14 Jun 2026, “Ultimately, the God Who Makes Us Laugh Passage: Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7 / Matthew 9:35-10:1

Let me give you an address. “Floor 10, 222 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000.” Then, do you know the address of this place? Hearing ‘Pitt Street, Sydney’ and ‘postcode 2000,’ you might guess, ‘Well, that sounds like it's right in the middle of the Sydney CBD.’ You are right! But what exactly is this place? It’s the Uniting Church NSW/ACT Synod Office. Don't worry if you didn't know. It's completely normal, we are living in South Australia. Then, how about this address? “Floor 12, 222 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000.”

I know you probably cannot guess it. This is the ‘ELS English College.’ This is where I went to my very first language school. Just one of the many English language colleges in Sydney, located right above the Synod office I just mentioned.

It’s been almost twenty years, even more. Time really flies. I have some very special memories of that place. It was my first time living overseas. I was full of excitement, but I also faced a lot of real challenges. I was twenty-seven, and I had so many funny moments with the other international students. We were all at the exact same level of English. Just repeating things like: "How are you? I am fine, thank you. And you?"

As the address suggests, the college took up the 12^th floor and the 13^th floor. Every day, I took the lift up and down. There were only two lifts in the building, so during the morning rush, the afternoon, and morning tea time, it was always packed with office workers and students. That ride up to the 12th floor felt like it took forever. And for me, standing in that small space... was the loneliest and hardest part of my day.

I couldn't say a word. I just stared at the numbers going up, quietly asking myself, ‘Can I just survive another day?’

But in the midst of that, I noticed something strange. It was the people getting off at the 10^th floor,

At first, I didn't think much of it. But as days turned into weeks, they kept catching my eye. They were different. Their faces were bright. They were kind for no reason. In that quiet lift full of tired faces, they brought a warm feeling with them. If I made eye contact, they’d give a gentle smile, and before the doors closed, they’d leave a warm, "Have a great day!" Who are these people? What exactly is on the 10th floor?” They were just... different.

Even feeling that way... I just let it pass. My English wasn't great, so I didn't have the courage to talk to them. A little time passed. One day, as the lift doors opened, I carefully looked inside. And I figured out just one thing. It had something to do with a church.

Time passed. When my wife, Dana, and I first arrived, Sydney was a beautiful city. The city was pretty. The sky was so blue. And the people looked so relaxed. But... it wasn't all great. As my six months at the language school were ending, I had to take the next step. But suddenly... I was scared. I thought, "What do we do now?" Despite how beautiful things looked on the outside, as time went on, the path ahead just seemed impossible. Dana and I realized there was so little we could actually do."God... please help me."

‘Should I keep preparing to be a minister?' 'Should we pack up and go back to Korea?' When Dana, and I first stepped into Australia, we felt so brave. But in that place with nothing to show for our time yet, we were deeply anxious.

As time passed, in a way I hadn't planned... I eventually found myself connected with the Uniting Church.

Then one day, I was filling out some paperwork. And I took a proper look at the official logo of the Uniting Church for the very first time. In that moment, I thought, 'Wait, I’ve definitely seen this somewhere' I wasn't exactly sure, but that shape was just so familiar. I searched and searched my memory. And when it finally clicked... I couldn't move for a long time. Wow!

That anxious young man, riding the lift every morning. That heavy and uncertain time. The logo I saw, every time the doors opened. And those strangely warm people. That 10th floor... was the Uniting Church Synod office. It was too exact to be a coincidence. And too clear to be my imagination. I just quietly let out a breath.

But what’s even more amazing... is that I am now a part of this very church. I was ordained here. I became a minister. And now... I am sharing this journey of faith with you. All I can do is just be thankful.

Friends, that day... I realised something new about God. God isn't someone who just answers our prayers.

When we are standing in a dark, God is already writing the next chapter. And later, when we finally realise it all... God makes us smile. He makes us laugh with joy. He makes us say, "Ah, God... so this is what You were doing!" I like to call that... He has a sense of humour.' The warmest, most beautiful, and most deeply loving humour there is.

In Genesis 18 and 21, the passages we are looking at today, we meet a woman who experienced this exact humour of God with her whole being. Her name is Sarah. Sarah laughed. Why? Because the message she heard from the angel was just too out of sense. It was the middle of the day. In the hot afternoon sun, Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent under the shade of the great trees. Then, strangers appeared. Abraham ran to welcome them and quickly prepared a meal. As the meal was wrapping up, one of the guests spoke. "About this time next year, your wife Sarah will have a son."

At that moment, Sarah was standing behind the tent doors. And as she heard that ridiculous promise, she laughed to herself. "At my age? I’m worn out, and my husband is old too, and now I’m going to have a baby?"  It wasn't a laugh of joy. It was a bitter laugh, many years of waiting. Perhaps In Sarah’s mind, God’s promise was just far too late. Deep down, she was probably saying "Oh, come on, God... it's fine.

Stop joking around. I’ve already let it go. You really don't have to do this." “But... thank you. I know You're just trying to comfort me” Then God asks Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will surely return to you about this time next year." Sarah was suddenly terrified. "I-I didn't laugh," she lied. But God spoke firmly: "No, but you did laugh." Do we think, “Was He angry at her? I don't think so. God already had a brilliant plan to turn all of this upside down.

The time had finally come. Chapter 21 says, "Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised." God never forgot what He spoke. Even if Sarah had given up, God’s promise remained where it was. Sarah and Abraham named their precious son 'Isaac.' The name means 'He laughs', or simply, 'Laughter.' I think this is where God’s sense of humour shines the brightest.

God remembered Sarah’s laughed that bitter behind the tent. "Ah, it's fine, I don't expect anything anymore," By naming the child 'Laughter', God reminded Sarah of His grace every single day. Just imagine this, every time she called her son: "Isaac (Laughter)! Time for dinner!" "Isaac (Laughter)! Time to wake up!" "Isaac (Laughter)! Come here!" What would Sarah have thought of every single time?  She would have remembered the great God who turned that bitter laughter into a genuine, bursting laugh of joy. God would probably say... "Sarah, remember? You laughed that day. I heard that. But look at you now. I finally made you laugh... for real." And so, Sarah herself confesses... in Genesis chapter 21, verse 6: "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this... will laugh with me."

So friends, let me ask you a question today. Will God still make us laugh today? Can Sarah's beautiful story truly become our story today? We find a very clear answer to that in our second reading, Matthew chapter 9, saying, Jesus didn’t stay in just one place. He travelled through all the towns and villages. He preached the gospel, and He healed all the sick. Why did He do it? The very reason is this, "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them."

The starting point of all this love, restoration, miracles, and blessings  was Jesus’ heart. A heart that 'had compassion.' He sees our sins... our weaknesses... our deep pains, and our needs. And He embraces us with that same heart of compassion. So He healed the sick... and made them laugh. He opened their eyes to the truth... and made them laugh. He filled their empty hearts; He made them laugh. He saved, he made them laugh.  God is exactly the same, yesterday and today. In Genesis, in Matthew and right in the middle of our lives today. At the end of whatever God does there is always 'laughter. It is God’s very character. God is fundamentally full of compassion for us, And the most natural response to that compassion... is our laughter.

Sarah’s laugh of joy... the laughter of those who were healed... and the laughter as I stood in front of that 10th-floor office in Sydney. They all flow from the exact same place: God's deep compassion. So, there is only one thing we need. "In the end... God will make me laugh." Our wonderful God has an incredible sense of humour.

Brothers and sisters, Sometimes, I pray about the final moments of my life. "Lord, let the end of my life look like this.  But as I was preparing today's message, I decided to change my prayer. “Lord, in the final moments of my life please, make me laugh." Not because I achieved something massive. Not because I lived a comfortable life without a single regret. Not because others recognize me as someone great. I just want to stand in that place of grace where the God who knows my entire life ultimately embraces me.

In certain seasons of life... we might weep deeply. But let us remember. How did Sarah's story end? "God has given me Isaac!"

I’d like to share one final story with you. This story was featured in a major daily newspaper in Korea. And believe it or not... I was the one who reported it myself. The headline was: "Looking for Ms. Lee Bo-bae."

As we know, I visited South Korea with a team of ten members. Before we headed to our partner church, we stayed in Seoul. We visited the Foreign Missionary Cemetery; we had a bit of free time. Someone suggested, "Let's go to Namsan Tower and watch the sunset." We quickly finished dinner, but we were worried about missing the sunset. The team was exhausted,  we had to grab a taxi. We needed at least three taxis. It was time for me, to step up! We all started waving our hands. It was the middle of Seoul during peak hour.

Taxi after taxi... with their 'Available' signs on... just drove right past us. The sun was going down... and I panicked. The ten people who had trusted and followed me were getting exhausted, just standing there on the street. I started waving my arms wildly. The team joined in and waved with me. But still... not a single taxi stopped.

Just then... a young lady approached us. "Do you need some help?" she asked. She explained exactly why we were struggling. "You can't catch a taxi on the street anymore," she said. "You have to use a mobile app." But then... she said, "Don't worry. I'll call them for you." She started tapping away on her phone... and within minutes... taxis began pulling up, one after another.

Oh, the relief! I cannot even describe how grateful I was. We had a brief moment to chat with her. We asked for her name, and explained why we were visiting Korea. To our surprise... she mentioned she was a Christian, too. We told her, "If you ever come to Adelaide, please look up our church!" I thanked her over and over again, and got into the last taxi. It isn’t the end of story. When my taxi—the very last one—arrived at Namsan Tower. I saw our team members were waving their hands, looking so excited about something. And that's when the driver looked at me and said, "Your fare has already been paid." Bo bae Lee, she did it.  I was probably ten times more moved. She saved me who couldn't even catch a taxi. On top of that, she left the most incredible impression of my homeland,  on our Aussie team. The most beautiful scene that night wasn't the Namsan sunset or the massive Seoul nightscape. It was the warm, invisible hand of a stranger. On that street, I had been so anxious... so sorry to my team and completely helpless. But in that moment, I realized... that something beautiful had already been prepared for us. And finally I could laugh.

Later, right before my ordination when I visited the Synod office for an interview in Sydney, I went up to that 12th-floor language school to relive those memories. So many emotions washed over me. Did I tear up right then and there?" Or did I laugh? I just smiled and gave thanks. Sarah was like that. Abraham was like that. And God has done the exact same thing for countless lives throughout history. He sent an "Isaac" into their lives. So, rejoice! And let us pray "God... in the end, make me laugh. Send an Isaac into my life. And I will share that Isaac with my neighbours, with the world, and in the dark places."

Are we waving our hands in the dark today? Have we waited so long without seeing any change... that we quietly say, "It's okay. I don't need to expect anything anymore."? But please... believe this. In the end... God will make us laugh. And when He does someone beside us will see that joy, and they will laugh with us.

And that laughter will spread to someone else. Because that is exactly how God's sense of humour spreads.  Are we ready to laugh together?  Amen.