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Spanning all 3 years of the lectionary cycle, this book provides a welcome tool for the renewal of preaching from the gospel readings. In a concise, uniform, and simple format, the authors provide a thematic summary of the gospel, list several possible points for preaching, and offer a humorous story for the week that illumines the deeper meaning of the biblical text. Lectionary Levity also functions as a practical manual on how to use humor in preaching and allows the reader to view the gospel in a different light so as to enliven the worship experience. A treasure trove of biblical insights, homiletical helps, and just good humor!
"What a fresh tool to add to the preacher's toolbox. For all the seriousness with which we Christians take our faith and worship, Christian faith is at heart a divine comedy in which our lives ultimately rest in the hands of a loving God."
— The Rev. Dr. Samuel T. Lloyd III, Rector, Trinity Church, Boston, Retired
"Good sermons use humor to catch the congregation's attention and make a profound point. . . . With this wise and whimsical guide to the lectionary at their side, no preacher need ever preach a humorless sermon again."
— Jane Shaw, Dean for Religious Life, Stanford University
"Lectionary Levity may sound like an oxymoron. To suggest that humor, as found in Jesus's words and teaching, belongs to God's own self and therefore has its place in the pulpit may seem irreverent to some. Ian Markham, however, makes a strong case for the use of humor in preaching. Laughter and a well-chosen and skillfully told joke in the course of a sermon can be revelatory."
— Frank T. Griswold, 25th Presiding Bishop, The Episcopal Church