Joseph S. Harvard - "Holy Laughter" (July 17, 1983)

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	(church organ music)	0:03
	(church choir vocalizing)	6:28
	(church organ music)	7:32
	(church choir vocalizing)	8:00
-	May God's grace, mercy, and peace	10:06
	be upon you this day.	10:10
	Amen.	10:12
	Knowing that we are made in the image of God,	10:15
	nevertheless we discover in our day to day living	10:19
	that we fall short of being	10:22
	who we are called to be.	10:24
	Let us bow now before God and confess our sins.	10:27
	Let us pray.	10:32
	Most merciful God,	10:40
	we have done little to forward Your Kingdom	10:42
	in this world,	10:45
	to foster the family of Your humanity,	10:46
	and to establish love as the law of life.	10:50
	We have allowed self to blind us,	10:54
	pains to embitter us.	10:57
	We have forgotten that whatever is done	10:59
	to one of the least of Your children	11:02
	is done unto You.	11:05
	Pardon our sins,	11:07
	forgive our neglect,	11:09
	give us the pure heart intent on pleasing You.	11:11
	Help us in all our seeking,	11:16
	to seek first Your Kingdom	11:18
	and Your righteousness,	11:20
	and make us to come as came Your Son,	11:22
	Jesus Christ, not to be ministered unto	11:26
	but to minister.	11:30
	This we ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord.	11:32
	Amen.	11:35
	Jesus said, "Whoever comes to me,	12:22
	"I will not cast out."	12:26
	Let us give thanks for God is good	12:30
	and God's love is everlasting.	12:33
	Thanks be to God whose love creates us.	12:36
	Thanks be to God whose mercy redeems us.	12:40
	Thanks be to God whose grace	12:44
	leads us into the future.	12:47
	On this eighth Sunday after Pentecost,	12:52
	we welcome all of you who worship with us today.	12:54
	Those of you who join us here in Duke Chapel,	12:58
	and those who join us by radio.	13:00
	We offer a particular word of greeting to you	13:04
	if you are visitor in our midst this morning.	13:06
	We pray that this will be truly a service	13:10
	of worship for you in which you meet God,	13:12
	and find acceptance within this Christian community.	13:15
	I would like to call your attention to one	13:21
	announcement in the bulletin today.	13:23
	Immediately after this service this morning,	13:26
	on the main quad lawn in front of the chapel,	13:28
	there will be a reception for you,	13:32
	the worshipers, at Duke Chapel.	13:34
	The Duke University Union is	13:36
	sponsoring this reception.	13:38
	There will be light refreshments and music	13:40
	by a string group.	13:42
	We do hope that you will join us	13:44
	immediately after this morning's service outside.	13:46
	We welcome, to Duke Chapel and to our	13:52
	pulpit this morning, our guest preacher,	13:54
	the Reverend Joseph Sherwood Harvard III.	13:58
	Mr. Harvard is senior minister	14:01
	at First Presbyterian Church, here in Durham.	14:03
	He has also served parishes	14:07
	in Tallahassee, Florida,	14:09
	and Louisville, Kentucky.	14:11
	A native of Jacksonville, Florida,	14:13
	he graduated from Presbyterian College	14:15
	in Clinton, South Carolina.	14:17
	He has the BD degree	14:20
	from Columbia Theological Seminary	14:21
	in Decatur, Georgia, and the STM	14:23
	from Yale University Divinity School.	14:26
	He has done additional study at the	14:29
	University of Basel in Switzerland.	14:31
	Since coming to Durham,	14:35
	Mr. Harvard has been most active in community	14:36
	affairs and concerns.	14:39
	He currently is serving as chairperson	14:41
	of the Durham Congregations for Peace.	14:43
	He has long been concerned about issues	14:46
	in criminal justice.	14:49
	And he serves, now, on the task force	14:50
	on criminal justice for the Presbyterian Church.	14:53
	His sermon topic for this morning	14:58
	is Holy Laughter.	15:00
	We welcome you to this pulpit, Mr.Harvard,	15:03
	this morning, and we will hear you prayerfully.	15:06
-	Let us pray.	15:17
	Oh Lord and lover of us all,	15:23
	cause the pure light of Your divine knowledge	15:25
	to shine forth in our hearts,	15:27
	and open the eyes of our understanding	15:30
	that we may comprehend the ways	15:33
	of Your gospel through Jesus Christ,	15:34
	our Lord, Amen.	15:37
	The Old Testament lesson this morning	15:42
	is from the Book of Genesis, Chapter 18,	15:44
	Verses one through 15.	15:47
	And the Lord appeared to Abraham by the	15:50
	oaks of Mamre as he sat at the door of his tent	15:52
	in the heat of the day.	15:55
	He lifted up his eyes and looked,	15:58
	and behold, three men stood in front of him.	16:00
	When he saw them he ran from the tent door	16:04
	to meet them and bowed himself to the earth,	16:06
	and said, "My Lord,	16:08
	"if I have found favor in Your sight,	16:10
	"do not pass by Your servant.	16:13
	"Let a little water be brought and wash your feet	16:15
	"and rest yourselves under the tree,	16:19
	"while I fetch a morsel of bread,	16:21
	"that you may refresh yourselves,	16:24
	"and after that you may pass on	16:26
	"since you have come to your servant."	16:29
	So they said, "Do as you have said."	16:32
	And Abraham hastened into the tent	16:34
	to Sarah and said, "Make ready quickly.	16:36
	"Three measures of fine meal,	16:39
	"knead it and make cakes."	16:41
	And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf,	16:44
	tender and good, and gave it to the servant,	16:47
	who hastened to prepare it.	16:50
	Then he took curds and milk and the calf	16:52
	which he had prepared and set it before them.	16:54
	And he stood by them under the tree	16:57
	while they ate.	16:58
	They said to him,	17:00
	"Where is Sarah, your wife?"	17:02
	And he said, "She is in the tent."	17:04
	The Lord said,	17:07
	"I will surely return to you in the spring,	17:08
	"and Sarah, your wife, shall have a son."	17:11
	And Sarah was listening at the	17:15
	tent door behind him.	17:16
	Now Abraham and Sarah were old,	17:18
	advanced in age,	17:20
	and it ceased to be with Sarah	17:21
	after the manner of woman.	17:23
	So Sarah laughed to herself saying,	17:25
	"After I have grown old and my husband is old,	17:28
	"shall I have pleasure?"	17:30
	The Lord said to Abraham,	17:34
	"Why did Sarah laugh and say shall I indeed	17:36
	"bear a child now that I am old?	17:40
	"Is anything too hard for the Lord?	17:43
	"At the appointed time I will return to you	17:46
	"in the spring and Sarah shall have a son."	17:48
	But Sarah denied saying, "I did not laugh."	17:53
	For she was afraid.	17:56
	He said, "No, but you did laugh."	17:57
	Here ends the reading from the Old Testament.	18:02
	The Epistle lesson is from Philippians,	18:07
	Chapter Four, Verses four through seven.	18:08
	Rejoice in the Lord, always.	18:12
	Again, I will say Rejoice.	18:14
	Let all people know your forbearance.	18:17
	The Lord is at hand.	18:19
	Have no anxiety about anything.	18:21
	But in everything by prayer and supplication,	18:25
	with thanksgiving let your request	18:28
	be made known to God.	18:30
	And the peace of God which passes all	18:32
	understanding will keep your hearts	18:35
	and your minds in Christ Jesus.	18:37
	Here ends the reading from the Epistle lesson.	18:42
	(church organ music)	18:57
	(church choir vocalizing)	19:18
	Will the congregation please stand for the	23:05
	reading of the Gospel Lesson.	23:07
	The Gospel lesson this morning is from	23:13
	the 16th Chapter of John, Verses 29 through 33.	23:14
	His disciples said,	23:21
	"Ah, now You are speaking plainly.	23:23
	"Not in any figure.	23:25
	"Now we know that You know all things.	23:27
	"And need none to question You.	23:30
	"By this we believe that You came from God."	23:32
	Jesus answered them,	23:36
	"Do you now believe?	23:38
	"The hour is coming, indeed it has come	23:39
	"when you will be scattered.	23:43
	"Every person to his home,	23:45
	"and will leave me alone.	23:47
	"Yet, I am not alone, for the Father is with me.	23:49
	"I have said this to you,	23:54
	"that in me you may have peace.	23:56
	"In the world you have tribulation,	23:59
	"but be of good cheer,	24:02
	"I have overcome the world."	24:04
	Here ends the reading from the Gospel lesson.	24:07
	(church organ music)	24:11
	(church choir vocalizing)	24:19
	It is a pleasure for me to worship	25:14
	with you this morning.	25:17
	For our text, I have chosen a verse from the	25:20
	Second Psalm, where the psalmist says,	25:23
	"The one who sits in Heaven laughs."	25:30
	A letter to Ann Landers caught my eye.	25:40
	Here's what it said, "Dear Ann,	25:44
	"Now they tell us to stop laughing.	25:49
	"A scientist at Stanford University says laughing	25:52
	"disrupts normal breathing and can	25:55
	"contribute to strokes.	25:58
	"There's little literature dealing with the	26:00
	"massive muscular activity	26:02
	"associated with laughter.	26:03
	"I have always believed that laughter	26:06
	"was good for people.	26:08
	"And now this.	26:10
	"Any comments, Ann?	26:11
	"What do your experts say?	26:14
	"Signed, Afraid to hear a joke."	26:16
	As is often the case,	26:22
	Ann Landers had a good response.	26:24
	My experts say go ahead and laugh	26:27
	if you can find anything to laugh	26:31
	about these days.	26:33
	Presbyterians are not noted for their humor.	26:38
	We're noted for things like	26:44
	predestination and providence.	26:46
	We pride ourselves in doing things	26:50
	decently and in order.	26:53
	A minister from another denomination	26:56
	recently defined us this way,	26:59
	a Presbyterian is a little stodgy,	27:03
	a little bit stilted, he commented.	27:07
	Well, as a Presbyterian,	27:13
	if there ever is a serious laughter	27:15
	and no laughter discussion,	27:19
	I come down on the side of the laughers.	27:22
	For personal and for theological reasons.	27:25
	Karl Barth, the noted Swiss theologian,	27:30
	once wrote, "That what distinguishes human beings	27:34
	"from lower animals is our ability to laugh."	27:37
	The unanswered question, however,	27:44
	is can we find something to laugh	27:48
	about these days?	27:50
	Some people are suggesting that we have lost	27:53
	our sense of humor.	27:55
	Things have not always been good,	27:59
	but at other points in history,	28:00
	we have been able to laugh together.	28:04
	Have you noticed all the grim expressions	28:08
	on those faces we meet in the lines at the	28:11
	supermarkets or as you walk across the campus,	28:13
	or look across the table at mealtime?	28:18
	Of course, when we are aware someone	28:22
	is watching us we try to smile.	28:23
	It's un-American not to smile.	28:27
	We wear buttons and T-shirts with smiles	28:30
	painted on them,	28:34
	to remind us to smile.	28:35
	But don't you get the impression that laughter	28:39
	and humor are no longer natural?	28:42
	There's a report that a sociologist	28:47
	and humor expert, Professor Elkin Parndorf,	28:49
	is doing a study of the decline of humor.	28:53
	In the experiment,	28:57
	the learned professor attempted to establish	28:58
	whether humor is used by humans as a defense	29:01
	against the pressure of modern life.	29:04
	To stimulate conditions faced by modern people,	29:08
	a rat was placed in a box,	29:12
	no, a rat was placed at a desk,	29:15
	with an inbox and an outbox.	29:18
	He was then conditioned to take tiny papers	29:21
	from the inbox, clip them together,	29:24
	and place them in the outbox.	29:27
	After the the rat did this a number	29:30
	of times successfully,	29:32
	he was given four pellets.	29:33
	Later this was raised to five pellets.	29:36
	And then six,	29:38
	and soon his salary placed him	29:40
	in a higher pellet bracket.	29:41
	At this point, 20% of his pellets were deducted.	29:45
	With a result that the more the rat worked	29:50
	the fewer pellets he earned,	29:52
	and the smaller was his pellet purchasing power.	29:54
	While he was still confused over that situation,	29:58
	the rat was told that a new company policy	30:01
	had been established and that henceforth	30:04
	he would be expected to take the papers	30:06
	from the outbox, erase his name,	30:08
	and put them in the inbox.	30:11
	Unfortunately, we are told,	30:14
	toward the end of the experiment	30:16
	the rat began to think he was	30:18
	the president of Mexico,	30:19
	and had to be turned over the lab's	30:22
	abnormal psychology department.	30:23
	Professor Parndorf concluded his evaluation	30:27
	in this way.	30:30
	"Even though humor is a thing of the past,	30:32
	"it's important for us to find out what it was."	30:36
	My contention this morning	30:41
	is that a humor is not only a significant	30:44
	ingredient in our lives,	30:47
	it is a necessary attitude if we	30:49
	are to remain healthy,	30:51
	in the deepest sense of that term.	30:53
	If we are to be whole in body, mind, and soul,	30:56
	if life is to have flavor,	31:01
	if we are to live in a healthy society,	31:04
	then we must recover our ability to laugh.	31:07
	But what does this have	31:12
	to do with faith, you ask.	31:13
	A sense of humor keeps us in touch	31:17
	with that mystery in and behind life we call God.	31:20
	Now I am not suggesting that we reduce faith	31:27
	to a laugh in,	31:31
	or that we look on the funny side of life	31:32
	and ignore the unpleasant, painful realities	31:36
	that continue to plague us.	31:38
	Neither is what I am suggesting simply a matter	31:41
	of enjoying jokes, good stories,	31:44
	or comic routines.	31:47
	Comic relief is necessary and delightful,	31:49
	even though it is often	31:52
	contrived and superficial.	31:53
	But I am pointing beyond the joke and the wit	31:57
	to an attitude,	32:00
	a frame of mind, a point of view,	32:01
	which embodies a sense of humor.	32:04
	Faith is, many of you know,	32:10
	is often difficult.	32:13
	There are moments of doubt,	32:15
	sleepless nights, unanswered questions.	32:18
	But if you listen closely,	32:23
	you also hear a chuckle,	32:25
	the sound of laughter.	32:29
	Take for example the Old Testament lesson	32:32
	we read this morning.	32:35
	There is Abraham standing outside the temple	32:37
	and the Lord comes to him in the heat of day.	32:42
	Surely we can identify with that this morning.	32:45
	But what is going on in that story	32:51
	is the announcement that an ancient couple	32:53
	our father and mother in the faith,	32:59
	Abraham and Sarah,	33:01
	when they're old in life are gonna have a child.	33:04
	When the announcement is made,	33:10
	the story tells us that Abraham fell	33:11
	on his face and laughed.	33:13
	His sides were splitting over the announcement.	33:19
	In the meantime, Sarah is hiding	33:22
	behind the door, eavesdropping.	33:24
	And she doubles over with humor, too.	33:28
	Someone has suggested that in this story,	33:33
	Abraham and Sarah are models of unbelief.	33:37
	I'm not so sure.	33:44
	I think in this story Abraham and Sarah	33:46
	are showing us that faith begins with laughter.	33:50
	Why did this ancient couple laugh	33:59
	when they heard that God would keep His promise?	34:01
	Did they laugh because only a fool would believe	34:05
	that a woman as old as Sarah could have a child?	34:07
	Did they laugh because maybe they thought	34:13
	God was serious?	34:15
	Did they laugh because they believed it?	34:18
	Or did they laugh to keep from crying?	34:22
	Did they laugh because if it were true	34:27
	then God would indeed have the last laugh?	34:30
	They named their child Isaac, which means a joke.	34:36
	The good news of God's faithfulness often appears	34:44
	as a joke.	34:49
	Only when you hear it as a wild	34:51
	and marvelous joke,	34:53
	do you really begin to hear it at all.	34:55
	The preposterous grace of God that saves	34:59
	even a wretch like me.	35:04
	Who once was lost and now is found,	35:08
	was blind but now I see.	35:13
	Such preposterous good news	35:17
	often leaves us ringing with laughter.	35:21
	But how does such laughter help us cope	35:26
	with the inconsistencies in our lives?	35:28
	Our schemes and dreams don't pan out.	35:32
	The innocent are often the victims.	35:36
	Suffering has no rhyme or reason,	35:39
	and the weak get stepped on.	35:43
	Our lives are full of irony.	35:45
	Our claims of virtue often hide our vices.	35:48
	The pursuit of happiness often brings slavery	35:52
	to a job, a career, or a family.	35:55
	Things are never as they ought to be,	35:59
	or as we hoped.	36:02
	Constantly confronted with the pain in life,	36:06
	we are attempted to adopt an attitude	36:09
	of cynicism, despair, even apathy.	36:12
	Why should I care?	36:17
	It accomplishes nothing.	36:19
	But there is an alternative.	36:23
	There is an invitation in the gospel	36:26
	to laugh at the flaws and inconsistencies.	36:29
	The discrepancies in our lives not only provide	36:32
	us with a different perspective toward life,	36:35
	but with a sense of humor.	36:38
	And this grows out of the conviction	36:41
	that absurdity is not all there is.	36:44
	We can smile, even laugh in the depth	36:48
	of our being at the absurd and the absurd	36:50
	situations in which we find ourselves	36:53
	because we know about meaning and purpose	36:56
	and coherence to life,	37:01
	even beyond the absurd.	37:04
	This was the plight of the writer	37:08
	of the Second Psalm.	37:10
	At the coronation of the king of Israel,	37:13
	all around the king said that nothing	37:16
	was going to allow his reign to succeed.	37:21
	It looked as if he had little chance to survive,	37:24
	much less in the opportunity for a	37:27
	constructive reign as king.	37:28
	He was surrounded by his enemies.	37:32
	They were even at that very moment	37:34
	of his coronation plotting to kill him.	37:36
	But instead of the attitude, what's the use,	37:39
	the psalmist says God laughs.	37:43
	God laughs at the pretentious,	37:46
	at those pretensions of power	37:49
	in the forces that surround us.	37:53
	So the king kept going.	37:56
	And so can we.	37:58
	For His laughter affirmed meaning.	38:01
	God invites us to laugh.	38:05
	There are implications here for the way	38:09
	in which we live.	38:11
	Look at the life of Jesus.	38:13
	Constantly surrounded by those who sought	38:16
	to trap Him in their systems of morality.	38:19
	Jesus was continually responding in word indeed	38:23
	by saying, "How ridiculous, how comical.	38:27
	"What is more absurd," Jesus said,	38:30
	"than your behavior?"	38:32
	Straining out a gnat swallowing a camel.	38:33
	What a laugh Jesus must have at our	38:40
	present day pharisee-ism.	38:42
	Trying to manage the lives of people	38:45
	with systems which turn people into robots,	38:47
	or seeking a process by which we can be faithful,	38:51
	often, without regard for the weightier	38:54
	matters of justice, mercy, and peace.	38:57
	Surely, there is humor in our rat race existence,	39:02
	because we are aware that even if we	39:07
	win the race, we're still rats.	39:09
	But Jesus pointed us beyond such systems	39:14
	to the one God, the only absolute,	39:17
	who makes mockery of our pretentious claims.	39:21
	This perspective enabled our Lord to live	39:25
	without bitterness or despair in the	39:27
	face of hostility.	39:30
	Jesus lived with the spirit of contagious joy.	39:33
	This is only possible when we believe	39:39
	that the foolishness of God	39:42
	is wiser than human wisdom.	39:44
	For humor mocks our seriousness.	39:48
	It enables us to live in this spirit.	39:52
	But this is not a strategy for action.	39:56
	Laughter does not change or rearrange	40:00
	the balance of power.	40:03
	It does not reduce the nuclear	40:06
	threat of annihilation.	40:08
	It does not feed the hungry.	40:10
	But it does provide us a perspective	40:14
	which enables us to be about God's business.	40:17
	A sense of humor recognizes the foolishness	40:20
	of life and keeps us in touch	40:24
	with the one who makes all	40:28
	of our systems relative.	40:29
	To laugh with God,	40:32
	to laugh at the worries in our lives,	40:34
	and the pretentious claims of power	40:37
	that surround us,	40:39
	that, my friends, is holy laughter.	40:41
	It enables us to keep on rather than to withdraw	40:45
	from the harsh realities of life.	40:49
	Reinhold Niebuhr, one of the	40:52
	great American theologians,	40:55
	expressed it well when he wrote,	40:58
	"It is not without significance that the real	41:01
	"saints of history,	41:04
	"as distinguished from the morbid,	41:06
	"self-flagellating ascetics,	41:08
	"had a delightful sense of humor.	41:11
	"Their sense of humor is based on a curious	41:14
	"quality of disillusionment which had not	41:16
	"resulted in either bitterness or despair.	41:19
	"It is not without bitterness because judgment	41:23
	"of the fellowman was tempered by forgiveness,	41:25
	"which is prompted by repentance.	41:29
	"It is without despair,	41:32
	"because no evils in the world can disturb	41:33
	"the firm faith in the goodness of God,	41:36
	"and His ultimate triumph over evil.	41:39
	"This quality of humor is unlike the innocence	41:42
	"of childhood which knows no evil.	41:45
	"This quality has looked into the abyss of evil	41:48
	"and is still not frightened by it.	41:52
	"A person who can laugh,	41:57
	"who can laugh with God,	42:00
	"who can enter into holy laughter,	42:01
	"is a person who can shrug off the	42:04
	" insufficiencies of his or her wisdom,	42:06
	"ultimate wisdom, the meaninglessness	42:09
	"of our profoundest thoughts,	42:12
	"that is a person who is in touch	42:15
	"with the soul of humor."	42:18
	This attitude is best expressed for me	42:21
	in a play by Herb Gardner, entitled,	42:24
	"A Thousand Clowns".	42:27
	In the play, Murray is a young man who has been	42:30
	taking care of his nephew,	42:34
	his 12 year old nephew.	42:36
	As the young boy grows older it becomes time	42:39
	for him to leave his uncle.	42:41
	And as he prepares to leave,	42:44
	listen to what Murray says about his nephew.	42:46
	"The kid was the best straight man I ever had.	42:51
	"He's a laugher, and laughers are rare.	42:54
	"I mean, you'd tell that kid something funny,	42:58
	"not just any piece of corn, but something funny,	43:01
	"and he'll give you your money's worth.	43:05
	"It's not just the funny jokes he reads,	43:08
	"or I tell him that he laughs at,	43:10
	"not just the set up funny stuff.	43:12
	"He sees the street jokes,	43:14
	"He has a good eye.	43:16
	"He sees the subway farce,	43:18
	"and the crosstown bus humor,	43:20
	"and all the jokes and the cartoons	43:23
	"people make simply by being alive.	43:25
	"I want him to get to know exactly	43:29
	"the special thing he is,	43:32
	"or else he won't notice it when it starts to go.	43:35
	"I want him to stay awake and to know	43:39
	"who the phonies are.	43:41
	"I want him to know how to holler,	43:43
	"and to put up an argument.	43:44
	"I wanna little guts to show	43:46
	"before I let him go.	43:48
	"I wanna make sure he sees all	43:51
	"the wild possibilities.	43:53
	"And I want him to get to know that subtle,	43:56
	"sneaky, important reason God created	43:59
	"him a human being and not a chair."	44:04
	Our ability to laugh is related to that subtle,	44:11
	sneaky, important reason	44:16
	God made us human beings and not chairs.	44:20
	We need to recover our sense of humor.	44:25
	To laugh deeply at the	44:29
	discrepancies within ourselves.	44:31
	At the imposters who claim more power	44:34
	than they could possibly suggest.	44:36
	Holy laughter puts us in the company	44:40
	of the one who said,	44:44
	"Be of good cheer,	44:46
	"for I have overcome the world."	44:49
	Christ invites us to live in this conviction,	44:53
	and to share His joy.	44:57
	Thanks be to God for good cheer.	45:00
	Let us pray.	45:05
	Gracious God,	45:13
	restore our confidence in the power of the gospel	45:16
	so that we might believe	45:22
	and find the joy which You have intended	45:26
	for all Your children,	45:28
	that we might live as free men and women	45:31
	who dare to make the reality of the vision	45:35
	of Your Kingdom in Christ,	45:38
	a reality in our lives and in our world.	45:41
	In Christ's name we pray.	45:46
	Amen.	45:49
	(church organ music)	45:55
	(church choir vocalizing)	46:17
-	Let us affirm what we believe.	47:50
	We believe in God.	47:53

-	Who has created and is creating.	0:03
	Who has come in the truly human Jesus	0:06
	to reconcile and make new.	0:09
	Who works in us and others by the spirit.	0:12
	We trust God, who calls us to be the church,	0:16
	to celebrate life and its fullness,	0:20
	to love and serve others, to seek justice	0:24
	and resist evil,	0:27
	to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen,	0:29
	our judge and our hope.	0:32
	In life, in death, in life beyond death,	0:36
	God is with us.	0:41
	We are not alone.	0:42
	Thanks be to God.	0:44
	The Lord be with you.	0:46
-	And also with you.	0:49
-	Let us pray.	0:51
	Most Holy God.	1:00
	God of Abraham and Sarah.	1:02
	We bow in thanks giving to you.	1:05
	Knowing you to be a faithful God.	1:08
	Who covenants with us just as surely	1:10
	as you did with those ancient Israelites so many,	1:12
	many years ago.	1:16
	We hear their story again	1:18
	and we are reminded of your presence in history	1:20
	throughout the ages.	1:24
	We experience that same presence among us here, now	1:26
	and we rejoice in your faithfulness.	1:31
	Remind us oh God, of the meaning of covenant.	1:35
	You have been faithful and we know	1:39
	that you have called us to be faithful.	1:41
	We struggle to understand what that means	1:45
	as we live in a culture which encourages us to	1:48
	spend our lives acquiring things,	1:51
	to look out only for ourselves,	1:54
	to assume that those in need are not our responsibility.	1:57
	We struggle to understand and deal with our affluence	2:02
	in a world filled with so much poverty and suffering.	2:06
	We struggle to know what it means to be peacemakers	2:11
	when our government tells us of the need for	2:14
	security through strong weaponry.	2:16
	We read the story of Abraham and Sarah	2:20
	and other Biblical stories of long ago	2:23
	and life seemed so simple then.	2:26
	We are not sure that we can find the answers there	2:29
	to our complicated lifestyle.	2:33
	Remind us that your people have always struggled	2:36
	to be faithful.	2:39
	That Abraham and Sarah turned their backs on all	2:42
	that was safe and familiar to answer your call.	2:45
	Remind us oh God and teach us how to be faithful	2:50
	to your call.	2:54
	We pray this morning for our government.	2:57
	You, who are the God of all Nations.	2:59
	May our leaders (clears throat) understand that	3:02
	ultimate security does not lie in bigger and more	3:05
	destructive bombs or in the support of governments	3:10
	which imprison, torture and kill their enemies.	3:14
	And yet, those of us who stand by and offer simple answers	3:18
	can not be sure we are right.	3:23
	We acknowledge that we live in a world where there	3:26
	are no longer any purely right or purely wrong	3:29
	answers to national security and foreign policy.	3:32
	Be with our government officials and be with those	3:38
	who govern in other countries.	3:41
	Be with those who fight among the villagers and	3:44
	on the battle fields.	3:47
	Be with those civilians who are caught in a struggle	3:50
	in which they want no part of.	3:53
	Be with those who's homelands have been destroyed by war	3:56
	in the past and so struggle to be rid of	3:59
	bombs pointed at them now.	4:02
	And be with those who believe that the bombs	4:05
	are the only solution.	4:07
	Oh God, save us from ourselves.	4:10
	Let us not despair.	4:14
	Let us hear your word for us and join the struggle	4:16
	however you call us to respond.	4:19
	To be peacemakers.	4:23
	To be merciful.	4:24
	To mourn with those who mourn.	4:26
	To be pure in heart.	4:28
	May we love you above all else,	4:30
	and our neighbor as ourselves.	4:33
	The burden is heavy Holy God.	4:37
	Whether we worry about our nation and world	4:40
	or our own personal burdens,	4:42
	or the problems or illnesses of close friends and family	4:45
	and so we come to you, lifting these burdens to you	4:50
	asking for guidance and for healing and for laughter.	4:54
	We come too with the assurance that you are here	5:00
	among us.	5:02
	That you love us so much that you have offered us	5:04
	salvation and continuing nurture.	5:06
	We know you to be the Lord of all life	5:10
	and we have the promise that nothing can	5:13
	separate us from your love.	5:15
	We give thanks for that promise and for your son,	5:19
	Jesus the Christ, who taught us to pray.	5:22
	Saying;	5:25
	'Our Father,	5:26
	who art in heaven,	5:28
	hallowed be thy Name,	5:29
	thy kingdom come,	5:31
	thy will be done,	5:33
	on earth as it is in heaven.	5:35
	Give us this day our daily bread.	5:38
	And forgive us our trespasses,	5:40
	as we forgive those	5:43
	who trespass against us.	5:44
	And lead us not into temptation,	5:47
	but deliver us from evil.	5:49
	For thine is the kingdom,	5:52
	and the power, and the glory,	5:53
	for ever. Amen.	5:56
	(organ plays)	6:09
	(Choir sings)	6:30
	(inaudible)

Item Info

Title:

Joseph S. Harvard - "Holy Laughter" (July 17, 1983)

Description:

The preacher considers humor as an important worldview for the Christian so that we can more clearly see the irony of God's grace, more faithfully respond in times of suffering or confusion, and more confidently do God's work in the world in face of opposition from the powerful. Ultimately, the preacher argues that this was Jesus' way of life when he was on earth. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 25:14. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 45:06.
Key quotation: “A sense of humor keeps us in touch with that mystery in and behind life we call God.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4862bs19

Date:

July 17, 1983

Speaker:

Harvard, Joseph S.

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 CS-0160
ref7843_1o3
uachapelsermaud
duke:321089
dcrau001151
ark:/87924/r4862bs19
a5f78267-c183-4ec3-b6c8-059e1be91566

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

Related Resources:

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Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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Joseph S. Harvard - "Holy Laughter" (July 17, 1983)

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1. Joseph S. Harvard - "Holy Laughter" (July 17, 1983)

Duke University Archives

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Joseph S. Harvard - "Holy Laughter" (July 17, 1983)

Transcript

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Duke University Archives

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