Once in an interview Mark Twain noted of humor, that “It is nature’s effort to harmonize conditions. The further the pendulum swings out over woe the further it is bound to swing back over mirth.”
The pendulum has been swinging far “out over woe” these past days, and like many of you I am anxious for a return to laughter – for a ray of light to break through the dark clouds settling over so much of our national life. Last weekend in a speech delivered at a memorial service for the victims at Newtown, our president relayed a story from that terrible day. Reminding the gathering of the hope buried in the midst of their pain he described for them
“the scenes of the schoolchildren, helping one another, holding each other, dutifully following instructions in the way that young children sometimes do; one child even trying to encourage a grown-up by saying, ‘I know karate. So it’s okay. I’ll lead the way out.’”
Did you catch that? Two jokes in one sentence – “the way that young children sometimes do….’I know karate’” – jokes! And people laughed. Not just chuckles, but, honest to goodness laughs. There, in the midst of such terrible darkness and sadness and pain, there was light, and it came in the form of humor.
I know this hardly makes me a revolutionary or a genius, but I’ve long contended that humor is one of God’s greatest gifts to us. It isn’t just an anesthetic from the suffering of life or a protective wall behind which we can hide, it is the very road to understanding and reframing life’s setbacks and pain. I’m sure that is part of why the Bible is riddled with humor and jokes.
Humor tells the truth. It is true that young kids do, every once in a while, follow instructions. A child’s bravado in the face of terrifying circumstances does bring a smile. These stories remind us that these kids were more than victims – they were kids – honest, and foolish, and brave. And, like kids should, they make us smile and free us to laugh. They are funny.
I know the darkness is not past. I know that we cannot shirk the serious and difficult conversations ahead. I know that in many cases, humor is but a momentary reprieve – a breath of honesty in an often-dishonest world.
But, just as those shepherds and wise men stared into a feeding trough and realized that the peasant child lying there, vulnerable and fragile, must have felt laughter welling up inside them. Just as they came to understand that this vulnerable and humble creature was the one of whom prophesies spoke – this was God come to be with us, full of grace and truth. My hope is that we, who face the humble and humbling realities of this present day, are able, at the end, to laugh – not the cynical laughter of the hopeless but of ones who have seen the truth and been set free.
See you in church!
Jered
