There is so much irony, comedy, paradox, and humor in the Bible but contemporary Christians are so far removed from the original audience and so serious in their faith that they miss the laughter of God in the Scriptures. Jesus is more of a Jokester than we realize and he is only following the prophetic tradition where often the joke was on God's people but the problem was they neither got the joke nor were they laughing after the prophets spoke. Here is the great paradox that runs likes a silver lining throughout the whole of scripture: When people make their plans trusting in human logic and power, God laughs. When God plans working through our human weaknesses and limitations, people laugh.
Psalm 2:2-4 says, "From His throne in heaven, the Lord laughs; He derides their feeble plans." We see this throughout the whole of scriptures from the feeble plans of the Israel to the feeble plans of the religious leaders to stop Jesus or his disciples from preaching the gospel. Mary is presented as the new ark of God and she is filled with joy (and laughter). John the Baptist was viewed by the religious leaders as a clown in the wilderness. They mocked him as observers from a far rather than repenting and coming down to the level of the ordinary people of the streets. Herod tried to make Jesus into a court jester and do some miracles or tricks for him but Jesus does not play the fool for the world's amusement.
The laughter of the resurrection, new creation and the redeemed are those followers of Jesus who are broken, humble and often found among the poor, despised, frightened and even depressed. God continually uses the weak and foolish things of the world to shame the wise and powerful. The world will wake up some day to a new world where the powerful are dethroned and the meek truly inherit the earth.
No comments:
Post a Comment