"If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans."
- Woody Allen
A man was sitting in his home one day when the sheriff stopped by. The lawman informed him there was a flood coming, but the man said "God will protect me." As the flood waters neared his home the National Guard stopped and urged the man to come with them in their Humvee, but the man said "God will protect me." As the flood waters surrounded his house the Red Cross came by his house in a boat and encouraged him to climb on board, but the man said "God will protect me." As the flood waters engulfed his house the man climbed onto his roof, where a helicopter was waiting for him, but the man said "God will protect me."
Then the man drowned. When he got to Heaven the man said, "God, why didn't you protect me?" And God said, "What do you mean?! I sent the sheriff, a Humvee, a boat, and a helicopter!"
There is an intimate relationship between spirituality and humor. Although this is usually more exemplified in Eastern traditions such as Buddhism, it certainly must exist in Western religion and spirituality. In Judeo-Christian theology it is certainly more subdued, but it must exist.
One the most common images of the Buddha is that of the Laughing Buddha. Historically he was a Buddhist monk who loved children and enjoying the gift of life. He carried candies with him and was always ready to joke and laugh.
This may seem a little sacrilegious to some people, however it is fun to think that at the Last Supper Jesus had planted at least one whoopee cushion. Perhaps it was Judas who was the hapless victim of the good nature prank. They all needed a little release.
That is one of the keys to understanding the connection between spirituality and humor. Laughter is a release from our fears, it is a communal way to face the darkness and chase it away.
Stop and think about the nature of many of the jokes you've heard over the years. The good ones, not the "why did the chicken cross the road" kind of joke. The jokes that made you laugh so hard you peed a little.
At the root of all of those jokes someone was hurt in someway, and that pain or embarrassment was the core of the joke. Without it the joke wouldn't be funny. Think I'm wrong? Try and think of one, I'll wait.
That may seem on the surface to be a depressing and rather shabby view of human nature. Yet we come back to the point that laughter is a shared defense, it is courage welling up from deep within to renew us and give us strength. As physicist Stephen Hawking observed, "Life would be tragic if it weren't funny."
And that is the next key to the connection, renewal. When we laugh we feel refreshed. Our burdens have been lessened. Physicians have long understood the healing power of laughter.
The final key is related to what Zen schools call Satori, literally "a kick in the eye." It's really not much different from what is meant by the Judeo-Christian word epiphany. It's a sudden revelation of a spiritual truth.
Much like humor, that spiritual awareness is sudden, often non-verbal. When someone tells you a joke, as soon as you "get it" you start to laugh. If someone has to explain the joke to you then you'll never find it funny. You may certainly understand on an intellectual level why the joke is "funny," but you missed it.
Even though the Bible doesn't often portray them as such, I am sure the early saints and patrons had a rich sense of humor. To spread their message of hope they needed to give the faithful a way to renew, a way to face the darkness of the times.
Maybe there was no whoopee cushion at the last supper. Let's hope at least one of the Apostles owned a dribble glass.
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