The Laughing Saint

Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with joyful shouting. Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad. – Psalm 126:2-3

A great king once asked for a ring with an engraving that would fit every occasion – whether fortuitous or calamitous. The jeweler brought a ring on which had been written three Hebrew letters: gimel, zayin, yud, which began the words "Gam zeh ya'avor" which means - "This too shall pass."

Humor reminds us that everything in this world is fleeting and should not be taken TOO seriously. Fame will fade. Riches will pass. Calamities will not last forever. All we have to do is wait and “this too shall pass.”

Laughter is fundamentally an act of faith. A good belly laugh says “no matter how ridiculously difficult life gets, joy and humor can still be found.” Humor enlarges and relaxes our perspective. It does not blind us to the tragedies of life, but it does allow us to confront serious issues armed and prepared with a humble spirit.

Eating and worship have always gone hand in hand. In Deuteronomy 14:23-26, we see that God actually mandated eating and drinking as part of celebratory worship. And Solomon said, “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works.” (Ecclesiastes 9:7)

The connection between worship, laughter and food lies in grateful hearts. Our gratitude for having been rescued from slavery to sin and self should drive us to shout “Hallelujah!” Our appreciation for God accepting our small tokens of service should impel us to have a party.

I recently read that Norman Cousins, founder of psychoneuroimmunology, in discussing the possibility of mentally influencing the immune system said that positive emotions were critical. He defined positive emotions as maintaining a sense of humor and general joyfulness. He called laughter “internal jogging” (1989; Head First: The Biology of Hope, New York: NAL/Dutton). But thousands of years ago the Teacher said “a joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22)

A person who enjoys God’s many good gifts and develops a fine sense of the ironic will not be overcome by the many little aggravations and the few great tragedies that life inevitably sends our way.

So we laugh because we know that all things are fleeting, including evil; because we know that God can make even the terrible things in life work out for our good; because God commands us to worship Him with gladness; because it reveals a humble heart and it is downright good for us.
But finally, laughter builds our courage. It distracts us from crippling fear. Nachman of Bratslav once said, “The world is a narrow bridge. The key to the crossing is not to be afraid.” So we laugh and step out.