A Time to Laugh – Part Two

“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time to laugh…” (Ecclesiastes 3: 4).

There is a time to laugh. There is nothing more inappropriate than a miss-timed laugh. Neither is there anything more appropriate than a good laugh. May the following spurious song titles get at least a smile if not a laugh.

        I KEEP FORGETTING I FORGOT YOU

        IF THE PHONE DON’T RING, BABY, YOU WILL KNOW IT’S ME

        HOW CAN I MISS YOU IF YOU WON’T GO AWAY

        I’M JUST A BUG ON THE WINDSHIELD OF LIFE

        IF YOU LEAVE ME, CAN I COME TOO

        THANK GOD AND GREYHOUND SHE’S GONE

        YOU DONE TORE MY HEART OUT AND STOMPED THAT SUCKER FLAT

        VELCRO ARMS, TEFLON HEART

“Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritations and resentments slip away and a sunny spirit takes their place,” so said American humorist Mark Twain.

If Jesus, “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3) was anointed with “the oil of gladness”(Hebrews 1:9) should not we express a little gladness in the form of laughter.

Jesus was filled with God’s Spirit, who produces the fruit of joy (Galatians 5:22). May the Spirit enable us to express joy in the form of laughter.

Scottish theologian, Donald Macleod offers this insight on joy as expressed in the form of laughter:
“Much has been made of the fact that Jesus is never said to have smiled or laughed. Linked to the description of the Servant as ‘a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief’ it has furnished a basis for the idea that Jesus’ life was unremittingly joyless and stressful. But this is a serious over-simplification. Apart from all else, a joyless life would have been a sinful life. Would Jesus have been guilty of the anxiety He forbade in others (Mt. 6:25)? Would He have fallen short of Paul’s attainment as one who had learned to be content whatever the circumstances (Phil. 4:11)? Or of the precept to ‘rejoice always’ (Phil. 4:4)? Could He have been filled with the Spirit and yet not have known the Spirit’s joy (Gal. 5:22)? Could He have given rest and relief to others (Mt. 11:28) while remaining depressed and disconsolate himself?”

Such an analysis is reason for us to recognize a lighthearted moment when God enables laughter.