Holy Humor Sunday: It’s About Time
A sermon about Ecclesiastes 3: 1 – 8
They say the key to comedy is timing.
Knock knock. Who’s there? Interrupting cow. Moo.
Knock knock. Who’s there? Interrupting sloth. um….
Christianity isn’t known for laughter, but it should be.
Timing is also the key to life. Our scripture from Ecclesiastes, an ancient book of wisdom, reveals that there is a time for every season under heaven, including a time to laugh.
Some scratched their heads when we began dedicating a Sunday to humor in church. Their parents raised them to believe the church should be solemn, serious, and silent. There is a time for that, but there is also a time for celebration, spontaneity, and silliness. The church has said that every Sunday is a mini-Easter Sunday, a time of joyous celebration, knowing that no matter how bad it may seem at any moment, God still has the last word.
The church gets a bad rep when fun isn’t part of the equation, as if we should continuously twist up our faces as if we’ve been sucking sour pickles, disapproving of anything enjoyable.
Once, a minister, wearing his clerical collar, ran into his comedic hero, Groucho Marx, in an elevator. He was star-struck, but managed to say, “Mr. Marx, I want to thank you for all the joy you bring the world.” Marx snipped back, “And I’d like to thank you for all the enjoyment you take out of it.”
Laughter is part of our faith and a spiritual practice.
Why should we have such a reputation? Jesus laughed and told jokes with his disciples, and humor pulses through the Bible. Just look at the story of the talking donkey, known as Balaam’s ass. There is even a flatulence joke in Judges 3. The Bible writers were as earthy as any of us.
The scriptures remind us to be joyful, and laughter is a byproduct of joy. Father James Martin says laughter is a spiritual practice — it’s good for the soul by reminding us not to take ourselves too seriously.
Springsteen sings, “It ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive.” James Taylor sang “The secret of life, enjoying the passage of time.”
Joyous laughter is an antidote, an act of counter-cultural defiance in a world that is growing increasingly uncivil and mean-spirited by the day.
My mission of joy.
Part of my mission as a pastor is to help people see that faith can be enjoyable, that humor and joy are not just permissible but integral to the Christian experience. I come by it honestly, inheriting my dad’s sense of humor that carries on into my grandson. It comes from a place of joy—a lot of it from an experience of almost dying and other traumatic events as a teenager. I came out of it thinking that every moment from that time onward is bonus time, a pure gift. It changed me. Whatever happens, good or bad, it’s something I get to experience. It’s not insouciance, a lack of seriousness. “I’ve got a very tender heart, and care deeply, but ultimately, it’s about perspective that whatever is going on, God gets the last laugh.
Timing is part of discipleship.
Our scripture invites us to maintain the proper perspective and respond appropriately to each moment, which. It is a component of faithful discipleship: knowing when to challenge and when to comfort, when to push and when to pull back, and when to speak and when to listen more deeply.
We can all learn to do better. The key is to pull back from thinking about what you will say next so that you can pay attention to little cues, body language, facial expressions, what isn’t being said, and changes in their behavior. Sometimes, when someone is going through a tough time, it’s best to just be with them and give them space to “feel the feels.” At other times, we have to remind them about what is good and help lift them up. It’s about sensing the right time. Sometimes, the right word of encouragement at the right time can make all the difference in the world.
In what season do we find ourselves?
When we step back and look at the big picture, we examine the times in which we live and must ask what time it is for us. In what season do you find yourself?
Is it a season for sowing new dreams, or a season for resting fallow?
A season for letting go of grudges, guilt, or grumpiness that no longer serve you?
A season for tending to old wounds, or planting seeds of new hope?
A time for reflection, or a time for bold movement?
Maybe it’s a time for grieving something lost—or maybe it’s time to pick yourself up from disappointment, dust off your soul, and dare to hope again.
Wisdom begins by embracing your season, honoring it, and trusting that whatever season you’re in, God is already there.
What season is it in our culture?
Beyond examining our private lives, we are also called to step back and consider the broader picture of our society, asking, “What is the best response from people of faith?” What do we see?
- A divided culture. Focused on the individual, it is polarized and hostile. People jump to rage at the slightest slight, with no sense of centering, just a reptilian reaction.
- We live in a time when institutions have lost their trust, when misinformation machines manipulate, and every conspiracy theory is treated as fact.
- We live in a time when greed runs rampant, and suspicion of anyone not in our group quickly turns to demonization.
- We live in an era when the church has lost its mojo–overshadowed by extremist religious voices who deny science and amplify political rhetoric to the point that it has little to do with Jesus’ agenda. In turn, the church is losing members and its prophetic edge as the voice for the voiceless.
What is the appropriate response?
What is needed for a time such as this? Build community. Tell the truth. Model compassion. Call for justice. Be an inclusive community where everyone is welcome–the beloved community filled with joy.
This is the time for sowing seeds. The Prayer of St. Francis reminds us to plant where there is injury, pardon, where there is hatred, love.
Timing is everything.
They say timing is everything. My grandson had a long potty training experience. One day he bounced into the living room and announced, “I pooped in the potty!” While filled with joy, we also thought, “Well, it’s about time!” Perhaps the Spirit is wondering if we will figure out what it is time for us to do.
- It’s about time we embraced the joy and goodness of the world that God has created and worked to protect.
- It’s about time for the church to get its mojo back and be who we say we are: a voice for the voiceless, a refuge for those battered by the meanness of this age.
- It’s about time we embrace our role as a place of civility and dialogue, where we strive for deeper understanding from one another instead of falling into the trap of constantly proving we are right, as if being right is more important than being loving.
- It’s about time we shake off the image of being judgmental, anti-science, anti-gay, and anti-fun.
- It’s about time for us to show the world what it means to live into our call to be the joyful, beloved community marked with compassion and
They say laughter is the best medicine.
So take your medicine.
Laugh with holy defiance.
Love without limits.
Hope without fear.
And let’s show the world that joy is not naive—it’s courageous, contagious, and supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
God gets the last laugh.
And delights in nothing more than you trusting and living as if that is true.
Thanks be to God. Amen.