07/12/2026
Mia MiKyung Park at Redeemer UMC
Title: A Miracle Called Laughter
Scripture Reading: Genesis 18:7-11, and Genesis 21:1-7 (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition)
Genesis 18:7-15
7 Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. 8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared and set it before them, and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
9 They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10 Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I be fruitful?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “Yes, you did laugh.”
Genesis 21:1-7
The Birth of Isaac
1 The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised. 2 Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him. 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 Now Sarah said, “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” 7 And she said, “Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
**07/12/2026**
**Mia MiKyung Park at Redeemer UMC**
**Title:** *A Miracle Called Laughter*
**Scripture Reading:** Genesis 18:7–15 and Genesis 21:1–7 (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition)
**Good morning, Redeemer family!**
Happy Sunday!
It is always a joy to worship with you.
I am Pastor MiKyung (Mia) Park, and I celebrate this day that the Lord has made with you. It is a gift that I do not receive lightly but with a humble and grateful heart.
I invite you to stretch your arms, shake them out, open them wide, and then hug yourself, saying, "You are loved. You are doing great."
After worship, I encourage you to hug someone else and affirm one another. We have all worked together to make this a wonderful United Methodist Church year, and together we will make another wonderful year.
I am so grateful as we recognize the renewal of the pastor's appointment. Every year, we are reminded that ministry is never about one person. Ministry belongs to God. It is shared among God, the congregation, and the pastor. Together, we become partners in God's mission.
I love that understanding because it keeps me humble.
Also, this year the United Methodist Church is celebrating the 70th anniversary of the ordination of women clergy. Seventy years! Some denominations still do not ordain women as pastors.
Ministry isn't about what one pastor can accomplish. Ministry is about what God accomplishes through all of us together.
I wonder...
Ministry is teamwork—a collective effort.
How amazing is it that we are on God's team!
Before we turn to today's Scripture, I'd like to show you a cartoon that made me smile.
*(Show image.)*
I couldn't find the original creator to give proper credit, but many people have shared this image online during the World Cup.
Have you been watching the World Cup games?
I don't really watch the games, but I do find out which teams are playing.
This cartoon humorously illustrates different kinds of leadership and teamwork in soccer.
First team—which country is it?
This team depends almost entirely on one player.
Second team?
Whether these portrayals are fair or not isn't really the point.
The point is simple.
Even the most gifted person cannot carry an entire team forever.
And even talented people struggle when everyone pulls in different directions.
So let me ask you:
Which picture best represents the ideal church?
As we celebrate pastoral reappointment today, I invite you to think about that question as we turn to today's Scripture.
For several weeks now, we have been walking alongside Abraham and Sarah.
God called them to leave everything familiar and journey to an unknown land.
God promised that Abraham would become the father of a great nation.
God promised descendants as numerous as the stars.
But years passed.
Nothing happened.
Abraham grew older.
Sarah grew older.
The waiting seemed endless.
Eventually, Sarah tried to fulfill God's promise in her own way by giving Hagar to Abraham, and Ishmael was born.
But God said,
"No.
Not that way."
We know what it feels like to wait.
Sometimes we quietly begin to wonder whether God has forgotten us.
Then one ordinary day, three strangers arrive.
Abraham runs to greet them.
He welcomes them.
He prepares an extravagant meal.
He offers them his very best.
He practices generous hospitality.
Sometimes God's greatest blessings arrive through ordinary acts of hospitality.
After the meal, one of the visitors asks,
"Where is Sarah?"
Then comes the unbelievable announcement.
"I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son."
Sarah is listening from inside the tent.
She hears every word.
And...
she laughs.
Can you blame her?
The Bible tells us she is long past the age of bearing children.
This isn't joyful laughter.
It isn't laughter filled with faith.
It is laughter born from disappointment.
A laughter that says,
"Seriously?"
"That's impossible."
"I know my body."
"I know my age."
"I know reality."
Maybe you've laughed like Sarah.
When God whispers hope, we may quietly answer,
"Not anymore."
"It's too late."
"I'm too old."
"The damage has already been done."
"Nothing is ever going to change."
Then God asks one of the greatest questions in all of Scripture.
"Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?"
God doesn't scold Sarah.
God doesn't shame her.
God simply reminds her who He is.
Because our faith isn't built upon what we can do.
Our faith is built upon what God can do.
One year later...
Sarah gives birth.
Abraham is one hundred years old.
Sarah names the child Isaac, which means "He laughs."
How beautiful.
Sarah's laughter has changed.
At first, she laughed because she thought God's promise was impossible.
Now she laughs because God's promise became reality.
She says,
"God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me."
Her laughter has become a testimony.
I love doing things where I can clearly see results.
I love seeing a "before" and an "after."
During these past two years, I have often prayed,
"God, please show me clearly that You are working here at Redeemer."
Two years later, I thank God for showing me clear answers to our prayers.
Two years ago, I laughed, and it was laughter born from uncertainty.
A quiet laughter that asked,
"Really?"
Like Sarah, I saw the reality.
I saw the financial challenges.
I saw the uncertainty.
But over these past two years, God has been teaching me a lot—literally, a lot.
As I walk this journey with you while also doing Clinical Pastoral Education, I am learning so much.
If you want me to condense it all into just a couple of sentences, it is this:
God is faithful.
God is gracious.
We are all beloved.
Not because every problem has disappeared.
Not because everything has become easy.
But because God keeps showing up.
Week after week.
Sunday after Sunday.
I have watched you faithfully gather for worship.
I have watched you pray for one another.
I have watched you provide food for those in need.
I have watched Prayer & Squares wrap people in love and prayer.
I have watched volunteers quietly repair and care for this building.
I have watched new visitors come through our doors.
I have witnessed generosity.
Compassion.
Forgiveness.
Hope.
God has reminded me that this church belongs to Christ.
This is Christ's church.
And Christ is still building His church.
Over the past two years, my laughter has been changing.
Not because everything is perfect.
Not because we have all the answers.
But because I have witnessed God's faithfulness.
And my prayer is that we will continue laughing together.
Don't misunderstand me.
We never laugh at God or at people.
We laugh together because of God's goodness.
That every Sunday we will gather to worship.
Even when we don't always agree.
Even when life feels uncertain.
Even when our hearts are heavy.
Even when the future is unclear.
We will continue to worship.
We will continue to trust.
We will continue to love.
Because God is faithful.
You all probably know what it means to live one month at a time.
Or even one week at a time, in many ways.
Sometimes life feels like walking through a long, dark tunnel where you cannot yet see the light at the end.
God may not always show us the whole journey.
But God gives us enough grace for today.
Enough strength for today.
Enough hope for today.
Now let's return to the soccer cartoon.
Which team best represents the church?
Certainly not the one where one person does everything.
Certainly not the one where everyone pulls against each other.
Jesus Christ is our Head.
The Holy Spirit gives us strength.
We trust God and join in God's work.
Every gift matters.
Every person matters.
Together we become the Body of Christ.
As we recognize the pastor's reappointment today, I don't believe God will ask me whether I served a large church or a small church.
I don't think God will ask whether I served an urban church or a rural church.
I believe God will ask,
"Were you faithful?"
"Did you love My people?"
"Did you trust Me?"
And perhaps God asks each one of us similar questions.
Did you love one another?
Did you encourage one another?
Did you use the gifts I gave you?
Did you help build a faith community?
Did you trust Me, even when you couldn't yet see what I was doing?
Friends,
Perhaps the greatest miracle in today's story is not simply that a ninety-year-old woman gave birth.
The greater miracle is that God transformed Sarah's heart.
God changed laughter born from doubt...
into laughter overflowing with joy.
And God is still performing that miracle today.
God is still changing fearful hearts into hopeful hearts.
God is still changing disappointment into gratitude.
God is still changing endings into new beginnings.
Redeemer,
We don't know how things will unfold in the coming year.
But we do know this.
The God who kept the promise to Sarah...
The God who turned skeptical laughter into joyful laughter...
The God who brought life from what seemed impossible...
is still our God today.
So let us continue this journey together.
Trusting.
Serving.
Welcoming.
Praying.
Laughing.
Hoping.
Because with God,
the impossible is never the final word.
May God transform our doubts into trust...
our fear into hope...
our waiting into faith...
and our laughter into joyful testimony.
So that, like Sarah, we may one day say,
"God has brought laughter for me."
And may everyone who hears our story laugh with us because of God's amazing faithfulness.
Amen.
