"Merriment and Health"

"The Childlike Spirit"

"As You Think"

Sermon Transcript for Aug 6, 2000

By Rev. Stan Jones

Scripture Reading: Proverbs 17:22; Luke 18:17 Proverbs 23:7

 

Good morning! You are such a bright group. It takes a big pair of sunglasses to be able to face you all this morning. But thanks for being that way. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Stanley Jones. I’m an elder in the United Methodist Church, South Indiana Conference. I’m actually a member of this Charge Conference. And I’m a chaplain at Clarion Health Partners--Methodist, IU, and Riley. I’m also...I fancy myself as a humorist and a humor therapist. I’m a member of the American Association of Therapeutic Humor.

A few years ago, seven maybe or so, a former pastor asked me to do a service here built around humor; which I did. Some of you were here and remember that; others of you...some of you were here then and you don’t remember it. I hardly remember it myself. But I was asked to do that again by Mike; and so here I am before you. I brought some of my friends with me. You see them around in different parts of the sanctuary. And my really best friends are up here joining with me in all this silliness. And I want to say "Thank you" to them and to Deanna for working with us on doing this. I think all of my fuzzy friends got put on this side of the sanctuary. So I think you have the toys and you all don’t. But hopefully you’ll be able to have some fun. And maybe you’d like to share some of your toys with them.

This, if you haven’t seen...recognized already..is not going to be the typical service that you usually have at this time on Sunday morning. Those of you who truly are bright have figured that out already! But, I hope that you will find that it is indeed worshipful; that it’s meaningful; that it does indeed get you in touch with the God who brings joy and celebration to us day after day throughout our lives.

I would like for you to join with me, if you will please, in the Call to Worship. I’ll ask you to stand as we read this together. It is a responsive reading.

CALL TO WORSHIP

You may be seated for a moment before we sing the first hymn which, by the way, is printed in your bulletin. We have in our culture the sense that silliness and playfulness and that sort of thing is almost equivalent to stupidity. And it’s pretty difficult for most people to do what...I’ve overcome my inhibitions...but for people like the ones up here in the choir loft today, to actually do something this silly in front of a bunch of people who they respect and whose respect and love and approval they want. What I hope will happen in this service today is that you will discover that silliness is not the same as stupidity. That, indeed, it is a gift that has been given to us to help us to get through life. To help us enjoy life with all the joy and all the celebration and all the exuberance that God intends for us to have. That’s what this piece of worship is about today. So it’s okay for you to laugh, please. Otherwise, I will ... my inhibitions will return. It’s okay for you to do pretty much anything that you would like to do in this service. Be impromptu about things you would like.

The word "silly" comes from an old Gaelic word and its the word that’s on the poster board over here. It’s the word "gasaleg". And that translates to our English word, "silly". And you can almost here the word sill in gasaleg. That’s where it comes from. The interesting thing about this word "gasaleg" is that its literal translation is indeed "blessing". In Gaelic "gasaleg" is the word for "blessing". The word for which we get "silly". This seems to me that this is an indication of the fact that silliness is indeed a blessing that God has given to us. And that’s what I want to talk to you about today.

Many of you remember Irma Bombeck. Irma had a little piece that she wrote about an experience that she had in church; and this is what she said. "In church the other Sunday, I was intent on a small child who was turning around smiling at everyone. He wasn’t gurgling, spitting, humming, kicking, tearing the hymnals or rummaging through his mother’s purse. He was just smiling. Finally his mother jerked him about and in a stage whisper that could be heard in a little theater off Broadway she said, "Stop that grinning, you’re in church." With that she gave him a belt. And as the tears rolled down his cheeks, she said, "That’s better." And she returned to her prayers. We sing, "Make a Joyful Noise unto the Lord all our Lands", but our faces reflect the sadness of one who just buried a rich aunt who left everything to her pregnant hamster. We chant, "If I have not charity, I am become a sounding brass and a ringing cymbal." Translating in the parking lot it comes out, "And the same to you fellow!" Suddenly all is angry. It occurred to me that the whole world is in tears. And if you’re not, then you’d better get with it. I wanted to grab this child with the tear stained face close to me and tell him about my God. The happy God; the smiling God. The God who must have had a sense of humor to have made the likes of us. I wanted to tell him He’s an understanding God. One who understands little children who pick their noses in church because they are bored. (Are you going to do that? Oh, thank you. They’re not going to do that.) He understands the man in the parking lot who reads the comics while his wife attends church. He even understands, she says, my shallow prayers that implore, "If you can’t make me thin, God, then please make my friends look fat." I wanted to tell that I’ve taken a few lumps in my time for daring to smile at religion. By tradition, one wears faith with the solemnity of a mourner. The gravity mask, a tragedy, and the dedication of a Rotary badge. What a fool, I thought. Here’s a women sitting next to the only thing left in our civilization. The only hope; our only miracle. Our only promise of infinity. If you couldn’t laugh in church, where was there left to go?

Indeed, if we can’t laugh in church and if we can’t realize that "gasaleg" is a blessing for us, where can we go? There is a song in your bulletin, "If I Were a Butterfly". Now, in the first service, several people knew this song. This song has motions. And what I would like for you to do as much as you can, maybe the person next to you holds the words and you do the motions or whatever. But I would like for you to do the motions with us. The Praise Team is going to lead us in this. And we’re going to sing with the motions, "If I Were a Butterfly". Would you stand.

IF I WERE A BUTTERFLY

Thank you. You may be seated. I’m going to talk a little bit now about letting the child within you come out to play. I can tell which ones of you have already mastered that skill. You can do the actions! In the Hebrew scriptures, back in the Old Testament, in the Book of Proverbs, there is a verse in the 17^th Chapter, 22 verse. And here’s what it says. I’m going to quote it for you in the old Kings James because I think the poetic sound of it lends itself well to this. It says, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine; but a downcast spirit drieth up the bones." You may be surprised to know that we have learned through research now that in some people the more they laugh, the more dense their bones become. It doesn’t happen in everybody. But in studies and experiments that have been done, it happens for some people. I’m not sure that in the pre-scientific times that the Book of Proverbs was written, that people actually knew anything about bone density. But as it turns out that actually happens. Not only bone density, but several other of our systems get a huge boost when we laugh. The immune system is one of them. When we laugh, the immune system just turns on. And all kinds of good chemicals that fight viruses and germs and even natural killer cells, what are called NK cells, that attack some kinds of tumors, get released into our systems. When we laugh; when we play. Just when we have a good time. There’s a whole wealth now of information done from scientific research that tells us that wonderful things happen to our bodies when we are laughing and even when we are just having a good time.

There’s a man who helped us with that. His name was Norman Cousins. Some of you have heard of him; some of you have read the book, "Anatomy and An Illness". Norman was a literary man. He was editor for "Saturday Review" for 27 or 28 years. He came down with a disease known as "anthelose spondelitis" Anthelose spondelitis, you may know someone who has anthelose spondelitis or you might. It’s a very painful disease. It affects different parts of the body. Makes people almost unable to move around very much at all. It’s extremely painful for many people. And it was for Norman. Norman is the guy who checked himself out of the hospital and in to a hotel and called Alan Funt, the old Candid Camera guy. And he had Alan bring over a bunch of outtake’s from Candid Camera, or a bunch of segments of Candid Camera. And he would sit and watch them. And here’s what he found out. Norman found out that ten minutes of solid belly laughter gave him two hours of pain-free sleep. And nothing else had done that. The medicines hadn’t. The therapies hadn’t. The physicians hadn’t been able to help him that way. But the laughter did. And, indeed, from that a lot of the research that has been done got started about the role of humor and laughter and playfulness in our bodies.

One of the gifts, one of the things that the gift of laughter, joy, celebration, silliness brings to us is that it actually benefits our health and bodies. Norman was a guy who learned how to have fun even when he was having a lot of pain even when things were not going very well for him. Indeed, one day they came to him and on his breakfast tray was apple juice. He said it was nice. They brought this in. It happened that the people from the lab came at the same time. And probably most of you know what it is. Norman decided that it would be really funny to take this apple juice and put it in there and so he did. And put it back up on his bedside table. And then the lady from the lab came back and he said to her, "Well, how does it look today?" She said, "Well, Mr. Cousins, it looks a little cloudy." Norman took it out of her hand. He said, "You know, I think you’re right. Let’s just run it through again." He said she stood there for the longest time and said nothing until he finally began to giggle and told her what he had done.

Well, indeed, the gift of laughter, the gift of playfulness, the gift of silliness is something that God has given to us to help us deal with the times even of pain, whether it’s physical pain, emotional pain, or deep spiritual pain. It is there to help us refrain those things and live with them, cope with them, and even transform them. Would you please join me in the Responsive Reading. Your part is very easy. It is the same word every time. And I will read the Leader’s parts.

RESPONSIVE READING

I want to thank that child back there. If you haven’t heard, that child has been saying, "Happy, Happy, Happy". Indeed, that justifies all that we are doing here today. We’re going to sing another children’s song for you. It’s actually an anthem. It’s about how we all fit in the kingdom of God.

ANTHEM - "A PLACE IN THE CHOIR"

OFFERTORY

Our lives are lived in a stream and the stream is mixed. It is a stream that, indeed, includes joy and...The stream is filled with a mixture. That which is joyful, happy, gay. And things that are not. Things that are concerns to us. Things that trouble us. Things that we want to lift as concerns. And so we come now, in order to do that in this time of sharing of joys and concerns.

SHARING OF JOYS AND CONCERNS

PASTORAL PRAYER. "We do lift up to you Lord, at this time, our gratefulness, our gratitude that you have given us clowns, and fools and silliness and stuffed toys and animals and all those things that bring joy to us. We are thankful that you hear us through this joy. We are thankful that you share with us in these times of joy and celebration and that you also share with us in the times of heartache and of tears and of pain. We lift up to you the joy of new marriages and new life starting out together. We lift up to you many joys that we do not express but hold in our hearts. And we lift up to you these concerns for Margaret and Sherman and for the family of Bob and many other things that we hold quietly and secretly in our hearts and yet know that they are known to you and are of great concern to you. All these things we hold before you on this day of gratitude. And we pray in the prayer that Rev. Edward Hays has given us, "The Fool’s Prayer", in this manner."

THE FOOL’S PRAYER

THE LORD’S PRAYER

The Childlike Spirit - here’s what Jesus said. When they had a bunch...he was out teaching, and they brought some kids around. And I’m sure that as Jesus was trying to teach some of those adults got concerned because kids were giggling and throwing rocks and who knows what all they were doing while this great Rabbi was trying to teach. And as they brought these children up to Jesus, Jesus’ disciples said to their parents, "Take those kids away. Don’t bring them up here bothering Him at this time." And here’s what Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child shall not enter it at all." I think that tells us a lot about the role of the child within us. It is indeed, in that eight-year old that is in us, that we find joy and celebration and wonder and creativity and all of these things that are so good for us. It is at that point that our faith meets God, I think. And Jesus said if you want to be a part of the kingdom, you have to come to the kingdom like these children do, full of playfulness, full of exuberance, full of a good time. And bring your faith in that way.

There’s a man by the name of Ashley Mocabue. He died last November. Ashley Mocabue developed a concept called "neotamy". Neotamy he defined as the juvenile characteristics that carry over in to adulthood. There are different kinds of course. There are the childish characteristics that carry over in to adulthood. Things like whining, pouting, insisting on your own way, taking your toys and going home. All that kind of stuff. I was doing this for a group of school teachers in the Center Grove School system. And when I described that word, a teacher spoke right up and said, "That’s my husband!". And maybe some of you want to say that this morning! Those are the childlike things. I don’t think that was what Jesus was talking about. Those are the childish things. Jesus was talking about the child-like things that I just mentioned a little bit of God. Those are the things that bring us close to God and into God’s presence moment by moment. Neotamy. Actually, Mocabue died last November at the age of 91 or 92. He is the man who said, "The secret to life is to die young at a very old age." Well, he managed to do that. And indeed I think that is a good motto for us to hold on to.

The childlike spirit. I hope that I’ve been able at least very briefly to help you understand what I think that is. I do not want you to misunderstand. I was doing a presentation at Terre Haute three Christmases ago for a group of senior citizens who volunteer at one of the hospitals over there. Very bright, energetic group. But all of them were, indeed, senior citizens and most of them were quite elderly. And there was a table right in front of where I was standing doing my presentation. And there was a woman there whose age I don’t know. She was very spry and very bright but obviously quite elderly. And I got to the place in the presentation where I said, "Do you believe that there’s a child inside you?" And she said, "Oh, God, I hope not!"

Well, I think you understand that that is not what I am talking about. Children have their own wisdom. And as we get in touch with our child, we get in touch with that wisdom as well. Let me just share a few pieces of wisdom from children with you. This is from Patrick, age 10, who said, "Never touch your dog to watch your food." Matthew, age 12, "When you want something expensive, ask your grandparents." Yes, of course. Andrew, age 9, (I think Andrew had probably been in trouble a time or two), "Never smart off to a teacher whose eyes and ears are twitching." That’s important to know that. Stephanie, age 8, said, "Sleep in your clothes and then you’ll be dressed when you get up in the morning." Rosemary, age 7, "Never try to hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk." Carol, age 9, "Never ask for anything that costs more than $5.00 when your parents are working on their income tax." I think this is the one I like best, maybe because this girl is named Heather, the name of my daughter. She was 16 years old when she finally learned, "When your Dad is mad and he asks you, ‘Do I look stupid?’, don’t answer him." Joe, age 12, "Don’t pick on your sister when she’s holding a baseball bat." Laura, age 13, "Never try to baptize a cat." Hank, age 12, "Never tell your little brother that you’re not going to do what your Mom said to do." Randy, age 9, "Stay away from prunes." And Philip, at the age of 13 said, "Never dare your little brother to paint the family car." Molly, "Remember you’re never too old to hold your father’s hand." And Jo Ann, age 11, "Remember the two places you are always welcome--church and Grandma’s house." Yeah.

Well, getting in touch with that child is a part of the gift of "gasaleg", this gift of silliness, this gift of joy and laughter that has been given to us. And we’re going to continue in that vein by singing two verses of another song that is printed in your bulletin, "Come as a Little Child". The group here is going to sing the first verse and then we are all going to sing versus one and two.

COME AS A LITTLE CHILD, Verses 1 & 2

What goes on inside has a lot to do with who we are. It doesn’t just come from who we are, it also helps to determine who we are. The way we think, the things we focus on, the values that we have, the characteristics that we think are important determine, indeed, who we are and what kind of people we are. Again, back in the Hebrew scriptures in the Book of Proverbs, there is a verse in the 23^rd chapter, Verse 7 which says, "For as a person thinks within, so is that person." Jesus talked about it this way in Matthew, the 15^th chapter, "It is not what enters the mouth that defiles a person, but what proceeds out of the mouth. This defiles a person." The things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart. Now you must remember that in that time the heart was the center of thought, of intellect, of thinking. The emotions came from the bowels. The Bible speaks of "bowels of compassion". Emotions come from deeper within the body. The heart is where thinking is located. The things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart for out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornifications, thefts, false witness, slanders. And, by implication, the good things that we would do may come out...they start with...what we are doing inside in our thinking. And so it is important for us to think about what we think about.

Laughter helps us to reap some of the things that we think about. Some of the things that happen to us, especially when bad things begin to happen, is that we kind of get stuck in those things. You know people, even when bad things aren’t happening, are just constantly negative. You know, if you get a bonus that year, they say, "Well, you can bet there won’t be a raise." And if the company announces a raise, they say, "Well, no bonus this year." And every thing that happens they have a negative response to. And they are stuck in that negative bound rut and they can’t get out. Somebody said that ruts are just coffins with the ends kicked out. That’s kind of...that’s where we live sometimes. It’s important for us to give attention to those thoughts, to the way we think day by day.

Humor helps us take the things that really aren’t so good some times--and they really aren’t--it’s not to deny that terrible things happen. Bad things happen. Terrible things happen. Awful things happen. They do; and they are real. We have to do something. We have to live with them, we have to cope with them, we have to change them. Whatever we can do. Humor is a gift that helps us to either at least live with those things and sometimes even to change them.

Now this is how it works. You have an insert. A little half page in your bulletin. I’d like for you to take that if you would. If you would look at the part, the side that says "Side 1". What I would like for you to do. We are going to do a unison reading. That’s real churchy. We’re going to do a unison reading. And I would like for you to start with the word "gloom" and read those words together. Would you start now. Gloom, hardship, dread, fear, despair, loss, depression, frustration, sorrow, melancholy, torment, rejection, regret, darkness, sadness, pain, tears, anguish, trouble, misery.

Well, how do you feel? You’re laughing, I think, because you feel the opposite of that. That’s usually what people say. When I do this and then say, "Well, how do you feel after reading those words?", people say, "Some like this, UGGH". Or, "I feel terrible, I feel depressed, I feel down." And indeed, sometimes we get stuck with the gloom, the despair, the heartache, the misery, etc. And that’s the way we feel all the time and it just kind of becomes a vicious cycle and keeps feeding on itself. Would you turn your page over to the other side, Page 2. I would like for you to do yet another reading together starting with the word "joy". Would you read those words, please. Joy, silly, jolly, brighten, cheerful, laughter, hilarious, energized, cherish, merriment, playful, amusement, joking, fun, exuberant, gentle, giggles, gladness, pleasure, warmth.

Now, tell me what was different about the way you read the second group of words. More joyful. What else did you notice about reading the second group of words. Faster or slower than the first group? Equal. Eager. Yes. Every time, I’ve done this with I don’t know how many groups now. I’ve done it with groups of six and I’ve done it with groups of like as many as this. And every time that I have done this people always read the second group faster than the first group. Frequently even the pitch changes. They will read it at a higher pitch. It’s a much brighter reading. They are different words. That what happens. The things that we focus on, the things that we think about, the things that we hold in our hearts determine the way we live our lives.

Now, here’s what laughter does for us. Who here remembers HeeHaw? Some of you do. Okay. Who of you who remember HeeHaw remember when the old guys stood around singing with the hound dog at their feet and they sang a song about gloom and despair? How many of you...somebody remember that? I have one more question and then a volunteer. Who remembers the sound that they made between each phrase of that song. That’s right. Would you help me do that? Would you come up here and help me do that? Wonderful. Now, I’m going to sing the song for you and...what is your name? Ruth. And Ruth is going to lead you in the phrase...stand right up here beside me Ruth...Ruth is going to lead you in the phrase...Do you need a hat, Ruth? Do you need a hat? It doesn’t make any difference. You probably do. Well, I guess I’m out of them. You’ll just have to wear a wig then. Here we go. Alright. Okay. Now show them what they are suppose to do. "Ooooh" Yeah, let’s practice that. "Ooooh". Okay. Here’s the song. "Oh despair and agony on me. Oooh. Need not depression, excessive misery. Oooh. If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all. Oooh. Gloom, despair, and agony on me. Oooh. Oh, thank you Ruth. That was good. Thank you very much.

Now it’s the same words, gloom, despair, agony, bad luck, no luck. The same words that we were talking about. But the feeling is entirely different. Because we have taken humor and laughter and reframed those words. And, indeed, humor and laughter does that throughout our lives. There are things that are, indeed, not so good. But God has given us this gift of gasaleg that we might reframe those things and live with them and perhaps even change them. And at least go on with our lives to other things. And that’s where I think laughter, humor, and playfulness touches our faith. Again, it is all wrapped up with learning to let this child out to play. I’d like for you to please stand if you would. We’re going to sing the third verse of "Come as a Little Child". "Come with a trusting heart, come face the world with innocence. Meet everyone as a friend to know and love. Even if you’re sick and tired...(My mom use to say, "I am sick and tired.") Even if you’re sick and tired, disillusioned, uninspired. Come ready to follow and explore...." Let us sing.

COME AS A CHILD, Verse 3

Thank you for indulging Mike who asked us to do this and me and the folks who have helped us today in doing this. And I hope that, indeed, you will now go forth knowing that there is an eight-year old inside you and being willing for that eight-year old to come out and play. And that your life will be transformed by the joy and love that your faith brings to you from a God who, indeed, had to have a sense of humor to have created the likes of us. Amen.