Thank God for Jokes: How Christ Redeems Our Ridicule
Humor, as we like to say, is one of the minor fruits of the Spirit. It is, as Kierkegaard said, “the joy which has overcome the world.” But comedy can have a surprisingly volatile nature about it. Is it any accident that the conclusion of a joke is called a punchline? Any comedian worth his salt will tell you that almost every joke has a target and almost every laugh comes at someone’s expense. As Mike Birbiglia says in his special Thank God for Jokes, “All jokes are offensive … to someone.” A comedian will often begin a routine by offering himself up as the sacrificial lamb, telling self-deprecating jokes to soften up the crowd, but it’s only a matter of time until he executes “the flip” in which the tables are turned and the audience suddenly becomes the subject of ridicule. I cringe every time someone is picked out of a crowd during a stand-up routine. It’s essentially volunteering to be the butt of a joke. Whether or not the person can laugh at himself depends on his ability to accept his own ridiculousness…………………….