Thursday’s reflections
“Don’t Make Me laugh”
“Much more stiking, an example of Christ’s irony is application of a nickname to one of his disciples, Simon. Peter got his name when, in the district of Caesarea Philippi, he achieved, suddenly, the tremendous insight concerning who his Leader was. Even on this solemn occasion Christ proved that He could joke and He did so by giving Simon the fisherman the most improbable of nicknames. In our terminology, He called the fellow ‘Rocky’ and the name stuck. The paradox is obvious, for Simon was anything but stable or durable, which is what rocky things are supposed to be. No sooner did Simon receive his nickname, Peter, than he rejected his master’s teaching and rebuked him, whereupon Christ said to him, with sudden fierceness, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of human beings.’ (Matthew 16) That Peter was unstable was proved by his showing himself to be both a liar and a coward at the time of the trial before the high priest. Peter ‘followed at a distance’ and sat in the courtyard, but when he was asked whether he was one of Christ’s companions, he answered, ‘I do not know what you mean.’, and later he said, ‘I do not know the man.’ (from Elton Trueblood).
There is a way of looking at Jesus words and seeing ironic humor in them. When he told the Pharisees if their hand causes them to sin they should cut it off, he was using humor to help a group of people who thought they were so righteous and pure that they were without sin. Jesus understood temptation. He knew the kinds of pressures that come to all people. Those temptations came to him in the wilderness. When he admonished the Pharisees to pluck out their eye if the eye causes them to sin, he really didn’t expect them to do that. He wanted them to take a look at how self-righteous they thought they were. The only way he could get through to them was with ironic humor.
One of the saddest things about religion is that it can move from faithfulness to fanaticism. It’s importance can take on a place in our lives that is unhealthy and, ultimately, it can do much harm. We have to be able to laugh at ourselves. Otherwise we will find ourselves doing things and saying things in the name of our faith that should cause us to be concerned.
Humor can save us from ourselves. Even, and especially, when it comes to faith.
Do you have examples of when this might happen or has happened? Have you ever experienced faith that leads to fanaticism? Isn’t humor an important corrective.
If you have some thoughts on this write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. if you are willing to allow others to participate with you in your thinking click on the box marked ‘comments’.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles
