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Blogging Toward Sunday, April 22nd, 2018
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Awakening Our Wonder: From Ordinary to Extraordinary -
Lighten Up: Laughter!
Isaiah 9:1-4 (The Message)
But there'll be no darkness for those who were in trouble. Earlier he did bring the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali into disrepute, but the time is coming when he'll make that whole area glorious- the road along the Sea, the country past the Jordan, international Galilee.
The people who walked in darkness
 have seen a great light.
For those who lived in a land of deep shadows-
light! sunbursts of light!
You repopulated the nation,
you expanded its joy.
Oh, they're so glad in your presence!
Festival joy!
The joy of a great celebration,
sharing rich gifts and warm greetings.
The abuse of oppressors and cruelty of tyrants-
all their whips and cudgels and curses-
Is gone, done away with, a deliverance
as surprising and sudden as Gideon's old victory over Midian.
After a week that started with Jonathan Morris' moving message of the spiritual power of music in our lives (and all the wonder-filled music that embodied that message), I have a difficult time reading Isaiah without humming Handel's Messiah. This passage from the prophet continues in a few verses with "For unto us a child is born; unto us-a son is given!" Christians read much of Isaiah through the lens of Christmas, but the prophet first wrote this poetic birth announcement to a particular people who longed for the birth of a crown prince who would lead them from darkness to light, from sadness to joy, from war to peace.
We can almost hear the party going on in the background as the poem continues, recalling the past victory of Gideon's army over the Midianites, empowered by the grace of God. The prophet's poem is punctuated with expressions of joy befitting the birth of any baby...celebratory laughter.
The first mention of laughter in the bible happens in Genesis 17 and 18, when God provokes Abraham and Sarah by announcing the future birth of their first baby. In response, Abraham "fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, 'can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?'" Old Sarah chuckled, too.The joke, of course, was on them. Later, they named their son Isaac, a Hebrew name that suggests the sound of laughter.
 Theatre as we know it today, originated in ancient Greece. The Greeks invented the chorus, they knew the difference between tragedy and comedy, creating the well-known dueling masks.
"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" (1962), with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, opened on Broadway in 1962. It was inspired by the writings of the Roman playwright Plautus.
Here's a clip
of the show's opening number, "Comedy Tonight," from a 1990's revival starring Nathan Lane.
There's no question that God has a sense of humor (how else can you explain our existence?). Join us Sunday as we lighten-up and explore the therapeutic healing power of humor.
See you in church!
LeeAnn
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