In a one-horse open sleigh.
O’er the fields we go
Laughing all the way!”
There’s something about that song. It’s just a lot of fun to sing ... and you actually laugh when you sing it! Because I used to live in New England, I have actually dashed through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh (true story). And, yes, even though it was freezing out, there was plenty of laughter on that ride.
But long before I ever left my old West Kentucky home, long before I had ever laid eyes on a one-horse open sleigh, my thoughts would dash to Jingle Bells as soon as the Christmas season began. It makes me laugh and smile. And if ever there was a season for laughter, it’s Christmas.
There are those, however, who disagree.
You’ve, no doubt, met these folk: they don’t dislike celebrations, per se. It’s just they don’t like having all that Fa La La La La associated with Jesus. These Humbugs don’t seem to understand why Scrooge has to change in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (or what any of it has to do with the true meaning of Christmas, anyway). They are a lot like the dwarfs in C. S. Lewis’ The Last Battle: too grumpy to see that joy is the perfect response to “the reason for the season.”
In Robert Darden’s wonderful little book, Jesus Laughed: The Redemptive Power of Humor, he touches on this situation, noting that “...there are people who claim that laughter, or humor of any kind, isn’t Christian.” He then proceeds to lead us into an exploration of all the joy, mirth, humor, and laughter in the Bible! (Great read. Recommended).
If you know Bob, then you likely know he was for 20 years the Senior Editor of The Wittenberg Door (“the world’s oldest, largest —and pretty much only— religious humor and satire magazine”). And if you have ever been blessed to peruse a copy of it, then you know just how serious he is about humor; that it is one of the keys to a joy-filled spiritual journey.
I’ll grant you: not every part of scripture is joyful, and rightfully so. But there are four in this week’s scripture selections that are: Isaiah, Psalms, Luke, and Matthew. They all address the “reason for the season.” Some people call this season, Advent; anticipating the coming of Jesus. And having a “countdown” to Christmas Day provides a joyful way to do that.
If you are not engaging in the fun parts of this season, let me encourage you to jump in. It’s the perfect time to recognize the joy and happiness we should have in knowing that God chose to come into our world and reconcile with us. Now is the perfect time to celebrate with joy, humor, mirth, and, yes, laughing ... all the way.
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PHOTO: Steve Orr
Link to interview with Bob Darden about humor, satire, The Babylon Bee, and The Wittenburg Door: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/august-web-only/babylon-bee-wittenburg-door-christian-satire.html
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Third Sunday of Advent (December 15, 2019)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=3
Isaiah 35:1-10
Psalm 146:5-10
Luke 1:46b-55
James 5:7-10
Matthew 11:2-11
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Friday mornings during Advent are a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the companionship of like-minded folk at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We gather at 8:00 at Our Breakfast Place (corner of New Road and Franklin in Waco) to eat, read, discuss, and laugh. We laugh a lot. You should join us.
Blessings,
Steve
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