It is rare that a day passes when I don’t laugh about something. I find humor with a friend who starts humming a song while driving, and I change the lyrics to something silly and she chimes right in with her own verse. There are times when I am out and just people watching and my friend(s) look at a couple and re-enact what their conversation is about based on their expressions or mannerisms. Silliness is what we call it, but we find that laughter is good medicine. Even in the most serious and solemn of places (church), I have had moments when I thought I was literally going to have to get up and walk out. Now you would probably think that as I got older this would change; I think that is called maturity. Well, I must tell you, it did not. Some of my best church moments involve my mother, and if you know her, you know that she is extremely scary. She doesn’t like the dark, strange noises or bugs. She does, however, say some of the craziest things in the worst possible moment.
Years ago, my mother, brother and I were sitting in church, and the minister finished his sermon and said to the congregation, “Let us sing A Mighty Fortress on page 356.” Most of you know that the pianist or organist gives a little introduction before the congregation breaks into song. Of course, we had visitors that Sunday that thought sitting in front of us would be safe. Ha! They were an older couple, and the husband was a little man (bordering on frailty), and the wife seemed to be the livelier of the two. Her demeanor during the sermon showed that she was glad to be there, and she was enjoying herself. All I can remember is that she had on a beautiful navy-blue suit that I was probably secretly coveting. Everything was going well on this spring day; the weather was nice; the stained-glass windows were open; the birds were chirping; the Bradford Pear trees were in full bloom, and the service was going well. Then it happened: the organist hit one note (not a chord, mind you, a note) and before the minister could direct the congregation to stand, the visitor in the navy blue suit stood without prompting and belted in the highest soprano voice, “A mighty fortress is our God…..” As if that wasn’t bad enough, her frail little husband reached up and grabbed the tail of her jacket and yanked her down into the pew with such force that her head snapped back and forth.
As if that moment wasn’t embarrassing enough for her, my family and I did not help. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as my brother’s cheeks went up, my mother’s head went down as the smile was forming on her face, and then I heard that stifled murmur from deep within myself that signaled laughter was about to erupt. The look on the minister’s face as this visitor was put in her place was priceless! When the congregation was instructed to stand, my brother maintained his composure (because he’s better at it than my mother and I), but my mother was crying from suppressing her laugh, and I was in tears (full-fledged, rolling down the cheeks) and shaking trying to stifle what had the potential to turn into a most embarrassing situation. May I also share with you that A Mighty Fortress is one of my favorite hymns? Can you imagine how much of that song I had an opportunity to sing that day? I am embarrassed to say that I laughed and cried through the entire hymn (all stanzas). The church service could not end soon enough! From time to time I think about that moment and give thanks that God is forgiving and pray that He has a sense of humor!
I made it through that situation, but you must know that there have been others. My mother, brother, and I laugh because if anything is going to happen, it’s going to occur in the church. Our poor Presbyterian church had no idea how humorous Sundays could be. (Now, it’s not that we went looking for laughter, but the laughter seemed to find us.) The congregation consisted of about 250 members, and most of us lived in the neighborhood so we were a pretty close-knit group. As in every church, there are certain groups: the youth, the singles, the young marrieds, the families, the older couples, and the widows, and the widowers. We had a group of older ladies that did everything together in and out of the church. These five or six ladies always sat a few pews in front of us, but during one of the sermons, we had the opportunity to witness how the bonds of friendship worked. Trust me, it wasn’t pretty, but it was funny! Our church was a small, beautiful, traditional church with gorgeous stained-glass windows, high wooden beams, and a cross built into the window above the choir loft. The church had two sections of pews with an aisle that ran in the center of the church. It is the kind of church that is difficult for you not to know the people around you. Because we are creatures of habit, we become accustomed to sitting in a certain pew, possibly in a specific order, and we are aware of who should be sitting around us. My little group of ladies always sat on the right side closest to the outside aisle. This particular Sunday was no different. And so, the story goes…
The church was undergoing some transitions, and we had an elder who was a bit long-winded and a minister who had not found his rhythm yet. It made church a bit challenging, but we were all trying to make it work. This humorous moment started with the intercessory prayer which went on forever. As the congregation is standing with eyes closed, heads bowed, listening to the elder pray, I could feel and hear my mother’s restlessness next to me. What was I to do? Naturally, I opened one eye and looked at her, and with her head still bowed, she whispered, “It is time to wrap this up. He is rather long-winded, and I am ready to sit down!” I chuckled. That’s a typical reaction from my mother. Sadly, I had to agree with her because the elder continued to pray to the point where you knew he liked to hear himself talk, and I could hear and sense the restlessness of other parishioners around me. After the intercessory prayer, the elder led the congregation in the Lord’s Prayer. Have you ever had a moment when you felt like you were finally able to exhale? I heard it in the response from the congregation when the elder finally said, “And all of God’s people said, ‘Amen.’ You may be seated.” Big exhale!!!!
As we sat down, my mother made a noise and quietly pointed at the pew with the group of older ladies. I squeezed back a laugh, and the elder continued to stand in the pulpit looking a bit perplexed. Keep in mind that the entire congregation was now seated. However, a few pews in front of us stood one of the women in a bright lime green pantsuit (I mean BRIGHT) with her head bowed, eyes closed, clinging with both hands to the pew in front of her. Yes, she was still standing because she had fallen asleep during the intercessory prayer. This is where the true bonds of friendship are displayed. Remember, she sits with five other ladies. Not one of them woke her up; they all sat down and left her standing. They didn’t wake her up even as the elder looked on because he was waiting to proceed to the next part of the service. Suddenly, this woman woke up, looked around, and sat down. Would you like to know what my mother and I were doing? Of course, we were shaking our heads and laughing. But we were also wondering what kind of friend(s) would allow you to continue standing and help create an embarrassing moment. Once I got over that laughing episode what would happen the next Sunday with this group would send us over the edge (At some point, I will have to tell you about it).
I think back to these moments in church, and I am truly thankful for the benefits and the gift of laughter. One of my rules in life is that we can’t take ourselves too seriously all the time. We must learn to laugh with others and at ourselves, because we are humorous people whether we mean to be or not. Take time today to laugh!
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