This week my article on joy and humour was published in the 'Good Living' supplement of The Press in Christchurch. I include it in full here until I can find a hyperlink reference to it...
Lighten Up!
Mart the Rev
While there is a serious side to life and following the way of Jesus (and be certain, there will be swags of others who will rattle on about this stuff!), I want to suggest that the posture of Jesus was one of unencumbered playful freedom, and that it would do us all a world of good if our perspectives of him factored this in a lot more! Jesus calls his followers to enjoy life in all its fullness, so let’s make sure that we don’t miss the joy and therefore the life.
I have a collection of artistic images of Jesus ranging from Jesus the revolutionary, to Jesus in agony on the cross. One of the more unusual images I have is of Jesus with his head tilted back roaring with laughter. Why should such an image be so surprising? When you think about it, wasn’t Jesus was a bit of a comedian? Can you picture Jesus smiling with a twinkle in his eye as he confounded his critics by telling stories full of the exuberant abundance of God’s grace? Can you see him chuckling as he told Nicodemus the Pharisee that he must be re-born if he is to get the idea of God’s kingdom, and Nicodemus misinterpreted him by asking: “How can anyone who has grown up re-enter their mother’s womb?” What a picture the Pharisee conjured up! Surely Jesus burst out laughing!
And look at the parables Jesus told, they are full of zany characters in crazy situations who act in exactly the opposite way that we would expect: a shepherd abandons the flock to hunt out one lost lamb and then throws a party; a father gives to his son half of his wealth and then welcomes the penniless boy back with arms wide open and a five-course banquet; a hated foreigner turns out to be the good neighbour; and the tax collector (a crook) rather than the faithful worshipper turns out to be the one who teaches us to not look down our noses.
With Jesus everything is turned on its head: the last become first, the least are made welcome, the lost are found, and the little ones are set up as the best ones to teach us faith.
As Garrison Keillor once said: “God writes a lot of comedy... the trouble is, he's stuck with so many bad actors who don't know how to play funny.” Maybe we need to lighten up a little!
