Laughter is the Best Medicine

I hope the laughter of the Lord is resting upon you this week. We experienced laughter and God’s healing power this week in worship. We will be concluding Jesus-Care this week with a discussion about universal healthcare. If you want to listen to the audio, follow the link:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/malk4cjenzw/Laughter.mp3

Feel free to read the text below.

“Laughter is the Best Medicine”
Brimfield Faith UMC
March 14, 2010

Proverbs 17:22

INTRO
Over the past three weeks we have been talking about healing in the context of faith and God. This past week we addressed how God heals and suggested three ways: through the immune system, through doctors and other medical professionals, and through prayer and divine healing. This morning I want to continue to talk about another means of God’s healing: humor and laughter. Everyone has heard the saying “Laughter is the best medicine.” It has been part of the Reader’s Digest Magazine for years and years. We all intuitively know how we feel better when we have a good laugh. So I thought I’d share a joke about baptism:
After the baptism of his baby brother in church, Evan sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His dad asked him three times what was wrong. Finally, the boy replied, “The pastor said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I wanted to stay with you guys.”
It would seem to be a given that humor and laughter are good, but if you read certain parts the Bible or talked to Christians throughout the history of the church you might get a different story.

SERIOUS CHRISTIANS
We might be familiar with a common stereotype that Christians are serious, boring, and anti-fun people. While this stereotype seems to be fading away, it is definitely not unfounded. The church throughout the ages has worked hard to maintain a serious and holy attitude. This mentality started as early as the fourth century when John Chrysostom, an Early Church Father declared that Jesus never laughed. Then, in the early 1400’s, the Council of Constance condemned to hell any minister or monk who spoke, “Jocular words such as to provoke laughter.” [1] When I read that I thought, “Boy, I am glad that I live in the 21st century and not the 15th because I would have been sent to hell long ago. Before we write off our Christian ancestors, let’s take a look at the Scriptures on the subject of humor.
In Luke 6:25, Jesus says, “Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.” In James 4:9, “Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.” Ecclesiastes 7:3, “Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.” If you just read these verses, God certainly seems like a buzz kill and religion sounds like serious business.
BUT, there are some other verses in the Bible that seem to support laughter and joy. In Nehemiah 8:10 the people are instructed: “This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” The Psalmist writes about the restoration of Israel and says, “Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.” In Philippians 4:4, Paul exhorts us to “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” In Galatians 5:22, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness…”
I believe the tension between these two positions can be best explained with the words in Ecclesiastes 3: “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…” The reality is some humor and laughter can be inappropriate. When it is crude, malicious, and hurtful, humor is an unholy activity. I think this is the laughter that the Scriptures warn against. Yet, when it is filled with clean, pure and uplifting thing, humor is a holy activity. Instead of focusing on unholy humor, I want to spend some time this morning talking about holy humor and laughter.

HEALING HUMOR
Even though John Chrysostom said Jesus never laughed, I believe he did. I believe God encourages laugher. I also believe that the church needs to be a place where humor, laughter and joy have a prominent place. I say this because Proverbs 17:22 affirms the importance of humor, laughter and joy: “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” In recent years, medical research has confirmed the wisdom of Proverbs that a cheerful heart is indeed good medicine.
The concept of laughter was made popular in recent years through a movie called, “Patch Adams.” The movie is based on the true story of Dr. Hunter ‘Patch’ Adams who believes that t the whole body and not just the body ought to be treated. For him, an important part of healing the whole person is humor. As we begin to talk about how laughter heals, we are going to watch a scene in which Patch and several of his medical school friends help to fulfill a dying patient’s last wish. [CLIP 1]
Patch Adams through the Gesundheit! Institute continues to practice “holistic medical care based on the belief that one cannot separate the health of the individual from the health of the family, the community the world and the health care system itself.” Gesundheit! puts into practice the importance of treating the entire person. The use of humor and laughter with a holistic healing plan is important because laughter has been proven to benefit body, mind, and spirit.
#1. Laughter is good for the body. According to one researcher from Johns Hopkins University, laughter exercises and relaxes muscles, improves respiration, stimulates circulation, and increases the immune system’s defenses. When we laugh, we physically engage the body in activities that we might not otherwise. Laughter has been called “a form of jogging for the innards.” This can be very good for people whose mobility is restricted due to illness. If you’ve ever laughed until our side hurts, you know that laughter gives the body a workout. These are just a few of the reasons laughter is good medicine for the body.
#2. Laughter is good for the mind. Research evidence suggests that laughter improves mental function, decreases stress hormones, and increases the production of endorphins (the feel good chemicals). It also helps reduce anxiety, depression and improves self-esteem. Laughter provides the mind with a temporary escape from reality. This escape helps the mind to heal and discover hope and energy. It makes the world an easier place to live in. If you’ve ever lost yourself in a good comedy, you know laugher is good for the mind. These are a few of the reasons that laughter is healing for the mind. In a rather humorous scene, Patch gives us a brief review of the benefits of laughter in treating a patient: [CLIP 2]

HOLY HUMOR
#3. Laughter is good for the spirit. I want to spend the rest of our time here. It may be easy to see how laughter benefits the body and mind, but perhaps connecting it to the spirit is a bit of a stretch. To affirm that laughter is good for the spirit proposes that it has a place in church and in our worship of God.

Laughter strengthens the spirit. Scientific research supports the idea that humor provides a less of empowerment and control and restores hope and energy. The Scriptures also teach us that having a spirit strengthened by the joy of God empowers us overcome great obstacles. In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah is leading the people through a restoration project of Jerusalem. The city has been destroyed and the people scattered. Nehemiah is able to successfully gather a group of Israelites and the rebuild the walls of the city. To celebrate the victory, the prophet Ezra reads from the law. The people are overcome with a conviction for their wayward ways and begin to weep. Nehemiah, Ezra, and the priests quickly stop their crying and say, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
There are times to weep and grieve, but this was not one of them for the Israelites. They needed to be strengthened for the great challenges that still lay ahead. The Lord knew that the people needed their spirits lifted in order to overcome. There are also times in our life when it is important to draw upon the joy of the Lord for our strength. Laughter brings us out of difficult situations, refocuses our perspective, and allows us to see life afresh. Instead of being bogged down by all that still looms ahead, we can be strengthened by knowing God gives us strength. Then, as we are filled with the joy and laughter of the Lord, we can be reminded that we are called God’s very own, that we belong to God and that we belong to the community of God.
Laughing with others is a significant part of laughter. When we share in that joy with those around us, we know we can preserve. The community aspect of joy is why it is important to share in laughter and joy at church. We are a community of Christ followers who can mutual support and draw upon the joy of the Lord.
As Nehemiah calls on the people to be strengthened by the joy of the Lord, Paul calls us in Philippians 4:4, “To rejoice in the Lord, again I say rejoice.” Laughter and joy are commanded in Scripture. It is a curious exhortation and there isn’t much explanation as to why we need to rejoice. I suspect the call is to maintain a relationship with God and with others. Studies show that humor actually reduces loneliness. When we are filled with the joy of the Lord, we are edified in our relationship with him as well as with others. People want to be around people that are humorous and joyful. I think if we take this commandment seriously, we will find many benefits, especially to our health.

CONCLUSION
I want to leave with a power story of a man who discovered not only the health benefits of laughter but the healing benefits of laughter. It is the story of Norman Cousin who used humor in his recovery from a painful and often fatal collagen disease. Upon his diagnosis, Cousins checked himself out of the hospital and into a hotel room. With high doses of vitamin C and Marx Brother films, Cousin’s began to fight the disease. He found that 10 minutes of guanine belly laughter who ease the pain for several hours. Every time the pain would return he would watch more comedic films. He continued this form of treatment until he made a full recovery. He beat the odds and discovered what the Scriptures call the joy of the Lord. His life affirmed the wisdom of the Proverb, “A cheerful heart is good medicine.”
In world filled with stress, anxiety, and continually struggles, we need the church to be a place of refuge and healing. I believe we can be a church that embodies the healing spirit of found in Cousin’s story. I imagine us becoming a church that embraces the healing power of God in all of its aspects. I believe we can be a church of prayer and divine healing. I believe we can be a church that supports our doctors, nurses and medical professionals in prayer. I believe we can also be a church that is strengthened and healing by the joy and laughter of the Lord.
Let’s pray
[1] Craig Bird, “Is Laughter holy?” FaithWords Magazine.