To a God Who Laughs (Summer 2013)

Lord, is it wrong to give thanks
      for a homerun, or a touchdown?
I know there are more serious issues:
      hunger, poverty, cancer, unrelenting pain.
But for just a moment, I wonder what
      makes you smile, even laugh.

Do you, on occasion, enjoy
      getting away to a ballgame?
Since you’ve never backed down from a fight,
      perhaps football or hockey?
Or on the other hand, as a universal God,
      maybe a more universal game – soccer.
But I have to admit I just can’t imagine
      you watching anything that is synchronized.

I also wonder what you do when
      both teams are praying for a victory?
Or to be less direct about the matter,
      they pray “to play to our full potential.”
What do you do? Poll the angels?
      Flip the Devil – heads up you win?
We know that the best team doesn’t always win;
      remember the world series of 2011?

I apologize for the way that we have
      painted you into a corner:
all-business, eighty hours a week,
      the perfect American worker.
We’ve forgotten you made orangutans,
      ostriches, and laughing hyenas.
Not to mention the fellow down the street
      who jogs in black socks, blue jean shorts,
      a plaid shirt, and Yankees cap.

Somehow Lord, I think we missed the point
      about Sabbath – resting, body and spirit.
We’ve forgotten that you made us
      with a sense of humor… at least most of us.
And gauging from your insistence
      at joining Israel’s celebrations – *
I take it that you would like to be included
      in our parties and holidays.
What a thought – God and holy-days again.

A God who smiles and laughs,
      after all our God sees everything.
When we put the milk in the pantry,
      or can’t find the glasses on our face.
Do you call the angels over and say,
      “You’ve just got to see this – wait for it,”
and then all heaven erupts in laughter
      as I once again, on cue, lose the phone
      that I am talking on.

As silly as all this seems, Lord,
      we know that it is important;
because we do become like
      the god we worship:
be it Baal, Asherah,
      or Yahweh, the God of Israel.
So help us to be like you,
      to enjoy the glass of wine
that you made to cheer us… **
      but I suppose we should
talk about that another day.

—

* See, for example: Deut. 16:11
** See Psalm 104:15

---

Limited permission is granted for reuse of this prayer in worship or other venues. If printed in any form attribution must be given as "Glenn Pemberton, mosaicsite.org/glennpemberton." Special permission is required to print three or more of these prayers at one time in any form, print, electronic, etc., and must be secured by request at gdp05b@acu.edu.