Laughter

Today’s sermon is titled “Laughter.”

And up front, the point of today’s sermon is to express that even in serious times, we still need laughter.

We do.

Psychologist Jessica Shrader wrote:

“Research… has shown that laughter reduces levels of stress hormones such as cortisol, epinephrine, and dopamine; increases health-enhancing hormones (such as endorphins), neurotransmitters, and infection-fighting antibodies; and improves blood flow to the heart—all resulting in greater relaxation and resistance to disease, as well as improved mood and positive outlook.”

Laughter enlivens us.

Laughter changes us for the better.

Now here is a hard stat:
“The average 4-year-old laughs 300 times a day.
The average 40-year-old? Only four.”

So, my goal today is to raise that average just a little bit.

Ever since my spouse and I were married almost 13 years ago, we’ve tried to grow things in garden beds and flower pots. I don’t know what it is, but until this year we just assumed that we didn’t have green thumbs. One time, we did have a successful corn stalk. One corn stalk, and then our dog ate it.

My spouse and partner in life decided that this is the year. People growing apocalypse gardens have been showing up in her Instagram algorithm, and this became the year. And I’ll have you know that we feasted on our first collard greens on Friday for lunch that she grew from seed. They were the best collard greens I’ve ever tasted.

I am so impressed. A few Instagram videos (hear a lot of videos) later, and our garden is blossoming. It is a lush green. And that is no small feat, because we also have a 75 lb German shepherd puppy who likes to eat squash plant leaves and jump in front of the water hose as a blur of teeth and sass.

But do you know what I’m looking forward to the most?

A homegrown tomato sandwich with Duke’s mayonnaise, onion salt, and white bread.

I love a fresh tomato out of the garden. Have any of you ever listened to Guy Clark by chance? He has a song about homegrown tomatoes that is always good for a laugh.

“Homegrown Tomatoes” Music and lyrics by Guy Clark

Ain’t nothin’ in the world that I like better
Than bacon & lettuce & homegrown tomatoes
Up in the mornin’ out in the garden
Get you a ripe one, don’t get a hard one
Plant ‘em in the spring, eat ‘em in the summer
All winter without ‘em’s a culinary bummer
I forget all about the sweatin’ & diggin’
Every time I go out & pick me a big ‘en

Homegrown tomatoes homegrown tomatoes
What’d life be without homegrown tomatoes
Only two things that money can’t buy
That’s true love & homegrown tomatoes

You can go out to eat & that’s for sure
But it’s nothin’ a homegrown tomato won’t cure
Put ‘em in a salad, put ‘em in a stew
You can make your very own tomato juice
Eat ‘em with eggs, eat ‘em with gravy
Eat ‘em with beans, pinto or navy
Put ‘em on the side put ‘em in the middle
Put a homegrown tomato on a hotcake griddle

CHORUS

If I’s to change this life I lead
I’d be Johnny Tomato Seed
‘Cause I know what this country needs
Homegrown tomatoes in every yard you see
When I die don’t bury me
In a box in a cemetery
Out in the garden would be much better
I could be pushin’ up homegrown tomatoes

We need laughter.

Our Bibles begin with mystery and laughter. Well, maybe not laughter specifically, but there is a hilarious tale right there in Chapter 2 in the second creation story.

Let’s use our imaginations:

Can you picture a group of people sitting around a campfire telling stories? There are probably about 10 adults and 9 children of all ages. They are sitting in the evening, in desert clothing, talking about the day of travel and enjoying twilight. One of the children perks up and curiously asks, “Where do we come from?”

An elder adult woman speaks up and says, “In a beginning, God created all that we see in 6 days. There was primordial chaos, and God spoke all of this world into existence. On the sixth and last day of creation, God created human beings, then looked at all of creation, and gave an original blessing. God said, it is all very good, and then God took a nap for a whole day!”

The children giggle, and then an elder man speaks up, “I’ll tell you where we came from. Here’s another story of creation. There were no plants and no water—everything was dry and bare. And then a stream of water bubbled up and covered the ground. From some of that earth mud, God created an earth creature called adam. Do you know what adam means in Hebrew? It means earth creature.”

“Well, the earth creature was lonely, because humans are relational; we need each other. God made an amazing garden with trees and tomatoes and put the earth creature in the garden to care for this beautiful place. Things were fine, but the earth creature got lonely. So God said, let’s make you a partner. And do you know what God created to be the partner for the earth creature? Animals.

“That’s right. Can you imagine being lonely and needing a partner and then all of a sudden, a flamingo appears? God asked, ‘Is this a good partner?’ No! And then a rhinoceros. ‘Is that a good partner?’ No! And then a duck-billed platypus. No! And then an aardvark. No! So God created another human from the earth creature, and that is where we then get the names Adam and Eve.”

Another younger woman speaks up and says, “Those are great stories, but we also come from our ancestors Sarai and Abram. Would you believe that they were both really old and had no children, when some friends visited and said that they were about to be pregnant? Sarai was standing in the doorway and heard this, and do you know what she did? She laughed. She did! And sure enough, they became pregnant, and God said you will now be known as Sarah and Abraham. This is where we get the song ‘Father Abraham had many kids….’

“It was a funny moment, but it was also a serious moment. Have you ever laughed out loud in a serious moment? God asked Sarah, ‘Why did you laugh?’

“Sarah shrugged it off and said, ‘I didn’t laugh.’”

“Do you know what God said? ‘Yes, you did laugh.’”

“But God must have a sense of humor because Sarah birthed that child, and they named him Isaac. Do you know what Isaac means in Hebrew?

“Laughter.”

So, here we are today, still telling these old stories.

I think God is a God of humor…have you seen otters? The creator of joyfully mischievous otters must have a sense of humor.

It is important to remember that in the midst of serious times, even in the Bible, there is levity and laughter. As was told in the story, humans are relational creatures, and we were made to laugh. Laughing is good for the soul and good for the body.

We are living in a very serious time. And we are living in a time when it feels like the people in the highest levels of decision-making have no room for laughter. There is only fear. Fear is a great motivator, but human beings were not created to live in fear all of the time. Our bodies can’t handle that. But it is tricky because sometimes that same dopamine hit can come from fear-based sources. So, we have to be intentional.

We must put ourselves in a position to laugh. We must be the ones to bring some levity. These are serious days, and there are serious days ahead, but how are we going to handle those serious days without having something in our laughter banks? Four times a day is not enough.

So, friends, do the serious work. The work of justice is important, serious work. AND, don’t forget to laugh. Don’t forget that we are relational beings. Don’t forget that the Creator who created each one of us also created otters and tomatoes.