My dog Jessie doesn't do humour. She doesn't like it when we laugh or dance or sing and she starts to bark at us. Humour is so human.
Although 'The Goons' was before my time, I have since learned to love that kind of zany humour. I was brought up on Monty Python, Morcambe and Wise, The Two Ronnies, and my dad used to love Dad's Army! I'm not so good at telling jokes though... although... go on, I'll tell you my favourite one. (And this is just for Lydia!):
A man walks into a bar, orders a drink, and is surprised when someone says to him, "nice tie, mate". He turns around only to find no one there. Again, he hears the words, "Wow, neat haircut!", and sure enough, when he looks around there is no one near him. 'That's weird', he thinks and settles down to finish his drink. Once more he hears the words, "Great aftershave, mate!". This time he calls over to the barman and asks what it's all about.
"That'll be the complimentary peanuts." came the reply.
This joke seems to get me laughing every time I hear it!
Humour doesn't translate well. It's one of the hardest things to understand in a foreign language because it relies on slight differences of meaning and inuendo. Consequently, I think we miss much of God's sense of humour in the Bible. The best verse I can think of is from Proverbs (17:22): 'A merry heart does good like a medicine!' Some of the best preachers are really funny! They get us laughing at ourselves and as we lighten up, it somehow seems easier to accept the deep issues of life. I think humour dispels fear, and it's fear which freezes us and causes us to harden our hearts.
I'll always remember when my daughter met a new friend when she was five years old. They took one look at eachother and one said to the other, "Let's go and be silly!". I have to say that that was the start of a long friendship between the two girls! And to totally misquote the Bible......
'Go and do likewise!!!' (If you want to look it up it's Luke 10:37)
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