Ordinary Eve
Laughter
IThe Beautiful Frock
"Buy me, Lady", said the frock, "and I will make you into a BEAUTIFUL and WHOLE and COMPLETE Human Being."
"Do not be SILLY", said the Man, "for a frock alone cannot do that."
"TRUE", said the Lady. "I will have the Shoes and the Bag as well."
I thought I would start this article on laughter with a joke (from one of many Edward Monkton cards). I was going to use the one called ‘the shoes of salvation’ but thought that might be a little irreverent.
Laughter is the best medicine
Research has shown that laughing really is good medicine. Not only does it lift our spirits, and boost our relationships but it relieves tension, anxiety and irritation, boosts the immune system and reduces the risk of heart disease. Laughter is also supposed to improve our performance at work and make us better team players.
Laugh a minute
How often do you really laugh? Apparently children laugh up to 400 times a day whereas adults laugh an average of only 17 times a day. If Jesus wants us to be like little children surely we should be laughing a lot more. And how often do you really laugh at church? I am lucky that church and my Christian friends make me laugh a lot. This is not just because they are nuts but because they are godly people. If God made us with the capability of experiencing a whole spectrum of emotions - love, sadness, joy, anger - then surely he designed us to laugh as well.
Does God have a sense of humour?
God has a sense of humour because we are made in his image. I’m sure He had a laugh when He created the world, especially, giraffes, platypusses and, of course, us. He must find a lot of what we do really comical, although he is portrayed as serious most of the time. Jesus was a great storyteller who people loved to listen to. I think a lot of his jokes have got lost in translation but parables of planks in eyes and lamps under bushels are quite ironic and probably raised a smile with his audience.
Christian Comedy?
So where is this article going? We know laughter is good for us and we all have our favourite comedies that send us into fits of hysterics. Well, if everyone loves to laugh then why not use comedy as a way of bringing people closer to God? I recently heard of a group of Christian comedians who are doing just that. I went to see some of them perform at The Revue Bar in London and laughed my socks off, and all without any crudeness or cruelty. I really wished some of my friends from work had come because they would have loved it. A group of these comedians have formed something called ‘The Isaac Project’ (Isaac meaning ‘he laughs’). All of them are mainstream comedians who tour the comedy circuit in the UK but they also can be booked by churches.
The idea is, to quote the website (www.isaacproject.co.uk), “for Christians to bring mainstream comedy into their locality, whether that be in a church, pub or community hall. To put on a comedy night open to all people - a chance for Christians and churches to connect with and bless their community by putting a smile on the face of those present.” They don’t do anything overtly Christian but it’s a great thing to invite friends to as it is accessible to all. This project is an exiting and fresh expression of church and I am looking forward to hearing more of them soon.
