Are Presbyterians Allowed to Laugh?
with Rev. Laura Sherwood
April 7, 2024
“Are Presbyterians allowed to Laugh? – seriously, are they?”
The Scripture
Psalm 100
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
John 16:16-24
16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
17 At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? 20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
Read the Full Text
Holy Humor Sunday…I have never heard of this before! Not until Pastor Laura introduced me to this intriguing faith tradition that goes back for centuries. Holy Humor Sunday! Why, oh why have I never experienced Holy Humor Sunday? On yes, I grew up in a Presbyterian Church. And I truly loved my church, but I do remember there being some pretty clear rules about how to behave – in worship especially.
Worship was meant to be solemn and reverent – as a child I was taught specifically not to applaud after a choir anthem or other presentation, even if I felt inspired by it. Worship was supposed to be quiet and orderly. (Remember how our parents tried to us to keep us quiet…the stern looks, the shushing, I’m sure you have other stories to share.)
Finish reading
Those were the days we called ourselves, “the frozen chosen!” It’s a cold way to be together, isn’t it? I have to say though, that over time, I saw my own Presbyterian church and other mainline churches change, be a bit more relaxed…at least in regard to the rule of quietness. Now, I’m happy to say, applause and other kinds of joyful expression are much more common. I see that a lot here at First Pres Arlington Heights – in both the Chapel and the Sanctuary. We experience joy in simply being together.
Back to the sermon title question, 4 Are Presbyterians Allowed to Laugh? Laugh in church? Thinking back to my upbringing in the Church, I think the answer might have been a pretty clear “No.” And Gregory Peck proves this
to be true.
Can you image sitting in those pews looking up at Gregory Peck? But from all I’ve learned about Jesus, the early Church and even the history of the Presbyterian Church, 6 I think the real answer was and should always be a resounding, “Yes!”
In true Presbyterian form, let me offer you the evidence of my research.
First, I will refer to a blog written by Rev. Jeff Vamos, senior pastor of one of the oldest Presbyterian Churches in the country –The Presbyterian Church in Lawrenceville, NJ, founded in 1698. Quoting from his blog post titled, “Did Jesus Laugh?”
Though some of the early church fathers denied the laughter of Christ, many found it easy to identify laughter – so characteristic of human joy –
with an intimate experience of divine grace. The biblical witness knows the joy of human laughter, as we see from Sarah’s laughter at God’s proposition of a child in old age.St. Paul identifies the gospel of Christ with what is “foolish in this world,” which shames the wisdom of the wise… He also details a German preaching tradition that allowed the telling of even off-color jokes and stories during the Easter season as a way of rejoicing in the triumph over death that Easter represents.
Building on this evidence from my Presbyterian colleague, that German tradition seems to fall in line with an old tradition in Eastern Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant countries, where the week following 10 Easter Sunday was observed by the faithful as “days of joy and laughter” with parties and picnics to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. It was even common for traveling comedians known as “jesters” to heckle preachers during their sermons.
The theme of celebrating Easter with days of joy and laughter has echoed down through the centuries. Meister Eckhart, a 13th century Christian mystic wrote: “God laughed and begat the Son. Together they laughed and begat the Holy Spirit. And from the laughter of the Three, the universe was born.”11 (joke) Even our confessions support laughter and joy which I will read with language updated. The larger catechism’s very first question asks this, “What is the chief and highest end of humanity?” Answer “…to glorify God, and fully to enjoy God forever.”
Our #1 priority is to love God and enjoy God! Could it be that love and joy can change our hearts!
Just maybe we are being called to be the un-frozen chosen! I believe this is in keeping with the scripture we read from John’s gospel when Jesus promised his disciples at the Last Supper: “So you have pain now; but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” (John 16:22)
The Joy of God in Christ was truly a powerful force in those early days of the church – when believing was especially difficult and dangerous.
Knowing God in Christ created a joy in believers’ hearts that was more powerful than fear, more enduring than doubt. No wonder those ancient worship services celebrated Easter with such fun and festivity.
Laughter can be healing and in so many ways transcends language…show clip of babies). And laughter is also contagious as we have just experienced.
In keeping with that tradition and our theme for this worship, I’d like to end with a couple of my favorite church jokes.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before….
• A confirmation student was asked to list the Ten Commandments in
anyorder.Hewrote:“3,6,1,8,4,5,9,2,10,7.” (HHpg.4)
• After the service, a little boy told the pastor: “When I grow up, I’m
going to give you some money.”
“Well, thank you,” the pastor replied, “but why?”
“Because my daddy says you’re one of the poorest preachers we’ve ever had.” (HH pg. 23)
Laughter is contagious and so is our joy. Let your joy-in-the-Lord be known to everyone! The tomb is empty because Christ has risen. (He has risen indeed!) Amen