David Murray makes a plea:
…a plea for serious preaching in a comedy culture. And notice, I am talking about serious preaching, not life in general. Laughter is a gift of God and is good for us. There is “a time to laugh” (Eccl. 3:4). There are known health benefits of having a good laugh. It reduces stress and blood pressure. It helps the digestive system, etc. But I am speaking here about preaching, not life in general. The appropriate subjects and degrees of laughter in everyday life is another topic.
The essay embedded below is substantive and seeks to discern and apply biblical principle. For that reason it deserves to be considered and not dismissed as a cultural oddity.
I am occasionally convicted that I’ve said something flippant during a sermon that distracts from the point that I’m seeking to make.
Other times a laughter reaction can express a sense of shared conviction that it is difficult to express any other way. Asking “How many Presbyterians does it take to change a light bulb? Change? That light bulb was given by my late aunt, we’ll change it over my dead body” invites the congregation to see a snare (which they may have fallen into themselves in the past) and allow us to move toward a correct attitude instead of listing all their past failures.
Sometimes an illustration is humourous in itself, but speaks to a larger truth that can then be taken and applied in a way that has disarmed the congregation. Mentioning that bacon and eggs illustrate the difference between committment and involvement: the pig is committed, while the chicken is only involved, usually does this. Unpacking what involvement and commitment to Christ and His church looks like follows closely.
All in all, this is a perspective with which it is well worth engaging in terms of thinking about what you say, why you say it, and why the reaction you anticipate serves the forward momentum of a sermon.
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