SARAH'S LAUGHTER

The Lord said (to Abraham), 'I will surely return to you in the spring, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.' And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, 'After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?' The Lord said to Abraham, 'Why did Sarah laugh, and say, "Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?" Is anything too hard for the Lord?' . . . But Sarah denied, saying, 'I did not laugh'; for she was afraid. He said, 'No, but you did laugh.'

"Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving" The Booker T. Washington Alumni Chorus sang the Annual Noah Ryder Concert here at Bank Street Church a few weeks ago. The walls could barely contain our praise and gratitude. We listened with our hearts and God gave us our hearts' deepest desire. All of us - listeners, singers and musicians - were swept into a sustained moment of abiding in the joy of God's salvation. The choir sang and we sang back, talked back, called back, yelled and shouted back. We stood, sat, waved, clapped, swayed, tapped, leaned into, smiled at, talked to, touched and loved our pew neighbors whether we had ever seen them before or not. And we laughed; oh, how we did laugh. Our souls at worship transformed the minutes, quarter hours and hours until time and space surrendered. The Spirit descended and gave us a glimpse of being in the presence of the heavenly host.

These are the moments we live for. In the twinkling of an eye we were tarrying, completely tarrying. Yet, after it was all over, just an hour after it was over, I could not recall one note or lyric. Not one song was singing in my head, none of the melodies, refrains - nothing! No memory bubbled up from the overflowing fountain that had just refreshed my soul. How could this be?! For a minute, I was ready to fuss about aging and memory lapses, but then the Spirit said "No, Sweetie, it's not age." Trying to make my brain retrieve the songs was like Peter on the 'Mount of Transfiguration' wanting to build booths for Jesus, Moses and Elijah (Mark 9:4,5). It is our natural impulse to try to recapture, if not throw up a tent on the spot and dwell in the miraculous tarrying moment.

"I heard there was a CD table set up back here. Where are they selling the CDs?" a man asked. No; no CDs to take home and delve into. Even if we are not be able to retrieve song the first, we always will know that we tarried with the Lord with all of our hearts, souls, minds and strength. With this knowledge and the joy and laughter it brings all things are possible.

Rev. Dr. Linda Kirkland-Harris May 2006