much. This could just be my bizarre sense of humour, but I thought it was probably one of the funniest things I had ever seen. In fact, thinking now, if I was in the minister's place, I would've likely broke the tension and made some sort of funny quip poking fun at my self. This minister, after he got over his shock and embarrassment just kept going on like nothing ever happened. In fact the spilled tray and cups stayed there on the floor for the duration of the service.

Laughter is an outward sign of inner joy. Laughter is what the victorious do when their victory is assured. Laughter belongs in church and in our faith lives. I think that God is richly blessed when we laugh and smile. I think that God would have been warmly joyed when my minister fumbled the communion tray in much the same way that we are when we watch a puppy we love chase a butterfly. I suppose we could rightly be accused of taking ourselves too seriously.

Now sin is a serious thing - something worthy of eternal consequences that are anything but funny.

But here's where laughter comes into our faith life - God has brought us back from the captivity of sin! We've won! And He did so by the most extraordinary means possible - actually becoming a human infant growing only to die and rise again. We've been brought back from the dead - a situation that is so ludicrous and implausible that ones mouth cannot help but be filled with laughter, and our tongues fit for singing.

May you revel and laugh with God today in the sure joy of your deliverance!

Be God's, Scott