Reflection - Humor

By Steve Hall

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111321.cfm
Wisdom 18:14-16; 19:6-9
Luke 18:1-8

The first part of the reading from Wisdom is one of my favorites, quite probably because I first read it on a Christmas Card.

“When peaceful stillness compassed everything
and the night in its swift course was half spent,
Your all-powerful word, from heaven’s royal throne
bounded. . . Into the doomed land.”

Fits right in there with ‘I’m dreaming of a white Christmas . . . .’ doesn’t it.

But then the text takes a turn and my interest quickly wanes. “A fierce warrior and a doomed land’ are not really my cup of tea. I would guess that my aversion originates in the book of Revelation: The one who worships the beast and its image “. . . shall drink the wine of God's wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.” (Revelation 14:10) Of course, such divine vengeance was, and is, also the theme of some preachers.

As the passage continues, the reference to the plagues in Egypt and the eventual Exodus of the Chosen People becomes more apparent. The Psalm reinforces this interpretation and image so my distaste for the latter portion of the Wisdom passage is calmed.

Throughout the Scriptures we find human attributes assigned to God — what else can we do other than affirm what God is not. Unfortunately, as some read the Old Testament, God gets a bad rap. He is mean and vengeful. He is angry and destructive. He is impatient and intolerant. The list could go on. However, such interpretations miss or ignore some important points. First: God is God and, as the prophet says, His ways are not man’s ways.

Second: Human language is inadequate for describing God. Third: No matter how inadequate, we have nothing but language with which to talk about God. Fourth: The negative interpretations overlook the divine plan for humanity and what it takes to realize that plan.

It is appropriate, therefore, that the Wisdom passage, which begins in a way that can be associated with Christmas, but which quickly turns to vengeance, fire and brimstone, should be followed by a passage where we can see that God has a sense of humor. So we go to the Gospel. It is possible that one divine purpose behind the Incarnation was to demonstrate that God really does have a sense of humor.

In the Gospels Jesus tells us that we need to trust that God cares for us. Are we not more valuable than he birds of the air? In this short parable of the persistent woman and the judge we are told to be persistent in prayer and that God will hear. However, the parable is told in such a way as to suggest the plot for a Hollywood comedy. 

With little effort you can picture the self satisfied judge — maybe a younger Clint Eastwood could play that part. So the first part of the film would establish his connections with the arrogant elite, his smug disdain for those beneath him, his exercise of his office for self-serving purposes. 

Follow that, or intermingle that, with an account of the circumstances which led to the woman’s plight — maybe she is in danger of being evicted from her ancestral home by the spurious machinations of someone who wants to build a high rise apartment complex. The judge keeps putting off a decision as the evil developer continues to harass her. Then the storyline turns to the primary element: the various ways in which the woman tries to convince the judge to do his job. If I were a story teller I could think of all kinds of ways in which the woman pursues this endeavor — recall Kevin’s ingenuity in deterring the would-be thieves in Home Alone. Thus, the humor of the story.

“Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” (Philippians 2:5-7)

God does have a sense of humor!