OPEN: Dr. Short (one of the men who teaches Sunday School here) loves to share short puns in his classes… and I’m jealous so I decided to share a few of my own with memes.
#1 - squirrel spreading his arms heavenward “I tried to come up with a squirrel pun, but everything I thought of was nuts."
#2 – cat smiling weirdly at the camera “Guess who found your Antidepressant pills.”
#3 – grumpy cat with remote control on its head “That’s not even remotely funny.”
#4 – bear resting at zoo “Life is hard. I bearly made it through the week.”
#5 – dog with wrinkly face and tongue sticking out, laying on the floor “Please turn on the air conditioning. I think my face is melting.”
#6 – huge dog in owner’s arms and worried expression “Are you sure the spider is gone?”
#7 – dog laying on doggie pillow in front of a closet door, and a cat’s paw is stretching out beneath the door “The cat? I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
#8 – And lastly, a cat framed with the crust of piece of bread “I believe this cat is inbred.”
In our text today we read about a woman who laughed. “Sarah LAUGHED to herself, saying, ‘After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?’ The LORD said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh …’ But Sarah denied it, saying, ‘I did not laugh," for she was afraid.’” Genesis 18:12-13 & 15
I got thinking about laughter this past week and while scouring the internet on the subject I found that there are actually scientists who study WHY we laugh… and they write books about it. “One such scholar noted “Laughter is part of the universal human vocabulary. Every human understands it. Unlike English or French or Swahili, we don’t have to learn to speak it. We’re born with that capacity. In fact, the first laughter appears at about 3.5 months of age --- long before we’re able to speak. One of the remarkable things about laughter is that IT OCCURS UNCONSCIOUSLY. You don’t decide to do it. We don’t consciously produce laughter. That’s why it’s very hard to laugh on command or to fake laughter. (http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3077386/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/big-mystery-why-do-we-laugh/#.XZQqTkZKhPY)
Another scientist said that “NERVOUS LAUGHTER is a physical reaction to stress, tension, confusion, or anxiety. ... People laugh when they need to project dignity and control during times of stress and anxiety. In these situations, people usually laugh in a subconscious attempt to reduce stress and calm down, however, it often works otherwise. (Balandis, M. (2010). "Psychology studies". Nervous Laughter. Lithuania.)
Now neither of those experts was even thinking of Sarah when she laughed, but they perfectly describe her situation. Here she is in the family tent, and she’s been listening in the conversation between Abraham and his guests. I’m convinced she did not know WHO these 3 visitors were but as the conversation unfolds it’s pretty obvious God’s one of them (the other 2 are angels). Now, just so you understand what her emotions were like at this point… it helps to realize God has made this promise (of a child) 4 TIMES already.
25 years previously in Genesis 12:2 God promised Abraham “I will make you into a GREAT NATION ...
Then in Genesis 13:16 God says, “I will make your OFFSPRING like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.”
And again, in Genesis 16:10, “I will so increase your DESCENDANTS that they will be too numerous to count.”
And then in Genesis 17:4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the FATHER of many nations.”
Now, it’s hard to become a great nation, have offspring and have descendants if you don’t have kids. And God’s been making this promise for the last 25 years. Now, Sarah is 99 years old. When it comes to having babies… her ship has sailed. Women her age just don’t get pregnant. But here is God making the announcement, that by this time next year, she’s going to have a SON. And Sarah laughs to herself. (See footnote)
Now, I’ve read several sermons on this text, and most of the preachers implied (or outright said) that said her laughter was her way of saying “YEAH RIGHT! Like that’s gonna happen.” As if she was laughing in derision at what she’d heard. But I’ve always had problems with that understanding. I’ve been more inclined to believe that her laughter was like what those experts described: uncontrolled, and a NERVOUS laugh.
Yeah, there was probably some doubt in her mind - but there was also a lot of confusion, stress and bewilderment because it IS hard for her to believe. In fact, there are so many emotions at work in her that her nerves get the better of her… and then she laughs. And you can’t blame her for that.
Now God DOES call her on it. He asks Abraham “Why did Sarah laugh?” but I’m not convinced he was angry with her. And part of the reason I don’t think that is because He didn’t punish her. In the Gospel of Luke we’re told about a priest Zechariah and his wife (who are eventually the parents of John the Baptist) who were both well on in years. An angel appears to Zechariah and says they’re gonna have a son (John) but Zechariah apparently wasn’t buying it! How do we know that? Because the angel tells Zechariah “behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you DID NOT BELIEVE my words.”
So. God punished Zechariah… But He didn’t punish Sarah. Why not??? I think it was because she really DID BELIEVE. She’s just confused. She’s stressed out… and she really DOES want to believe. But this whole situation makes her nervous. Do you remember what that one expert said: Nervous laughter is “a subconscious attempt to reduce stress and calm down.”
When God asked, “Why Did Sarah laugh?” I don’t think He’s rebuking her for unbelief. I think it was His way of challenging her. He knows she’s been listening in and He knows she’s struggling in her faith, and so He acknowledges the conflict in her mind. He says “you laughed” but then He says something that Sarah needs to hear: “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” Genesis 18:14
You know, Sarah isn’t all that much different that a lot of us. Theologically we KNOW that God can do whatever He wants to do. But when life turns sour, when the walls begin to close in and there’s no rational reason to believe life will get any better, we struggle. We’ve all been there, and we all know there are times when answers to our situations are illogical, irrational… and impossible. And a 99-year-old woman getting pregnant would seem to fall into that category. Sarah’s struggling with this. And there will be times in YOUR Christianity when you’re going to struggle too.
One of my favorite passages of Scripture is in the Gospel of Mark where we’re told that a man has brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus and says… “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “‘If you can’?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:22-24
You know what that man was saying? He’s saying “I’m struggling with this. I’ve tried everything, and nothing has worked, and I’m not even sure YOU can fix this. I’ve got this unbelief setting in the back of my mind, but if anybody can do anything… I BELIEVE you can. So I believe… but help my unbelief.”
And so God speaks to us… just like He spoke to Sarah. Jesus said “with God all things are possible.” And again Christ said “Everything is possible for him who believes.” Or, as God said to Sarah: “Is anything too hard for Me?”
I’ve always been intrigued by something God says in Isaiah 50:2. It’s an obscure but powerful question “Was my arm too short to ransom you? Do I lack the strength to rescue you?”
ILLUS: Imagine, if you will, a 5-foot-tall woman trying to reach something on the top cabinet in her kitchen. She tries standing on a chair, but even then, she can’t quite reach. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE! But she’s got this 7-foot-tall basketball playing son, and she turns to him and she says, “Would you reach that for me? I can’t do it… but YOU can.”
That’s what faith is all about. It’s recognizing God’s arm is NOT TOO SHORT!
Here’s the deal… God puts His miracles up on the top shelf. He puts them up where nobody would ever think you could reach of that stuff. Why would He do that?? Well, if you could reach them on your own… they wouldn’t be miracles, now would they? And if you could reach it on your own… why would you need God?
Hebrews 11:6 “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists AND THAT HE REWARDS those who earnestly seek him.”
God rewards those who are willing to ask him to reach the stuff on top shelf.”
What I find interesting about this story about Sarah is this: When God first calls her out for laughing do you remember why she denies she laughed? She’s afraid. She’s probably even ashamed that she’s laughed… but that shame doesn’t last very long because, eventually her laughter becomes part of her story.
How do I know that? Well, what does Sarah name her new son? Isaac. Do you know what “Isaac” means? Isaac means “Laughter.” Can you visualize another woman coming up to Sarah and saying “That’s a handsome boy you have there, what’s his name?” And Sarah responds “Laughter.” The other woman is a bit shocked and says “Why on earth would you name him that?” And Sarah responds by saying “Well, let me tell you about that…” Every time someone asks her about her son’s name she can share how she laughed when God told them he’d be born. And she can share how God did something miraculous in her life. It’s part of her story now.
There’s a saying that goes: “They who laugh last… laugh best. As I researched that expression I found one source that said it meant: “the FINAL winner will have more glory than someone who was winning in the beginning but ultimately lost.” (https://writingexplained.org/idiom-dictionary/he-who-laughs-last-laughs-best)
If you will… Sarah literally had the last laugh. God did the impossible in her life, and she had the last laugh because God gave that laughter to her. Sarah says “GOD HAS BROUGHT ME laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." Genesis 21:6
Now we serve the same God. Do you think He can give us last laugh as well? Of course He can... but how do we know that? Answer: because only God has the power to give us that last laugh.
Researching for this sermon I ran across a mention of God laughing found in Psalm 2:1-7. “Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, ‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.’ HE WHO SITS IN THE HEAVENS LAUGHS; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, "As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill." I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you.’”
The mightiest rulers on earth set themselves up against the Lord of heaven and they declare “you can’t tell us what to do.” And it’s like God is replies “Don’t make me laugh. You wouldn’t like it when I laugh. Do you really think you have the power to take me on? I don’t think so!!!!” You see, God laughs because he will have the ultimate last laugh. He declares to us “My arm is NOT too short to ransom you. And I have all the strength you’ll need for me to rescue you.”
He is more powerful than any force on the face of the earth, and the reason we are assured of that is because He’s laid claim to you. Do you know where God laid claim to you? He did that when Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave.
Now, what’s really intriguing about Psalm 2 is that THAT is the message of that Psalm. First, we’re told God laughs at the mighty and the powerful of this world. He mocks them because He is so big and so strong and so mighty there’s nothing that He can’t do! And they couldn’t stop Him if they wanted to! But then we’re told WHY that’s true, and why we can rejoice and laugh with joy… It’s because God declares: “‘As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.’ I will tell of the decree (what decree? The decree about the coming messiah) The LORD said to me, ‘You are my SON; today I have BEGOTTEN you.’” Psalm 2:7
Son? Begotten? (Pause) “Begotten son?” Where have we heard that before? Why in John 3:16 of course. “For God so loved the world that He gave us His ONLY BEGOTTEN SON…”
CLOSE: At this point I was convinced that was the end of my sermon. I was all prepared to wrap things up and make that last statement the crown of my talk… but then I saw something that was so obvious I had missed it before. Now, I want you to pay close attention because this is worth the price of admission. You ready?
What did God PROMISE to Sarah? A SON! And she laughed. (Pause) In Psalm 2 God laughed, and then He made us a promise. What was that promise – HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON. How cool is that?
God laughed… and then He has used His power to give us the “last laugh”, the ultimate victory in life: Victory in Jesus!
“Victory in Jesus?” That sounds like a song we know doesn’t it? So I’m going to make you sing that song with me now: “O victory in Jesus, my Savior, forever. He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood; He loved me ere I knew Him and all my love is due Him, He plunged me to victory, beneath the cleansing flood.”
INVITATION
Footnote: One chapter before we're told of Sarah's laughter we read (in Genesis 17:17) "Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, 'Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?'"
