Holy Humor 3

April 28, 2019

Matthew 28:16-20

Rev. Kristen J. Kleiman

The United Church of Christ, of which we are a member, is a merger of four church traditions: the German Evangelical Church, the German Reformed Church, the Congregational Church, and a church simply known as the Christian church. In New England, we are descended from the Congregationalist tradition, which is what the Pilgrims and Puritans were.

When I say the world Puritan, what does it make you think of? When I think of the word Puritan, I automatically want to sit or stand up straighter because I think judgment; I think dour; I think ‘no fun’.

If people’s answers on games shows are any indication, then that is how many people think about church and Christians in general: judgy, dour, no fun, which is ironic because the word joy shows up in the Bible 267 times and rejoice and rejoicing are there 271 times.

God invites us to rejoice and be glad; God invites us to live lives of joy; God invites us to soak in God’s love and be transformed by it, radiating out hope, peace, happiness, and delight to the world. Laughter and joy are faithful and faith-filled.

It is time to claim and re-claim our identity as God’s joyful, cheerful children. It is time to claim and reclaim the way of Christ as one of laughter, joy, and delight.

My friend is so silly.

How silly is she?

The other day I found her laughing by herself, and when I asked her what she was laughing at, she said, “I just told myself a joke I’ve never heard before.”

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What animals could Noah not trust?

The Cheetahs

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Where do you learn to make ice cream?

                           Sundae School