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Anybody who has been attending over the past few months will remember two very different services.\u00a0 Several weeks ago we had a gas leak in our furnace which created a dilemma for me.\u00a0 What should I do?\u00a0 Cancel the service or continue and allow for the potential risk.\u00a0 It was an anxiety moment for me and I did not rise to the occasion.\u00a0 I was stressed and upset.\u00a0 Many of you could tell and Wayne Butterfass even came up to me and very kindly encouraged me to just relax.\u00a0 Instead of practicing gentle ways by not being anxious and instead of finding humor in the situation, I was nervous and indecisive.<\/p>\n
In contrast to that moment, a few weeks ago, on concluding the Christmas Eve service message, I did something slightly uncommon for me.\u00a0 I extended myself and was willing to look a bit silly and less serious. I put a shiny silver tinsel boa around my neck and I stuck a red bow on my nose – all to conclude a message on faith like a child.\u00a0 I debated beforehand whether to do such a silly thing – especially at an important service like Christmas Eve, but I went with it and played the fool – hopefully to illustrate my message point.<\/p>\n
My response to the gas leak was spontaneous and not the best.\u00a0 My actions in the Christmas Eve service were planned.\u00a0 I went for the sight gag and several folks laughed – probably because I acted in a way that I am not particularly known for, and of course, I must have looked awfully silly.<\/p>\n
Indeed, the laughter response of those in attendance that evening highlight the reasons why most people do<\/span> laugh – our brain expects one thing but then it is suddenly confronted with something different and incongruous.\u00a0 We note the irony and our bodies respond by laughing.\u00a0 How many Pastors act goofy at the end of a traditionally solemn Christmas message?<\/p>\n My lesson from both of those incidents is that I must resolve to incorporate laughter and a sense of humor in my life.\u00a0 By planning to be funny some of the time, I might be more inclined to respond with humor and laughter at difficult or stressful times.\u00a0 Numerous experts, from psychologists to theologians to medical doctors, all extol the virtues and benefits of laughter.\u00a0 And so I include it on my list of often overlooked New Year\u2019s resolutions – our series topic during January.<\/p>\n Indeed, if you have heard or read the last two messages, you might have come away a bit down or in a much too serious frame of mind.\u00a0 While I do not take back the notion that being gentle or practicing forgiveness are important, I mean come on!\u00a0 They are sooooo serious!\u00a0 Depression, the death penalty, anger, frustration and murder are not especially light subjects \u2013 all of which were mentioned in the last two messages.\u00a0 I need today\u2019s message to remind myself – lighten up occasionally Doug!\u00a0 Life does not have to be so darn serious!<\/p>\n And most importantly, Sunday services, faith and spirituality do not have to always be so darn serious.\u00a0 They can and should be occasionally playful.\u00a0 We should not make light of important issues of our time and our lives but we also need to step back, take a deep breath and ultimately laugh at the often ridiculous or silly circumstances we are in.\u00a0 It was Voltaire who said that, \u201cGod is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.\u201d <\/strong>\u00a0What I need to remind myself is that God, or whatever power it is that controls our universe, wants me to laugh!<\/p>\n Take a look now at what I find is a hilarious but gentle mocking of church services – mine included – that are often way too serious, much too boring and terribly stuffy: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0click here to watch video<\/a><\/p>\n Poking fun at religion and spirituality is quite common.\u00a0 And it should be!\u00a0 Few other institutions take themselves so seriously and consider themselves so important.\u00a0 But that is not what most of the great prophets of history promote.\u00a0 Jesus spoke often of the need for joy in life and he set out to experience fun – attending countless raucous dinner parties in the company of prostitutes, thieves and other so-called sinners.\u00a0 I think he knew they would be much more fun and much better company than all of the so-called elites and religious know-it-alls.<\/p>\n The Bible even quotes him as making a joke out of Peter\u2019s name – playfully teasing him that \u201cPeter\u201d, in Aramaic, means \u201clittle stone\u201d or \u201cpebble.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cYo, Peter!\u201d Jesus said, \u201cYou\u2019re a BIG dude, man, a BIG little rock upon which my spirituality will be built!\u201d\u00a0 (I\u2019m paraphrasing of course!)\u00a0 It\u2019s interesting that many Bible literalists and the Catholic Church don\u2019t get the joke Jesus was making.\u00a0 He knew Peter was full of faults.\u00a0 He was rash, a bit arrogant and ultimately weak in his convictions.\u00a0 So Jesus playfully teased him by saying he was going to build his ethical teachings on a rock – on Peter – which everyone knew meant \u201cpebble.\u201d\u00a0 The irony was a good one.\u00a0 Faith rests on the weak and the meek.\u00a0 Jesus did not intend to literally say that Christianity would be founded by Peter and that he should be the first Pope – an idea Jesus never mentions.\u00a0 He was making a joke!<\/p>\n My point is that spirituality of all things should be full of joy and laughter and what better way to express a sense of humor than to gently laugh at oneself?\u00a0 The Dalai Lama relates that his people, the Tibetans, face many serious issues, most importantly their oppression by the Chinese.\u00a0 But he remains committed to smiling, laughing and being playful.\u00a0 One looks at him and smiles.<\/p>\n The Koran says that \u201cBlessed is he who makes his companions laugh.\u201d <\/strong>\u00a0Kahlil Gibran, the Islamic mystic, wrote that, \u201cIt is my fervent hope that my whole life on this earth will ever be tears and laughter.\u00a0 Tears that purify my heart and laughter that brings me closer to my fellow people; tears with which I join the broken-hearted and laughter that symbolizes joy over my very existence.” \u00a0<\/strong>And <\/strong>a Yiddish proverb states that, \u201cWhat soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.\u201d\u00a0 <\/strong>All the things that ail us – worry, anxiety, hatred, anger and fear are cleansed – wiped away – by laughter!<\/p>\n We need to laugh at the sometimes pompous and self-important rituals of faith – much like in the video clip we just saw.\u00a0 I imagine if I could sit out where you do – I would sometimes laugh at myself – not in self-indulgent embarrassment, but at how serious I can take myself.\u00a0 Or, as Mr. Bean does in the video, I\u2019d fall asleep.\u00a0 I like to tell friends, who ask about listening to me online, that the Gathering ought to make some added money by selling my recorded messages as the perfect cure for insomnia!<\/p>\n Here are a few cartoons about religion that I find very funny.\u00a0 Some of them you will have to think about just a bit… \u00a0(Click on cartoon to slightly enlarge, scroll down through cartoons to resume message)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Chuckling to ourselves or laughing out loud are cathartic and immensely helpful to our spiritual souls.\u00a0 By smiling, experiencing moments of happiness and taking life less seriously, we find real joy.\u00a0 Such moments cause us to draw closer to one another and, instead of diminishing the importance of a spiritual subject, laughter comes by thinking about and understanding subtle ironies \u2013 like how Christians worship a dead body much like bugs would worship a squashed one! \u00a0\u00a0That helps us tap into spirituality and how it affects the world.\u00a0 Is it blasphemy to humorously think of God watching us on some divine super computer, or Jesus having his bottom exposed – pointing out his need for sunscreen, or two Buddhist monks praising the ironic idea of being thoughtless?\u00a0 Some people believe religious subjects are off-limits and, indeed, I believe there are some things that are not funny.\u00a0 Negative humor demeans and debases.\u00a0 It humiliates and is cruel.\u00a0 Racist, sexist or homophobic jokes are examples.\u00a0 Who among us could not have aspects of their heritage, appearance or sexuality made fun of?\u00a0 Such things are off base.<\/p>\n But if God, Jesus, Buddha or any other religious figure are not big enough to be mildly teased, then I suggest they are not all powerful.\u00a0 I fully believe that if Jesus were alive today and had seen an actual Coppertone sunscreen commercial, he would laugh at the cartoon of him needing the same.\u00a0 As Paul Rudnick, a contemporary comedian notes, \u201cThere is only one blasphemy and that is the refusal to experience joy.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n And that ought to hold true for us.\u00a0 If I possess any confidence in who I am as a person, I can withstand gentle and mild teasing.\u00a0 Indeed, I ought to be the first to laugh at myself.\u00a0 The actress Shirley McClaine once said, \u201cThe person who knows how to laugh at himself or herself will never cease to be amused!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Laughter also is a proven benefit for our minds and<\/span><\/strong> our bodies.\u00a0 This has been known throughout history.\u00a0 Plato and Socrates knew of its benefits.\u00a0 Laughter and tickling were used as a form of anesthesia during surgical procedures in the Middle Ages.\u00a0 Court jesters were used after large banquets because laughter was seen as helping digestion.\u00a0 Jesters were used to help Kings and Queen recover from an illness and it was Sigmund Freud who proposed that laughter relieves the mind of anxiety.\u00a0 Indeed, it\u2019s been scientifically shown that an amusing stimulus to the brain causes the pituitary gland to release certain hormones that create endorphins in our bloodstream.\u00a0 Those are the natural body chemicals that make us feel good – after we exercise, engage in sex or laugh.<\/p>\n Psychologically, laughter reduces tension.\u00a0 It helps us be more empathetic toward others – we relate to people better if we see the human side of them.\u00a0 Laughter eliminates anger as it encourages forgiveness and a calm approach to problem solving.\u00a0 According to a recent article in Psychology Today<\/span>, couples should not just to find laughter from outside sources like TV or the movies, but from playful and gentle humor understood just between the two.\u00a0 Those partners who are able to laugh at silly things between them or playfully tease one another, are said to be happier and more stable.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 While some find relentless tickling painful, the article suggests that mild forms of it are healthy in a relationship.\u00a0 Tickling that causes laughter is intimate, it brings the two closer and it helps diffuse disagreements.\u00a0 Indeed, the article says that in the middle of an argument it is sometimes helpful to say something funny or to begin tickling the other.\u00a0 Such actions indicate that the disagreement is not that serious and it enables calmer and more reasoned discussion later.<\/p>\n Physically, laughter is known to have immense benefits.\u00a0 Laughter lowers blood pressure, it reduces heart disease by reducing stress – something that has been proven harmful to the epithelial lining of veins and arteries.\u00a0 Laughter boosts our immune system by increasing the T-cell count and it increases the production of cancer fighting lymphocytes.\u00a0 It also strengthens our brains and improves our memories by engaging both sides of the brain – one of the few things that does this.\u00a0 We use our left brain to analyze a joke or funny situation.\u00a0 We use our right brain to actually get the joke and then laugh.\u00a0 Such engagement of both sides of the brain improves short and long term memory.<\/p>\n And so, my friends, as I end this January message series on overlooked New Year\u2019s resolutions, I hope to have stimulated some thought about taking a chance and extending ourselves in new and better ways.\u00a0 Life is never easy.\u00a0 It is often framed with heart ache and pain, but we do possess the secrets to joy.\u00a0 We have within us that power I mentioned two weeks ago, to create pain or stimulate happiness – in ourselves and in others.\u00a0 If, as I believe, heaven is here and now and it is what we make it to be, then this is our chance, our one opportunity to have an impact and do good.\u00a0 It is our time to speak gentle words and experience a peaceful presence.\u00a0 It is up to us to let go of that which hurts and destroys and grab a hold of kindness, empathy and forgiveness.\u00a0 Of equal importance, as serious as life can be, we should NOT make it more so.\u00a0 We must laugh out loud, tell jokes, and be playful.\u00a0 And we must learn to laugh at ourselves.\u00a0 We are often quite ridiculous, but lovable people.<\/p>\n I conclude with the words of two men – one a comic genius and the other a much too serious Pastor.\u00a0 Woody Allen, the comic genius, said, \u201cI am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0 And I, the much too serious Pastor, says to you and to me, take a chance, laugh and be a fool for a moment.\u00a0 You just might be the wisest one in the room!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Peace and much joy I wish for all of you…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Message 83, \u201cAn Overlooked New Year\u2019s Resolution: Laughter to Feed the Body, Mind and Soul\u201d, 1-22-12 \u00a9 Doug Slagle, Pastor at the Gathering, All Rights Reserved Anybody who has been attending over the past few months will remember two very different services.\u00a0 Several weeks ago we had a gas leak in our furnace which 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