One of my favorite guilty pleasures is stand-up comedy; to me, a good comic is like an artist. In some ways, I study the best comedians like I study the best preachers because I am in awe of their mastery of the craft.
Sadly, like many of the great preachers I’ve admired over the years, most of my comedic heroes are (or were), in a word, troubled. Richard Pryor, Joan Rivers, Robin Williams, Louis CK, and Bill Cosby have all, for different reasons, found themselves in hot water. At best, the greatest comedians of all time were deeply cynical; at worst, they were, well, Bill Cosby.
The relationship between cynicism and laughter goes way back, by the way. The controversial father of Cynicism, Diogenes (412-323 BC) lived on the streets of ancient Corinth, begging for a living while mercilessly criticizing his contemporaries for being shallow and superficial. He was also wildly popular because of his rhetorical genius and scathing sense of humor.
When Alexander the Great was at the height of his power in Greece, he made the trip from Athens to Corinth for the sole purpose of meeting the famous Diogenes. That meeting did not go the way Alexander hoped it would.
It was mid-morning on a clear, sunny day when the renowned warrior and ruler of the world’s most powerful empire eagerly approached the homeless philosopher. Alexander cast a large shadow as he stood over Diogenes and said, “Sir, please tell me one thing you I can do for you as ruler of the Empire, and I will do it.” The Cynic replied, “Kindly stop blocking my sun.”
After their brief encounter, Alexander the Great is reported to have said, “If I were not Alexander, I would wish to be Diogenes.” When Diogenes heard this, he responded, “If I were not Diogenes, I also would wish to be Diogenes.”
Cynics often make good comics because when you believe the world is meaningless and people are essentially selfish animals, laughter is the only way to maintain sanity. Nietzsche once said, “Perhaps I know best why it is man alone who laughs; he alone suffers so deeply that he had to invent laughter.”
But not all laughter is created equal. It certainly can erupt from the tragedy of your past pain, but it can also spring from the deep well of your present joy. Some people laugh when they are wounded; others laugh because they are healed.
People tend to think of Christians as a humorless bunch, and that’s a shame because I’m convinced Jesus was a riot. There may not be any direct references to Jesus laughing – as there are to him weeping, for example – but the clues of his subtle sense of humor begin to add up:
- He gave his friends funny nicknames. He called Peter “The Rock,” James and John “The Sons of Thunder,” and another James “Lil’ Jimmy.” In Peter’s case, the name was given tongue-in-cheek because Jesus knew Peter – who would soon cave under pressure and deny him three times – was anything but The Rock. Maybe the other nicknames were facetious, too. Maybe “Lil’ Jimmy” weighed 300 pounds. Maybe The Sons of Thunder were super shy. Or maybe they snored really loud. Or perhaps their father did.
- He publicly roasted his adversaries, like the time he called the Pharisees “whitewashed tombs” – beautiful on the outside, dead on the inside. Or the time he said they’re like blind guides leading blind followers into hell. It’s an edgy, hilarious image. (Matthew 23:23)
- He could also be kind of a wise guy with his friends. Early in his ministry, he stood on a shoreline and watched them trying to fish. Like any red-blooded young man, he said, “You boys catch anything yet?” They hadn’t, and so they all grumbled and cursed a little, probably.
- Fast forward a few years. Jesus was crucified. Dead and buried. It was over. The disciples tried to console themselves the only way they knew how: by going fishing. After several hours on the water, they went back to shore, where they saw a man standing on the beach, watching them. They didn’t know it yet, but it was Jesus, resurrected. This was the most important moment in their lives, maybe the most important moment in human history. And what did Jesus say to his friends to honor such a sacred occasion? “You boys catch anything yet?” And, of course, they hadn’t.
- Maybe the best clue we have of Jesus’ sense of humor is the fact that he was a kid-magnet (Mark 10:13-16, Matthew 19:13-14, Matthew 128:1-5). Kids have no patience for humorless bores; they see right through fakes, too. But they loved Jesus, probably because he was light-hearted and easy to be around, and because Jesus enjoyed being around them, too.
What was the difference between Diogenes and Jesus? The cynic laughed because he believed life is absurd and fleeting; the savior laughed because he knows life is precious and forever.
What are you laughing at? The sarcastic hopelessness of a world that will never change? Or are you laughing with Jesus because no shadow of darkness can hide your light, no amount of pain can stop your joy, and no grave of death can threaten your life?
Cynics laugh to cope with death.
Christians laugh to claim victory over death.
I hope you’ll laugh more like Jesus today.
