“Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.  Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord.”

“For the joy set before Him Jesus endured the cross, scorning its shame.”  Hebrews

“When Irish eyes are smiling . . .” so goes the song by Bing Crosby.

Smiling. An appropriate way to commemorate St. Patrick’s Day.  It’s not difficult to imagine smiling Irish eyes, for indeed the Irish are a jovial people.  I remember meeting a couple of old Leprechaun-like characters at a seaside village outside of Dublin years ago.  They were bantering between them, and when I asked for directions, they directed their mirth and light-heartedness at me.  What had been concerns over not knowing my way quickly was turned to happiness and light shed upon my day.

So yes, the Irish have smiling eyes.  But what about God?  Does God smile?  When was the last time God smiled at you?  Have you ever thought of God that way?

I believe God smiles.  A Lot.  God smiled in creation.  Just take a look at some of the animals like Giraffe’s or hippopotami, certainly they gave God delight.  The psalm above is a personification of the mirth of creation.  God smiled at some of the surprises that he gave to his people, like providing a son to Sarai in her old age.  Or what about Jonah and the big fish?  Maybe God’s biggest smile came at the birth of Jesus.  Ahh, Jesus.  I believed he smiled.  A lot.

It’s not hard to imagine Jesus smiling when he worked his first miracle at a wedding, turning water into wine.  Or when he held children on his lap. Or at some of the ridiculous things his disciples said or did.  You know, I think Jesus may have even smiled when he took that terrible trudge to the cross. The book of Hebrew says that there was joy set before him.  For all the pain and punishment he endured, I can’t help but think of him smiling inside, knowing that his was the apex of the outpouring of love.

It’s far too easy to take God, religion, and ourselves too seriously.  I did so for years, having believed, actually having been deceived, into thinking that this God stuff was a serious business, and what pleased God most was the practice of a dourly dogmatic version of faith in the divine. But there is little, if anything, pleasing to God about such a practice in which life is seen as grueling, other people with different ideas or beliefs are viewed as enemies, and God is seen as punitive and capricious, just waiting to punish both temporally and eternally.  I gave up that view of God when I left the Lutheran ministry.  And I’ve tried to see God not with an angry face, but with a smiling one.

So, dear friend, what about you?  How do you see God?  When was the last time someone smiled at you?  And when was the last time that “someone” was God?

Today is St. Patrick’s Day. I’m not going to celebrate by attending a parade or drinking green beer, though I’d like to do both. No, I’m going to go to a church where the people smile, and where I see God smile back. And I’m going to meet some friends who also will make me smile. And I’m going to be watching to see God smile in other ways. In wonderful, mirthful, perhaps even miraculous ways.