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Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Does God have a sense of humor?

By Father Lou Guntzelman, who is a Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.


Rarely do I see pictures of Christ with a smile, much less a hearty laugh. Religious goods stores say they don't sell. Why? Do such pictures go against childish stereotypes? Are we uncomfortable associating strong positive feelings with God - permitting only those of anger, vengeance or suffering? Why does spirituality always have a sober face? Do we think a God with a sense of humor wouldn't be attuned to our sufferings?

In the musical "Annie," Mrs. Hannigan is a den mother for young girls in an orphanage. If she hears laughter from the girls' dormitory, she bursts in angrily and asks, "Do I hear happiness in here?" - Is she an image of God?

Nietzsche said, "If they want me to believe in their redeemer, then they'd better look more like they're redeemed." He said a Christian's functional Christ is a black scarecrow that sits gloomily on the tree of life and frightens off a whole range of fluttering joys that might have otherwise alighted there.

Does God have a sense of humor or is the Deity a "heavy"? Knowing how much we enjoy the catharsis of a good laugh or the amusement of certain human situations, I think God laughs a lot. Wouldn't we expect laughter to ring out of that place where life is intense and at its best?

There are different kinds of humor. One could be called honorable humor. It's a kindly humor that permits us to laugh at absurdities in ourselves and in other's behavior. It is not meant to be hurtful, embarrassing or a "put-down." It just recognizes human fallibility, pretensions and the opposites in certain situations. It requires a certain humility.

Demeaning humor is the laughter that arises from unconscious anger, envy or the wish to insult (psychologically it's recognized that anger is oft times expressed by people appearing comical, but interiorly they want to demean the one(s) they joke about).

By doing this, the "funny person" wants to make another person look foolish, stupid or disconnected with everyone else. Late-night comedians frequently sprinkle their monologues with demeaning humor.

God laughs with honorable humor because God is the Lover of all those he's made. He laughs at some of our foibles while holding his arm around our shoulder, inviting us to laugh with him.

There are numerous situations in life that provide grist for humor - how can we think God misses the point? Such as the time I was presiding at a solemn ceremony and got the hiccups, or the time I was driving a loaner car which sporadically blew the horn without me doing a thing. Drivers in front of me quickly became irritated and "fingers" began flying. To make matters worse, as I drove farther I wound up behind a police car. I can see God laughing at those things and hoping I don't take myself too seriously.

God probably laughs at other times as well, though more sadly, at our incongruities and absurdities. Months ago I read of a mother discreetly breast feeding her infant on a chair in the corner of the store. The manager demanded that she go to the restroom to do so.

As I read, I thought of R-rated movies, magazine ads and graphics, pornographic Internet images, etc. No complaint about those, we permit them without a second thought. But a mother's breasts are titillating when nourishing her child (as nature intends), but not so when selling bras, swimsuits or dresses to wear on the red carpet? Funny, laughable, in a pathetic sort of way.

Why do we have the tendency to replace divine laughter with a frown? Why do we more readily imagine God as scolding than playfully joyful? It says something about us, not God.

I wonder, "Is our lack of joy due to the fact that we are Christians, or to the fact that we are not sufficiently Christian?"


Article Source: Cincinnati.com

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