Scripture Passage
Genesis 18:1-15
The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
3 He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. 4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”
“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.”
7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.
9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.
“There, in the tent,” he said.
10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”
Sermon Script
I love hearing people laugh.
I don’t know why exactly. Hearing the sound of laughter makes me feel good. It brings joy to my heart. Because it tells me that the other person is happy.
Sometimes, I don’t even know why the person is laughing. But it doesn’t matter. Their laughter ends up making me laugh. No wonder we say laughter is contagious. It can spread positive energy across the room instantly.
I think it is important that we laugh often. It is the antidote to all the anger and frustration we see today.
Laughing is good for the soul. It is good for our health and well-being. Nothing can bring healing like laughter.
Sarah, Abraham’s wife, also laughed. But her laughter was different. It wasn’t joyful.
So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” (Genesis 18:12)
Sarah didn’t laugh with others. She laughed to herself. Her laugh was one of skepticism.
She couldn’t believe what she had heard. She thought the idea of her and Abraham having a child was simply ridiculous.
The writer of Genesis described their situation very clearly:
Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. (Genesis 18:11)
It wasn’t just Sarah who laughed this way. Abraham did too.
Actually, he was worse. He wasn’t quiet about it like Sarah. He was a little dramatic.
Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” (Genesis 17:17)
Both Sarah and Abraham had a difficult time accepting the good news. It is understandable. Have you ever seen a 90-year-old woman have a child? That would make headlines!
Sarah and Abraham couldn’t help but laugh at it. Their situation changing at this point seemed impossible.
There are times when we also feel that way about our life. We don’t think our situation can change. Especially if it has gone on for too long.
If we’ve been dealing with a personal challenge, like an illness; If we’ve been feeling distant from God; If we’ve been struggling to make any progress with ourselves; We don’t think even God can do anything about it.
If we do hear that God can do something, we can’t help but laugh at how absurd it sounds.
I said earlier that laughing is good for the soul. But when our laughter becomes cynical, it can be rather harmful to our soul and our well-being.
Like Sarah (and Abraham), we may think that change is impossible. We may have doubts and feel depressed about our future.
But do not forget. There is nothing that God cannot do.
This was what God said to Abraham:
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.” (Genesis 18:13, 14)
At our ESM retreat, we reflected on the wilderness.
Wilderness is a time of spiritual dryness. Nothing happens when we are in the wilderness. No spiritual highs – just constant lows.
In the wilderness, our sense of who we are is shaken. Not knowing when our difficulties will be over makes going through the wilderness even more challenging and hard.
But our wilderness does not mean God is totally powerless to change our situation.
We learned that sometimes God sends us into the wilderness. It’s not to punish us or to enjoy seeing us suffer.
Rather, God does it to strengthen our faith. Wilderness is where we learn to depend on God.
Sarah and Abraham went through their own wilderness. It was long and hard and difficult. Yet, it was in those moments that they learned to trust God. They learned how to be hopeful in a seemingly hopeless situation.
This was what St. Paul said about Abraham later:
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. (Romans 4:18-21)
With God, nothing is impossible. God can always turn things around. Especially when we think something is far beyond hope. Jesus gave us that message.
He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27)
God can do what we cannot on our own. God may not move according to our time. But in his time, God will keep his promise.
That is the foundation of our faith. That is why we can be hopeful, even in hopeless situations. We trust in God’s word, not in our circumstances. God’s word is God’s promise. God’s word will never fail.
Just as he had promised, God brought a child to Sarah and Abraham a year later. They saw the impossible being made possible.
Their son brought them great joy. It made Sarah laugh again – but this time, in a genuine way. There wasn’t a trace of cynicism in her laughter. It was all joy.
They named her son Isaac. It means – “he laughs”. She wanted to share her joy with the people around her:
Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” (Genesis 21:6)
Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. When God first promised him that he would be a father to many offsprings, he was 75.
Do the math. It took him 25 years before he saw the promise being fulfilled. 25 years is not a short time. You cannot wait that long by sheer will. You need faith.
With God’s help, Abraham and Sarah remained hopeful. Their hope ultimately did not disappoint them. It gave birth to Sarah’s genuine laugh.
If you are going through a difficult time right now, don’t give up. Do not become bitter and cynical. Don’t shut down. That is the easy way out. In the long run, it won’t do you any good.
Be hopeful. Trust God who can make the impossible possible. Be patient. Depend on him.
You will be able to wait. You will be able to persevere through your challenges. Your hope will ultimately give birth to a beautiful laughter.
To me, that is the greatest miracle in life. The fact that people can still smile and laugh, even after going through the hardest and darkest of times. I often think, “Shouldn’t they be sad?” Yet, they are able to smile and laugh as if nothing is wrong.
Our laughter is a sign that we are still hopeful and alive in spirit. Let your precious laugh be a gift and blessing to others.
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