Personal Reflections of Bishop Michael J. Coyner
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#124. LAUGHING ALL THE WAY
Does your congregation laugh on Sundays? How about during meetings? Is laughter a part of your own faith experience? I find that many of our congregations here in the Dakotas have a good sense of humor. It is not that they take their faith lightly or that they ridicule others, rather they have a good sense of their own humanity. I believe that a good sense of humor is part of our spiritual growth. Two quick examples may help: Recently I was preaching at the Harrisburg United Methodist Church, and Pastor Jean Layton (a new Licensed Local Pastor on their staff) was doing the children's sermon. She was talking about fishing, as a way of relating to the day's text about Jesus calling the disciples to become fishers of people. As she was asking the children what kinds of equipment were needed for fishing (and she had brought along a tackle box, a pole, and a net), one child yelled "Worms!" Of course the whole congregation laughed, and it helped to make the point more clearly. Just last week I attended the meeting of our North Central Jurisdiction College of Bishops. One of our retired bishops, Sheldon Duecker, shared a story from a recent worship experience in the church that he attends in retirement. During the greeting time, a young woman noticed his bishop's lapel pin and asked about it. When Bishop Duecker explained that it was the symbol for a United Methodist bishop, she exclaimed, "That's neat. How did you get one?" We all had a good laugh about that. In fact much of our meeting as a College of Bishops was sprinkled with healthy laughter about ourselves and the funny circumstances we get into. Is such laughter irreverent? Not at all! The Gospels record that Jesus and his disciples were criticized by the overly-religious of their time -- because Jesus and his disciples had too much food and fun at their table fellowship. Some years ago the United Methodist curriculum for children included a wonderful poster which portrayed Jesus laughing. That poster stirred many comments, because most of our paintings, stained-glass windows, and other images of Jesus are always so serious. Here was an attempt to show Jesus laughing with his disciples and friends. A few months after that poster appeared, I heard about a church meeting in which they were having a nasty argument about what color to paint their sanctuary. They were meeting in one of the children's classrooms, and in the midst of that nasty argument one woman noticed the poster of Jesus laughing. She suddenly realized how ridiculous their argument was, and she started laughing. Soon everyone else in the room was laughing too, and then there were able to resolve their paint color issue more easily. Laughter ... appropriate laughter at our own humanity ... laughing to deal with the tough issues in a humorous way ... these are all signs of an active and alive spirit in a person and in a congregation. When I enter a church for worship or for fellowship, I am always pleased to hear the joyful laughter of people who enjoy being together. Somehow it feels like a place that will welcome the Spirit of Christ. By contrast, when I enter a church and hear only deadly silence, I usually find a people who are without joy, without love, and without Spirit. So, keep the faith -- and keep on laughing! And I pray: Thank You, Lord, for joy and laughter. Learning to laugh at ourselves |
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