Jesus Wept...and Laughed

JESUS WEPT…AND LAUGHED

Scripture                                       Ecclesiastes 3:1-14

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.

Weeping is an act of mourning; a mechanism to get the pain out.

Dancing is another way to laugh; engaging the whole body.

ABRAHAM WEPT

Genesis 23:1-2     Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 2 She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.  (Think of a loved one who passed away for whom you wept over their absence in your life)

Matthew 5:4                  Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

John 11:35           Jesus wept.  (the story of Lazarus)

TRANSITION FROM WEEPING TO LAUGHING

Luke 6:21             Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.  Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

Psalm 30:11                   READ FROM BIBLE You turned my wailing into dancing.

DAVID DANCED

2 Sam 6:12-16      Now King David was told, "The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God." So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. 13 When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14 David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might, 15 while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets. 16 As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.

LAUGHTER

Nervous laughter not so good

Genesis 18:10-15 Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"  Then the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."  Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh."  But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."

Joyful laughter good

Genesis 21:2, 5-9 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham when he was 100 years old, at the very time God had promised him. Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me, Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."  The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast.

B.C. Stands for Baptist Church

Mrs. Clifton Hord of Baird, Texas relates a rather strange reply to a request for a campground reservation. Mrs. Hord says that it actually happened to one of her friends, but we’ll let you be the judge. Here’s her story:

“My friend is a rather old-fashioned lady, always quite delicate and elegant, especially in her language. She and her husband were planning a week’s vacation in Florida, so she wrote to a particular campground and asked for a reservation.

“She wanted to make sure the campground was fully equipped, but didn’t quite know how to ask about the toilet facilities. She just couldn’t bring herself to write the word

 “toilet” in her letter. After much deliberation, she finally came up with the old-fashion term “bathroom commode”. But when she wrote that down, she still thought she was being to forward. So she started all over again, rewrote the entire letter, and referred to the bathroom commode merely as B.C. “Does the campground have its own B.C?” is what she actually wrote.

“Well the campground owner wasn’t old-fashion at all, and when he got the letter, he just couldn’t figure out what the woman was talking about.

After worrying about it for a while, he showed the letter to several campers, but they couldn’t imagine what the lady meant. So the campground owner, finally coming to the conclusion that the lady must be asking about the location of the local Baptist Church, sat down and wrote the following reply:

 “Dear Madam: I regret very much the delay in answering your letter, but I now take the pleasure of informing you that a B.C. is located nine miles north of the campground, and is capable of seating 250 people at one time. I admit it is quite a distance away if you are in the habit of going regularly, but no doubt you will be pleased to know that a great number of people take their lunches along and make a day of it. They usually arrive early and stay late.

“The last time my wife and I went was six years ago, and it was so crowded that we had to stand up the whole time we were there. It may interest you to know that right now

there is a supper planned to raise money to buy more seats. They’re going to hold it in the basement of the B.C.

“I would like to say it pains me very much not to be able to go more regularly, but it is surely no lack of desire on my part. As we grow older, it seems to be more of an effort, particularly in the cold weather.

“If you do decide to come down to our campground, perhaps I could go with you the first time you go, sit with you and introduce you to all the other folks. Remember, this is a friendly community.”

Hillbilly Mother to Hillbilly Son

Dear Son:

          I’m writing this slow cause I know you can’t read fast. We don’t live where we did when you left. Your Dad read in the paper where most accidents happen within twenty miles of home so we moved. I won’t be able to send you the new address as the last family that lived here took the numbers with them for their next house so they wouldn’t have to change their address.

          This place has a washing machine. The first day I put in four shirts. Pulled the chain and haven’t seen ‘em since.

          It only rained twice this week – three days the first time and four days the second time.

          The coat you wanted me to send you, your Aunt Sue said it would be a little heavy to send in the mail with them heavy buttons on, so we cut ‘em off and put them in the pockets.

          We got a bill from the funeral home, said if we didn’t make the last payment on Grandma’s funeral, up she comes.

          About you Father . . . he has a lovely new job. He has over 500 men under him. He’s cuttin’ grass at the cemetery. About you sister – she had a baby this morning. I haven’t found out whether it’s a boy or a girl, so I don’t know if you are an aunt or an uncle.

          Your Uncle John fell in the whisky vat. Some men tried to pull him out, but he fought them off playfully. We had him cremated. He burned for three days. Three of your

friends went off the bridge in a pickup. One was driving, the other two were in the back. The driver got out, he rolled down the window and swam to safety, but the other two drowned – they couldn’t get the tailgate down.

          Noting much new has happened.

                                                Love Mom

P.S. I was going to send you some money, but the envelope was already sealed.

John 16:19-22      Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, "Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'? I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.