Space to write, space to create and space to let the spirit speak.
Write Now!
This blog started as a 'Lenten Writing Project', where we wrote each day in Lent. Now that Summer is here, let's keep up the discipline of writing with a weekly writing challenge! A prompt will be posted each week and anyone is welcome to join in and post their writing here or participate just by reading it.
Every writer has their own special light to add to this blog and all of your writing offerings are appreciated, whether poetry, prose, essay, thoughts, lists or comments and encouragement.
Genesis 18: Sarah laughed! Sarah denied: “I did not laugh.” God: “Oh yes, you did laugh.”
God has a huge surprise in store for Sarah. I think God is just giggling with glee in this entire scene, about the surprise that awaits Sarah in 9 months.
God’s surprising sense of humor is all around today. For example, I was outside raking up some old leaves and twigs from my flower beds. The black dirt I uncovered was cold and dead. Several hours later when I returned to pick up some tools, I saw tiny green tips poking up from the earth. I laughed to myself – how strange and surprising that this cold dead dirt can burst forth with life!
I think God loves to surprise us with a holy sense of humor
Those of us in the church do ‘serious things’ … seriously! We do sorrow and grief, repentence and commitment, at least we work at them, we try. We work at compassion and justice issues. We do service and graciousness, patience and kindness, with honest effort.
These are good things and we should do them. They are serious tasks. These are our callings. They are gifts of the Spirt and they echo God’s very self as described in our sacred texts.
But in the middle of the Bible, in what looks like a few almost slipped-in words the Psalmist writes: “God created the leviathan … for the sport of it”!
When I hear those words “For the Sport of it” I chuckle! I giggle! Another gift of the Spirit!
God Played! For the Sport of it! For fun! For a lark! For a kick! For a good time! For the Sport of it!
(I’ll bet the translators had fun with that!)
Perhaps, on occasion, once in the middle of the year we should end our worship with the words “Go in peace, Play with God For the Sport of it”
Maybe God would Giggle… I would! It’s worth the risk and the fun!
note: I wrote this just over a year ago when this passage come up in the Bible Readings for a particular Sunday - and I giggled in church - whenever I react that much to something, especially when it's spontaneous - it's time to write!
I witness God's sense of humor with His timing. He knows we are impatient and we think God has given up on us.Yet when we finally let go, there before us, is the answer to our prayers. Usually not packaged according to our expectations. But always the perfect gift. I laugh, He did it again! JackieD
During the dawn of creation, out of the breath of life from the Creator, came forth tiny, inconspicuous seeds that rode with the Spirit into the lush, rich vegetation and came to rest on soft soil, ready to envelop and nourish the process of growth. Leafy ferns sheltered them from hungry birds and animals and filtered the sunlight so the sprouts didn't wither.
And they grew and spread out and were pleased with themselves. They waved and giggled alot which made God laugh. God was pleased with this herb, and it was named humor. It was a multipurpose plant with many attribute to be discovered.
But alas, the humans overlooked it and focused on the pompous, showoffy fauna. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil flaunted its superior mind-enhancing fruit and the Tree of Life sat preening its leaves, so proud of beauty.
Meanwhile a mold of negative energy was plotting on taking possession of this prime piece of real estate and having this insipidly grateful species uprooted and removed. It found a way to genetically change some of the herb and harvested a deviant, ridicule. It worked wonderfully (or really sadly) for bullying the humans into disobedience of the laws of nature.
Although God was disappointed in these humans, He had to chuckle a little at their naivitee. They must have brushed into the humor at some point and perhaps not eaten much from the Tree of Knowledge. How else could they have thought they could hide and then appeared on the garden runway in fig leaf clothing. That was so last year.
But there were rules and consequences, so they had to leave. So God packed them a basket with plenty of the pure variety of humor which He knew would get them through their new adventures in the realities of life. With this seasoning and healing herb and His Spirit, He knew they had the necessities for success.
God has a sense of humor. I know this because as a little kid, I remember feeling God laugh. I said something that I thought was funny and I felt a laugh – not one on this earth or within me, but I heard it in my heart. The laugh held many things within it. It meant ‘that was funny’ and ‘you are delightful’ and ‘I love you’. It is one of the primary reasons that I‘ve always know that God exists. Because I felt God laugh and God shared that laughter with me.
in the awful din of the beautiful rainbow-hued peacock, as he struts around, bragging and challenging all observers; or in the terrible screeches of his many-hued brother the quetzal, as he hangs upside down in the rainforests of Guatemala.
We draw close, in wonder, to examine a strange, exotic, and gigantic flower; twice as tall as a person: the titan arum. It takes about 13 or more years to bloom; Then, we must quickly draw back in disgust, as we find out that it opens with the scent of rotting human flesh.
There's also the matter of inspiring humans to come up with 'soul food' recipes like: lutefisk, gefilte fish, live mini-squid; or haggis, tripe, pig's feet, and menudo!
But, God also sends us sweet surprises: in babies' first sounds of laughter; and in grandparents' quiet smiles of self-recognition in their grandchildren.
Humor is Surprise!
ReplyDeleteGenesis 18: Sarah laughed!
Sarah denied: “I did not laugh.”
God: “Oh yes, you did laugh.”
God has a huge surprise in store for Sarah. I think God is just giggling with glee in this entire scene, about the surprise that awaits Sarah in 9 months.
God’s surprising sense of humor is all around today. For example, I was outside raking up some old leaves and twigs from my flower beds. The black dirt I uncovered was cold and dead. Several hours later when I returned to pick up some tools, I saw tiny green tips poking up from the earth. I laughed to myself – how strange and surprising that this cold dead dirt can burst forth with life!
I think God loves to surprise us with a holy sense of humor
I love God's line "Oh yes you did..."
DeleteI'll play with that a long time! And laugh!
For the Sport of it!
ReplyDeleteThose of us in the church
do ‘serious things’ … seriously!
We do sorrow and grief,
repentence and commitment,
at least we work at them,
we try.
We work at compassion
and justice issues.
We do service and graciousness,
patience and kindness,
with honest effort.
These are good things
and we should do them.
They are serious tasks.
These are our callings.
They are gifts of the Spirt
and they echo God’s very self
as described in our sacred texts.
But in the middle of the Bible,
in what looks like a few almost
slipped-in words
the Psalmist writes:
“God created the leviathan …
for the sport of it”!
When I hear those words
“For the Sport of it”
I chuckle!
I giggle!
Another gift of the Spirit!
God Played!
For the Sport of it!
For fun!
For a lark!
For a kick!
For a good time!
For the Sport of it!
(I’ll bet the translators
had fun with that!)
Perhaps, on occasion,
once in the middle of the year
we should end our worship
with the words
“Go in peace, Play with God
For the Sport of it”
Maybe God would Giggle…
I would!
It’s worth the risk
and the fun!
note: I wrote this just over a year ago when this passage come up in the Bible Readings for a particular Sunday - and I giggled in church - whenever I react that much to something, especially when it's spontaneous - it's time to write!
by Pat Mason
ReplyDeleteIf God hadn't a sense of humor, we would not find so much to laugh at in the world.
Most notably... ourselves.
At those times when we finally stop taking ourselves so seriously, life can really be quite comical.
I witness God's sense of humor with His timing.
ReplyDeleteHe knows we are impatient and we think God has given up on us.Yet when we finally let go, there before us, is the answer to our prayers. Usually not packaged according to our expectations. But always the perfect gift. I laugh, He did it again!
JackieD
A Comedy in All-purpose Herb
ReplyDeleteby Marlene Obie
During the dawn of creation, out of the breath of life from the Creator, came forth tiny, inconspicuous seeds that rode with the Spirit into the lush, rich vegetation and came to rest on soft soil, ready to envelop and nourish the process of growth. Leafy ferns sheltered them from hungry birds and animals and filtered the sunlight so the sprouts didn't wither.
And they grew and spread out and were pleased with themselves. They waved and giggled alot which made God laugh. God was pleased with this herb, and it was named humor. It was a multipurpose plant with many attribute to be discovered.
But alas, the humans overlooked it and focused on the pompous, showoffy fauna. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil flaunted its superior mind-enhancing fruit and the Tree of Life sat preening its leaves, so proud of beauty.
Meanwhile a mold of negative energy was plotting on taking possession of this prime piece of real estate and having this insipidly grateful species uprooted and removed. It found a way to genetically change some of the herb and harvested a deviant, ridicule. It worked wonderfully (or really sadly) for bullying the humans into disobedience of the laws of nature.
Although God was disappointed in these humans, He had to chuckle a little at their naivitee. They must have brushed into the humor at some point and perhaps not eaten much from the Tree of Knowledge. How else could they have thought they could hide and then appeared on the garden runway in fig leaf clothing. That was so last year.
But there were rules and consequences, so they had to leave. So God packed them a basket with plenty of the pure variety of humor which He knew would get them through their new adventures in the realities of life. With this seasoning and healing herb and His Spirit, He knew they had the necessities for success.
And the comedy continues.
God has a sense of humor. I know this because as a little kid, I remember feeling God laugh. I said something that I thought was funny and I felt a laugh – not one on this earth or within me, but I heard it in my heart. The laugh held many things within it. It meant ‘that was funny’ and ‘you are delightful’ and ‘I love you’. It is one of the primary reasons that I‘ve always know that God exists. Because I felt God laugh and God shared that laughter with me.
ReplyDeleteLenten Prompt #25 Saturday March 17 2012
ReplyDeleteWe can see God's sense of humor
in the awful din
of the beautiful rainbow-hued peacock,
as he struts around, bragging and challenging all observers;
or in the terrible screeches
of his many-hued brother the quetzal,
as he hangs upside down
in the rainforests of Guatemala.
We draw close, in wonder, to examine
a strange, exotic, and gigantic flower;
twice as tall as a person:
the titan arum.
It takes about 13 or more years to bloom;
Then, we must quickly draw back in disgust, as we find out
that it opens with the scent
of rotting human flesh.
There's also the matter of inspiring
humans to come up with 'soul food' recipes like:
lutefisk, gefilte fish, live mini-squid; or haggis, tripe,
pig's feet, and menudo!
But, God also sends us sweet surprises:
in babies' first sounds of laughter;
and in grandparents' quiet smiles of self-recognition
in their grandchildren.
....and then there are elbows and navels.
s.h.