The Last Laugh
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost Genesis 18:1-14 July 21, 2013
So tell me, does God have a sense of humor? I know, question of the ages, right? The one thats plagued mankind since beg. of time the proverbial !theologians cross." #$, well, ma%be it isnt that &as a matter of fact, its not even one of the '() questions our confirmands have to learn the answer to in *uthers Small +atechism,, but it is a question I seem to get asked more than most- !.oes God have a sense of humor?" I think all here would agree that God is loving, but does /e laugh? Is there an%where in the Scriptures where we see /im laughing? I mean, its not as if laughter is !evil". It can certainl% be used that wa% to mock, scorn, 0 ridicule. 1ut it can also be used in a God2pleasing wa% to celebrate. 3s read in 4cclesiastes time for ever%thing, even time to laugh. 3nd as see in other poet. bks of #T laughter is a gift from God. /e brings us laughter of 5o% with /is ama6ing grace. 1ut does God /imself laugh? 3ttmpt to find answr in toda%s t7t. In our te7t, we read abt ' m%sterious strangers coming to visit 3be. Two of them were angels who would go on to Sodom 0 Gomorrah immediatel% after the% visit 3braham to rescue his nephew *ot. The other, our t7t indicates, was none other than 8ahweh /imself. The purpose of this visit was to tell 3braham the events that would soon take place which included the event of Sarah having a son !ill surely return to you a"out this ti#e ne$t year and Sarah your !ife !ill ha%e a son&' 9ell it 5ust so happened that Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent when the *ord spoke these words and couldnt help but laugh. 1ut this wasnt laughter of joy the t%pe of laughter that God desires, this was laughter of unbelief or doubt the t%pe of laughter that God detests a laughter of mockery 0 scorn. 3nd so /e asks, (hy did Sarah laugh)' 9ell God, being God, obviousl% knew wh% Sarah laughed.
To Sarah, this promise of pregnanc% seemed utterl% ridiculous. Sarah was :;, going on ;( well past the age of childbearing, even b% 3<4 standards. =urthermore, Abraham was too old ;;, going on >((. Its enough that hes even alive? So Sarah retorts, Shall really ha%e this pleasure &!4den" little slice of heaven?, no! that a# !orn out and #y #aster is old)' In Sarahs mind, this wasnt even fathomable, so didnt believe. Gods promise brought laughter, but not the good kind it brought laughter of unbelief rather than laughter of joy. <ow, lest we place all the blame of unbelief on Sarah, we have to remember that 3braham wasnt e7actl% the great #an of faith' we read about in Galatians 3:9 when he first received this news. @a% recall what happened in the chapter right before our te7t when God first revealed this plan to him. Gen. 17:17 *hen +"raha# fell on his face and laughed and said to hi#self, ,Shall a child "e "orn to a #an !ho is a hundred years old) Shall Sarah, !ho is ninety years old, "ear a child)-' 3braham too was guilt% of unbelief. .idnt think it was possible. 9h%? Same reason too old. So again, Gods promise brought laughter of unbelief rather than laughter of joy. #f course, eas% to point the finger, but are we an% less unbelieving? That is to sa%, do we laugh at Gods promisesAin the bad wa%? .o we laugh in unbelief when God tells us that sinful people like us will actuall% make it to heavn solely on acct. of +hrists merits? .o we laugh in unbelief when God tells us that forgiveness, life, 0 salvation are bestowed on us through ordinar% things like water, bread, 0 wine when the% are combined with Gods 9ord? .o we laugh at Gods promise to provide for all our needs if we seek first is $ingdom 0 is righteousness &like @ar% in Gospel,? .o we laugh at Gods promise to work ever%thing for our good when we find ourselves in the midst of suffering 0 death? I would guess that all of us have laughed at the promises of God at some point in life I know this because were all sinful 0 unclean. 9hen times are tough, when were beaten down b% the world, when were sick, when were fighting financial troubles, we tend to laugh in unbelief at Gods promise to take care of us.
It 5ust cant be. Too good to be true. Sure doesnt feel that wa%. 1ut then we come to our te7t where we are faced with the same question God faced 3braham 0 Sarah with- s anythin. too hard for /ah!eh)' !v. 14". Is there ever a time when %our troubles are too big for God? The answer we learn from our te7t toda% is a resounding, !#$?" God can and does do all that /e %romises to do. /e is able to turn our laughter of unbelief into laughter of joy. 3braham 0 Sarah are the perfect e7ample. Tho the% were faithless, God was faithful and kept the promise /e made to give em descendants from their own flesh as numerous as the stars in the heavns 0 sand on the seashore !Ge. 15:5; 22:17". 1% power of the /S, Sarah was finall% able to believe that promise. 3s the writer of ebrews sa%s !11:11", 0y faith, e%en Sarah herself recei%ed the a"ility to concei%e, e%en "eyond the 1ro1er ti#e of life, since she considered 2i# !ho had 1ro#ised faithful&' /ow was that again? &y faith' &y faith in the promise of God, promises /e alwa%s keeps, 3be 0 Sarahs laughter of unbelief was changed to laughter of joy. =or we read three chapters later &Gen. 21:1 7, that 3braham 0 Sarah laughed for joy when their son finall% was born. So wh% is all this important? 9ell, the fulfillment of this promise was the first ste% in the fulfillment of Gods plan for whole world. 8ou see, t7t is abt more than 5ust Gods promise for 3be 0 Sarah. Its abt Gods promise for all mankind the promise of salvation. 3s we read in Ge. 1(:3, through 3braham 0 his descendants, all nations on earth will be blessed. 1ut in order for that blessing to take place for worldwide salv. to take place, a son needed to be bornB that would be the first step. The last step would be the birth of another promised Son a Son whose birth would also involve the unbelievable, indeed, the seemingl% impossible a virgin shall concei%e 3 .i%e "irth4' 3nd, of course, 5ust as the coming of 3be 0 Sarahs son brought about laughter of unbelief, so also would this Sons coming. Ceople would laugh at the thought of a virgin giving birth. The%d laugh at the thought of God taking on flesh to suffr 0 die. The%d laugh at the thought of an insig. man like Desus being God.
Indeed, the%d laugh in unbelief, scorn, and mocker%. 8et, as was the case with 3be 0 Sarah, though man is faithless, God is faithful, and /is promises stand firm. (hen the fullness of ti#e had co#e, God sent forth 2is Son, "orn of !o#an, "orn under the la!, to redee# those !ho !ere under the la!, so that !e #i.ht recei%e ado1tion as sons' &Gal. 4:4 5,. In that Son, Gods Son, all nations are blessed. In /im, salvation has come. 3nd by faith in those promises of God, promises /e continues to keep, we receive that promised salvation, and our laughter of unbelief changes to laughter of joy &5ust like 3be 0 Sarah,. This brings us back to orig. quest.- does God have sense of humr? 9ell notice how after 3braham laughed at Gods promise, God told him that the son born to them was to be named !Isaac." /ere is where we see Gods sense of humor shine through, because the /ebrew name, !Isaac," is lit. translated, !he laughs." 9hile on the one hand, this name served as a lawful reminder to 3braham of his faithlessness, laughing at the promise of God, it also served as a Gos%el reminder of Gods faithfulness and, for that matter, Gods sense of humor as /e /imself would get the last laugh when /ed fulfill that promise. 8es, 3be laughed and Sarah laughed, but God laughed last. 3nd %ou know what the% sa%, !/e who laughs last, laughs best." #f course, the difference with God)s laughter is that it isnt done in mockery, it is done in joy, for the ver% purpose of /im fulfilling /is promises is that our 5o% ma% be full &!n. 1":24,. Thus, God never laughs at us, /e laughs with us, as Sarah herself recogni6ed when Isaac finall% was born- God has "rou.ht #e laughter, and e%eryone !ho hears a"out this !ill lau.h #ith #e&' Toda%Aand everyda%, God invites us to laugh with /im in joy as we remember 0 celebrate the fulfillment of /is promise to send /is Son to save us 0 all the world from everlasting condemnation, and as we celebrate, in faith, the continual fulfillment of /is promises to provide for all our needs &both spiritual 0 ph%sical, and to work all things &both good 0 bad, for the good of those who love /im. In Desus <ame. 3men.
