God's Laughter

 

Scripture

 Proverbs 17:22

²² A cheerful heart is a good medicine,
    but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.  (NRSVUE)

 Psalm 126:2-3

² Then our mouth was filled with laughter
    and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things for them.”
³ The Lord has done great things for us,
    and we rejoiced.  (NRSVUE)

 

Devotion

One of the things I loved about seminary was the moments in which we realized just how humorous the Bible can be.  From wordplay to ridiculous moments, God shows that he has a sense of humor.  For instance, God names the first human Adam, which is word play on the Hebrew word "adamah." Yes, that Adam is literally named after the dirt God formed him from. 

 There's 90 year old Sarah, who found it laughable that a stranger would promise that she would soon give birth to a child.  Sarah's original laughter was probably rather bitter.  But it turned out that God was in on the joke.  The strange was an angel, and Sarah was indeed pregnant.  What's more, God wanted Abraham and Sarah to name the child that would bring them such joy in their old age Isaac: "One Who Laughs."  (Genesis 17:18-19)

There's even the story of Balaam, who set out on a journey to visit King Balak of Moab (Numbers 22).  During the journey, Balaam's donkey first tried to turn off to one side of the road and then the other before laying down in the middle of the road and refusing to go any further.  Balaam began beating the donkey for embarrassing him... only for the donkey to open her and ask in a very human voice what it had done to deserve such treatment.  It was only then that Balaam's eyes were opened and he saw what the donkey had always seen. An angel was blocking the road before them...sword in hand.  When Balaam's own plans blinded to the fact that he was about to defy God's will, a literal jackass was the one who helped him see the danger ahead.   If that doesn't make readers chuckle, then nothing will.

God, it turns out, has a sense of humor.  God has had that sense of humor since the very beginning of Creation.  And if our almighty creator, liberator, guide, protector, redeemer, savior, and reconciler, can laugh while accompanying humankind on our earthly journey through earthly existence, then surely we can laugh along with God. 

Yes, there are times we do not feel much like laughter.  There are times to grieve, and times to be angry, and times to be serious.  But we do not need to be sad or dour or serious all the time.  For there are also times when God calls us to laugh.  To be cheerful.  To take ourselves a little less seriously and even poke fun at ourselves a bit as God reminds us of who/what we are, surprises us with unexpected (even laughable) blessings, and uses the strangest of people, places, and situations to get us on the right path.

I, for one, find great joy in knowing that God laughs with us.  For a cheerful heart is good medicine, and a God who encourages us to take an honest look at our relationship with God and one another ourselves and chuckle alongside him, is a God who truly has our best interests at heart.   God is understands and loves us just as we are. And so as the Triune God leads us through life and continues to teach us their ways, God laughs.  God encourages us to laugh.  Will we laugh with them?

Prayer 

Loving God, help us to come to you with good cheer and to laugh with you when called to do so.  May we experience the full joy of being in your presence.  Amen.