Posts Tagged: humor about serious things

“The Resurrection of Humor”

On May 6, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

After Jesus’ resurrection, most of his disciples were quite skeptical about the whole thing. They thought exactly what most of us would think: Somebody had robbed the grave—of course! Dead men tell no tales; they also don’t get undead.

So, two of Jesus’ disciples were leaving Jerusalem and going to the village of Emmaus (wherever that is), and they were talking about the strange things that happened over the past several days, including the disappearance of Jesus’ body.

As they were discussing these matters, the risen Jesus came up and joined them. But they didn’t recognize him. Maybe he looked different. But then again, it was getting toward dark, and maybe that explains their lack of recognition. My own suspicion is that they didn’t know who he was because they weren’t expecting to see him. I have a tendency to see only what I’m looking for. I suspect that I am not alone in this tendency.

When Jesus walked up and joined the conversation, his first words basically “Watcha talkin’ about, guys?”

“Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who doesn’t know what’s been goin’ on these past few days?” one of them replied.

And then, Jesus said one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard or read. “What things are those?” Talk about “playing dumb!” Apparently, one of the things that was raised from the dead was Jesus’ sense of humor.

And, of course, if you can make a joke after you’ve been arrested, tortured, tried, condemned to death, and slowly killed, well . . . then anything is a subject for humor.

Eventually, Jesus revealed to these two unsuspecting straight men who he was. Initially, after the big reveal, they were simply astonished. Hopefully, they eventually got the joke. In any case, Luke recorded the joke in his Gospel (chapter 24). One of the things that came out of the tomb with Jesus was humor.

Especially right now, when this killer virus and a failing economy are frightening us all, we need to laugh. Those who are taking the virus seriously need to laugh. Those who are convinced that this is all a hoax need to laugh. Those who are affected by the economic recession (and who of us is not?) need to laugh.

Like Jesus’ death, the things we are going through right now are ferociously serious. That is precisely why we need to remember that humor came out of the grave along with Jesus. It is only as we laugh—especially at our own selves—that we are able to solve problems, grieve when necessary, and eventually move on.

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