Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Now Sarah said, ‘God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, September 22, 2026
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Laughter is incredibly healing. My dad died fairly suddenly in April after a short battle with cancer. My mom, siblings, and I were reeling. Grief still comes unexpectedly on a semi-regular basis. But my dad had a beautiful, quirky, pun-loving sense of humor which he imparted to all four of his weird kids and his six grandkids. When we all got together for the funeral, we laughed. So many stories. So many ways our dad’s love made us who we are. So much silliness! In those moments (between the tears) I felt so connected to him. I could feel—truly know!—his presence with me, and that I would always carry him wherever I went.
Sarah had had a pretty rough time of it. But in the end, her grief turned to joy and in response, she named her son after this most healing of states, a reminder to her that God shows up in unexpected ways and sometimes the ridiculousness of it is absolutely cause to laugh.
What has made me laugh the hardest in recent days? Do I need to laugh more?
