Laughter, psychologists tell us, is a pleasant reaction to surprise. That is why jokes are only funny the first time you hear them. When you know what the punch line is, it isn't funny any more. But there are situations that are funny.

I have stood inside and laughed until my sides hurt watching squirrels trying to reach a bird feeder that is situated just beyond their grasp or jump. I have hours of hilarious film of my daughter as she learned to feed herself, decorating her face and hair with strained spinach. And, I will admit, if I am going to watch anything at all on TV, it will probably be stand-up comedy.

I love to laugh. I love a good comedian, but sadly, I think that we have to make the observation that virtually every joke has a victim. The victim may not mind it, they might be a good sport or they may even enjoy the attention. The victim might be a child who doesn't know they're being laughed at or squirrels who have no concept of laughter, but there is a victim. It is interesting to note that if we listen to recordings of famous comedians of the past, they just don't seem that funny. Will Rogers, who is famous for his sidesplitting humor, is almost intolerably dull to modern listeners.

There is a reason for this. Will Rogers was funny because he was able to surprise people with his shocking humorous accusations against political figures and publishers. Fifty years ago, people generally, out of courtesy, refrained from publicly criticizing community leaders, Will Rogers gingerly stepped across that line and the shock delighted his audiences who roared for more.

In our day, however, we are so accustomed to deeply biting commentaries and satire that you have to go way over board to draw a chuckle. Only the most clever and creative comedians can successfully entertain a crowd of jaded listeners these days without tearing someone apart or going to the extremes of bad tastes in sexual content.

What an incredibly powerful thing is the ability to speak! Words have no intrinsic mass, no weight, size, or shape. Words, as mere sounds, have no intrinsic meaning but the meanings we give to them. Speech has no intrinsic value but the value we choose to assign it. Yet a person's whole life can be either elevated or crushed on the strength of nothing more than words.

Jesus Christ came into the world teaching, healing and performing miracles. His message was about the coming Kingdom of God. His death and resurrection established the church -- the Kingdom community which awaits the Lord's return.

The church did not change much in its first decade of life. It was as though the gospel itself was waiting for the apostle Paul. It was Paul who had the vision to take the message of the gospel beyond its native land, to travel all over the known world preaching a message of salvation in Jesus Christ and establishing churches wherever he went.

We know Paul primarily through the letters he wrote back to those churches to encourage their life of worship and witness. It is amazing to read these letters through, paying attention to the primary themes of his writing. Some of it is confessional, some is theological instruction, but most of it, the greatest part of his writing, is instruction in how they are to treat one another. It is teaching in how the church can be the church. It is advice in how to live with one another and speak to one another.