Humor of Biblical Portion

This Saturday night at 8pm, April Fools Day, is the Bob Nelson comedy show at the Little River high school gym. Free tickets are available by request at Congregational Church website.

Ten years ago, a little incident planted a seed for what will take place Saturday evening. I was in a bookstore, searching the shelves, when I came across an old, brownish paperback book for a quarter. The title was, “The Humor of Christ,” by Elton Trueblood.

I’d never read anything about Jesus and humor, or humor and the Bible for that matter. The front cover of the Trueblood’s book says, “A bold challenge to the traditional stereotype of a somber, gloomy Christ.” On the back, it reads, “Throughout the Gospels, Christ employed humor for the sake of truth and many of his teachings, when seen in this light, become brilliantly clear…Irony, satire, paradox, even laughter itself help clarify Christ’s famous parables, his brief sayings, and important events in his life.”

This little book—which ironically is rather somber in tone—opened my eyes to look for humor in the Bible. Interestingly, it’s there. It’s not belly busting laughter, but you do see incidents and sayings that tickle the funny bone.

For example, consider the story of Exodus 3-4 where God calls Moses at the burning bush and appoints him to lead God’s people out of slavery. God tells Moses, “You’re the man for the job.” But Moses replies, “You’ve got the wrong guy!” Mumbling Moses even goes so far as to tell God, “I don’t speak well in front of others.” Here, God has an incredible job that needs done and who does He appoint to do it? A reluctant servant!

Humor is in the Bible. It’s also in your life. God put it there. You just have to look for it.