Sorrow is better
than laughter; it may sadden your face, but it
sharpens your understanding. Someone who is
always thinking about happiness is a fool. A
wise person thinks about death.
Message:
Okay, the scripture we just read is
about has humorous as our Bible ever gets.
The great philosopher Alfred North
Whitehead commented that “The total absence of humor
from the Bible is one of the most singular things in
all of literature.” This is in stark contrast to
other faiths who consider humor and laughter
integral to the spiritual life.
The title for this sermon -- “Man
Plans, God Laughs” -- comes from the Jewish
tradition (the politically correct version is “man
plans, God laughs, women know better). Aiya did
some research and found this great article for me --
"Holy Laughter or Strong Delusion," by Warren Smith.
Mr. Smith did a search of the Bible found 42
references to laughter. Twenty-two refer to
scornful laughter: “they laughed us to scorn”
(Nehemiah 2:19).
Seven refer to Abraham and Sarah’s disbelief when
they found her pregnant at 90 years old. Most of
the rest have to do with Job’s friends’ mockery of
him and Solomon’s council to prefer sorrow over
mirth as in our scripture reading. Even Jesus
counsels against laughter: "Woe unto you that laugh
now! for ye shall mourn and weep" (Luke 6:25).
Clearly, the question of humor is no
laughing matter. Someone as serious as Aristotle
took up the question of what makes us uniquely
human. Or, in Christian terms, what about us is
created in the image of God? Aristotle concluded
that what sets humans apart is our ability to
laugh, because no other animal laughs. But is
this true?
I recently listened to a radio
interview with a professor from Washington State
University who researches how rats play. He and his
team wondered why the normally vocal rats made no
noise when they played. One of his graduate students
suggested that rats, like bats, might make sounds
that we can’t hear. With the appropriate technology
they discovered that rats do make sounds at a
frequency too high for us to hear when they play.
They went a step further and started tickling the
rats. Lo and behold, the rats made a sound that
could only be described as laughter. So much for
the conceit of human uniqueness
But there is something that
does set us apart from other creatures, something
that is truly in the image of God. It
appears that we are the only species capable of
thinking about our thinking. But that’s not the
divine part. What is truly divine is that when
we reflect upon ourselves, the only thing we can
do is laugh. We are most godly when laughing at
ourselves.
You have to wonder why this didn’t
make it into the Bible. If this is really central
to our divinity, why isn’t it in the Bible?
I suspect that not taking yourself
seriously was politically terribly inconvenient.
You don’t control people and consolidate an empire
by saying that life is a lark. You consolidate an
empire by scaring people. Religion is a great way
to tell people that if they don’t behave they’ll
burn in hell.
Imagine Jesus. Here is a guy who is
wide awake and has seen life as it really is. One
of the things folks who have awakened consistently
say is something like “don’t worry, be happy,” there
is nothing to lose but your hell. All there is to
lose is your fear, your pain, your sorrow. Life,
reality, is far more gentle, kind, and forgiving
than all of our thoughts about it.
Do we imagine Jesus shuffling down
the road saying, “Lets slog over to Capernaum and
save some people”? Why would you follow a guy who
never laughs?
My
favorite depiction is of Jesus having a great big
belly
laugh. Most representations of him are sad, inert,
peaceful, boring. It’s a nice domesticated version
that works fine for our domesticated spirituality,
but it doesn’t have anything to do with a Jesus that
I would want to be part of.
Human life is a gas -- why take it
seriously? We have inherited an image of big daddy
God in the sky with a “smite”
button, ready to nail us. My preferred image
portrays God as a big golden retriever puppy playing
a game. What’s the game? Hide and seek, of
course. I am God, playing a game and pretending I’m
not God. You are God, playing a game pretending
you’re not God. And how much fun is it to be on
earth and play this game together? What else would
God do? God knows there’s nothing to lose. There’s
nothing to achieve. There are no t’s that need to
be crossed or i’s that need to be dotted. There is
no death. There is nothing to be lost. Jesus said
it clearly: “The kingdom of heaven is right here,
open your eyes.” You don’t have to do anything, you
don’t have to ask anything, there is nothing you
have to do for the kingdom of heaven but receive it.
Here is the main point: If you’re
not laughing, you’re probably missing the Christian
story. If life isn’t absurd to you, you’re probably
missing the point. If you don’t think it’s about
laughter, look at the person next to you. Tell me
God doesn’t have a sense of humor. I wake up and I
look in the mirror, if I don’t scream in horror, I
usually get a good laugh out of it. If we take
ourselves seriously, we’re probably missing the
point.
Now, I can't say that I always live
fearlessly with a continuous chuckle at the
absurdity of myself. But I spend enough time there
to know that any religion that tells us to take
ourselves seriously is bunk. That may offend some,
but I have tasted the truth. Jesus says, “You will
know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
What is the truth that will make you
free? That truth cannot be spoken, but the
consequence of knowing it can only be a profound
belly laugh, right from the depths of your soul. If
that’s not the truth, then spare me the truth. Don’t
give me stories about salvation or enlightenment.
If I am to believe the guy I profess to follow, he’s
already said that it’s done, it’s over, it’s already
here. Our role is to receive it with delight.
I can only conclude with a joke
Three departed souls were standing at
the gate of heaven. Saint Peter asked them, “What
is the meaning of Easter.
The first said, “That’s when the
family comes together to enjoy a turkey dinner and
count their blessings.” Peter pointed down, and
that first soul was gone.
The second said, “That’s when people
decorate a pine tree and place presents under it.”
Again, Saint Peter pointed down, and the second was
gone.
The third said, “It’s about a man who
came two thousand years ago. People in the temple
became angry at him and put him to death. After
three days, he came out of his tomb.” Saint Peter
was beginning to think this one had it. Then the
soul added, “And then Jesus saw his shadow and we
had six more weeks of winter.”
One final comment. I hear that they
found a new beatitude in the Dead Sea Scrolls. It
goes like this: “Blessed
are those who can laugh at themselves, for they will
never cease to be amused.”
Amen
