laughter on Awkwardness

Scott Weems, author of Ha! The Science of When We Laugh and Why, explains that humor stems from our brains being confused about how to respond, which is why we often laugh at inappropriate times. “Wha...

Laughter should dimple the cheek, not furrow the brow. A jest should be such that all shall be able to join in the laugh which it occasions; but if it bears hard upon one of the company, like the crac...

Solitude is rich but seldom hilarious.

Holy God, we confess that we laugh at how confused the disciples were when Jesus tried to teach them. And we confess that we are hiding our own confusion behind that laughter. We confess that we often...

Laughter and tears are the warp and woof of life. If you leave them out of preaching, you are leaving out life itself.

It is not funny that anything else should fall down; only that a man should fall down. Why do we laugh? Because it is a gravely religious matter: it is the Fall of Man. Only man can be absurd: for onl...

Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand.

From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere.

The mouth filled with real laughter…is an image representing the end of days, the overcoming of separateness and closure. In this world, it remains a mere possibility that constantly destroys itself.

As we wait, it is critical that we keep our sense of humor in the fullest meaning of that word. When laughter goes, so does hope. When God reaffirms his promise to Abraham and Sarah, he restores not o...

A good laugh heals a lot of hurts.

A good laugh is a mighty good thing, a rather too scarce a good thing.

Because humor brings us back to earth, it helps us to use well what is left to us even when we are keenly aware of what we have lost or been denied. Only those who know how to weep can also laugh hear...

You cannot study pleasure in the moment of the nuptial embrace, nor repentance while repenting, nor analyze the nature of humour while roaring with laughter.

The secret of life lies in laughter and humility.

[On living in a concentration camp] I never would have made it if I could not have laughed. It lifted me momentarily out of this horrible situation, just enough to make it livable.

Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God.

The Power (and Peril) of Words One time, I lied to the elders. (That’s another story except to say that they were blinded by trust.) It wasn’t a big lie—I said I’d done something I hadn’t—but I reali...

If Laughter cannot solve your problems, it will definitely DISSOLVE your problems; so that you can think clearly what to do about them.

Beware of him who hates the laugh of a child.

Prepare for mirth, for mirth becomes a feast.

Joy and laughter are the gifts of living in the presence of God and trusting that tomorrow is not worth worrying about.

That day is lost on which one has not laughed.

I was irrevocably betrothed to laughter, the sound of which has always seemed to me to be the most civilized music in the world.

Laughter means nothing unless there have been tears.

Humor is, in fact, a prelude to faith; and laughter is the beginning of prayer.

"When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person that walked in. That’s what the storm is all about."

Father – God of Joy and Hope; Wonderful Lord and Spirit of delight and wonder: You invite us to come to you with thanksgiving and joy, laughter and quiet awe. Your arms of welcome are out wide. So we ...

Mirth is like a flash of lightning that breaks through a gloom of clouds and glitter for the moment. Cheerfulness keeps up daylight in the mind, filling it with steady and perpetual serenity.

We don’t laugh because we’re happy, we’re happy because we laugh.