Nervous Laughter

Albert Bogle June 16, 2026 0 0

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Exodus 19: 2-8 (NIV-UK)

2 After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.

3 Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, ‘This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.’

7 So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak. 8 The people all responded together, ‘We will do everything the Lord has said.’ So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.

The nervous laugh is seldom about flippancy or insincerity. It is often the very opposite. I recall a wedding I conducted where the bride was unable to say her vows due to fits of laughter. The laughter was an expression of her inner sense of the enormity of the covenant she was making, and her internal anxiety about the solemnity and significance of the occasion.

Let’s humanise Moses in the moment referred to in our reading today. Imagine his nervous laughter as the enormity of the moment sinks in — the covenant that he is charged to communicate to Israel. We know that Moses was not enamoured with public speaking. He had a complicated relationship with leadership, and now God was suggesting no help from Aaron; this was a task he had to do on his own.

As we reflect on this call for the Israelites to be a people of salt and light, it is a beautiful expectation that God lays before this ragbag of refugees. They are to become a kingdom of holy priests to God. And it is worth a smile to think that God is going to use a man with a speech impediment and a fear of leadership to inspire such a diverse group of people to receive the covenant.

Today, God is calling the Church into a similar relationship. We are being invited to be a kingdom of salt and light. And the same is true when it comes to leadership: often God calls the leader with a nervous laugh to be the one to lead, because God understands nervous laughs. It is too often the outward expression of our inward fears. God chooses to use the seemingly weak things of the world to confound the mighty.

Prayer:

Lord,

I laugh nervously

And make the suggestion

To my listeners

In such a way — that they know

I know it is not possible

Just a joke

I do this to protect myself from ridicule

But the thing is deep down

I know it is very possible

Lord

Give me the courage of Moses

To speak out the vision

And give your people ears to hear

And receive their calling

Even through a nervous laugh.