The punch line to the children's hymn, Jesus Loves Me! is "the Bible tells me so." The Bible also tells us "A shiftless sluggard puts his fork in the pie, but is too lazy to lift it to his mouth (Proverbs 26:15)." That is some kind of lazy - not being able to get pie to the mouth. Apparently, the Divine has a wicked sense of humor. "This I know, for the Bible tells me so." The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament scriptures reveal to us a Deity who is comfortable with the finer points of sarcasm. What kind of day was the Almighty having when the proverb of the shiftless sluggard became a truth for the religious to embody? It has often been said that the best comedians really mirror for us the reality of life. I suppose after creating a universe in six days and taking only one vacation day, the Creator would be the one to sling mud at sluggards.
Humor in the Bible is a subject that has been explored by many exegetical scholars. The focus of their scholarship seems to be on wordplays, irony and humorous names. Remember the story in Genesis when God tells postmenopausal Sarah and beyond aged Abraham that they are still physically capable of making a baby? The punch line to this story is Sarah and Abraham have a baby boy that they name Isaac, which means "he who laughs." What I have concluded from the papers and abstracts that I have read on the subject of biblical humor are that the chuckles are lost somewhere in translation. However, I firmly believe that there are some laughs tucked away in the Judeo-Christian cannon for those of us who don't read biblical Hebrew or Greek. The Bible is an expose on human nature. Hence, humor must permeate the pages of the holy digest. You don't have to be a theologian or a behavioral psychologist to know we humans are a pretty funny band of animals.
What do preachers and comedians have in common? They are both encouraged to make observations. We all utilize good humor and decent religion when trying to understand the comedies and tragedies of life. Comedy is all about interpretation. Religion is all about interpretation. Life is all about interpretation. The following is what I call a spoken medley of biblical banter. I cannot vouch for the passages actual intent to provoke laughter. It is altogether possible that I may have taken some interpretative liberties with some of the verses.
Let's start at the start. In the beginning we have the relationship between creation and Creator. We have all been created in the image of the Divine (if that's not funny enough). The psalmist describes the Divine as prone to fits of laughter. It has been written in Proverbs (59:9) and Psalms (2:4) that in certain situations God has been known to "break out laughing" while seated at the heavenly throne. Let me clarify, so that we don't accidentally mix our metaphors. The literature isn't describing a belly laugh like that of jolly old Saint Nick. What is being described in the Psalms and in Proverbs is a victory laugh. God breaks out laughing when justice converts hatred to love. We have all heard this kind of laughter. We have all been laughed at in this manner. If you even have an ounce of competitiveness in you, you have chortled like the one seated at the heavenly throne.
Laughter is so sacred, so nourishing because it can bring us closer to ourselves and to others. We have been blessed with an innate propensity to have a really good time. As people of faith I believe we may claim that our laughter has a Divine quality to it because we are created in the image of God. Here is how it translates. The God who "breaks out laughing" is calling creation to celebrate itself in laughter. In times like these, so many of us need permission to celebrate ourselves and to reconnect to joy and to make time to play. Permission granted. Perhaps the call to celebration, joy, and play is how some of these amusingly absurd sentences made it into the B-i-b-l-e. The puns, the wit, and the exaggeration make it the book for me.
In his book, David's Truth, Walter Brueggemann writes, "David is one of those extraordinary historical figures who has a literary future. That is, his memory and presence keep generating more and more stories . . .None of the stories [can] quite comprehend him, let alone contain him." In the quest for the historical David, I hope these words make it into the red-letter edition of his story. Apparently, the extraordinary David once said, "Can't you see he's crazy? Why did you let him in here? Don't you think I have enough crazy people to put up with as it is without adding another (1 Samuel 21: 15-16)?" I would love to see the question: "Don't you think I have enough crazy people to put up with without adding another?" splashed across a church marquee with corresponding chapter and verse. Of course the question would be followed by the standard three words: "All Are Welcome." That question would make one hell of a sermon. Actually, that would make one hell of a coffee hour! Ah . . . the possibilities that are available to us when we feel free enough to utter the overstatement with conviction.
Acts 20 tells us what happens when you don't have a compelling question to wrestle with in your sermon. "A young man named Eutychus was sitting in an open window. As Paul went on and on, Eutychus fell sound asleep and toppled out the third story window." Evidently, some of Christianity's ancient traditions have been preserved and remain unscathed to this day.
The sweet traditions of marriage and commitment ceremonies are religiously based in the faithfulness of the Divine's love. Many couples use readings from the sensual book Song of Songs in their covenant celebrations. Here is a line from Song of Songs for what I like to call "on second thought" lovers: "You remind me of Pharaoh's well-groomed mares (Song of Songs 1:9)." This is a weird and yet strangely wonderful greeting.
Mysterious greetings are a central part of our faith tradition. Our ancestors received salutations from burning bushes and winged creatures and seemingly everything in-between. My favorite Divine human get-together takes place in the first chapter of Luke. "And [the angel Gabriel] came to Mary and said, 'Greetings favored one! The Lord is with you.' But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be." This passage really makes me laugh. Mary's reaction to the situation is so unexpected. "Greetings favored one!" was probably an alien phrase to young Mary. Are the words all that troubling when you consider the messenger? She is completely unaffected by the fact that an angel has crept into her home. Since angels are somewhat scarce in New York, I am not sure I can quite relate to Mary's oversight. I suppose Christian history would have been drastically altered if Gabriel had simply broke out into song. "Greetings Mary! O What a Beautiful Morning."
As much as we might joke about it, there are no actual jokes per se in the Bible. Sure there are many stories about animals, but none of them ever walk into bars. Nevertheless, the Bible is certainly not devoid of humor. I wanted to share my medley of biblical banter with you this morning to demonstrate how faith, humor and play do not divert our attention from the pain and seriousness of the world; these things help us to survive a painful and serious world. We know this already and yet for months we have rejected the idea of having fun. Having fun seems trivial in comparison to our efforts to stop war before it starts for instance. We have been preoccupied with the monumental tasks of life like grieving our losses, taking care of serious health concerns, looking for jobs, and repairing broken relationships. It would be scandalous to be caught in the act of play. People might think we have lost our penchant for justice or even worse we might be accused of having some unscheduled free time.
Playing only seems like a luxury, it is really a necessity, particularly now in the midst of a world in crisis. Let's think about what happens when we allow ourselves to be playful. Play brings about a heightened state of awareness because it enables us to be creative and imaginative. For example, we are able to sit on a bench in Washington Square Park and create one-line biographies for every person that walks past us. When we play we are capable of imagining real possibilities for ourselves because in the act of play we are teaching ourselves what will bring us pleasure. This is not self-indulgent behavior. In her article, "The Clue Is in Your Funprint" author Martha Beck dismantles the myth that having fun is somehow a "frivolous indulgence." She writes, "we are most productive, persistent, creative, and flexible when we're engaged in precisely the combination of activities that brings us maximum fun." Friends, I ask you, "what better gift can we offer the world than that of living in the world according to our created purpose?" We are supposed to be enjoying ourselves. That is the punch line to this meditation.
A few weeks ago I heard a young child exclaim, "Today will be a great day!" As people of faith, we live in the hope that today will be a great day. That is why we are working so hard for the great day of justice. We are working hard for the great day of peace. We are working hard for the great day of liberation. We are working hard for the great day of freedom. And yet when we play, we actually show what that great day will look and feel like. Let's keep working so that the coming of the great day will happen. Let's keep playing so we will recognize the great day when it comes.
