Abstract
The 1952 musical, Singin’ in the Rain, is famous for Gene Kelly’s graceful elegance, but one of the more memorable numbers features the acrobatic moves of Donald O’Connor, as he belts out timeless advice about life and show business:
Make ‘em laugh, make ‘em laugh Don’t you know everyone wants to laugh?
O’Connor was singing truth: humor can bring people together, help them overcome difficult circumstances, and it can deepen the life of faith. We do not always devote as much attention to humor in the Bible and Christian practice as we do to the long, dark night of the soul. Yet humor offers a respite from daily monotony and unexpected travails, and it is often found in unexpected places.
The current issue of Interpretation explores humor in the Bible and beyond. The authors examine the subtleties and culturally conditioned aspects of humor, from verbal miscues in worship to the slapstick antics of biblical characters. They remind us that “everyone wants to laugh.”
Rosy Kandathil offers a groundbreaking essay on the riddle passages involving Samson in the book of Judges. She demonstrates that these cryptic exchanges utilize wordplay and gendered humor in the service of memorable prophetic utterance. Kandathil argues that these riddles provide Samson with an effective vehicle for critiquing the materialistic excesses of the Philistines. In this sense, the Samson cycle in Judges is both humorous and prophetic.
The books of Esther and Revelation might seem to have little in common other than their inclusion in the Bible, but Sarah Emanuel demonstrates that these two works offer a fascinating mixture of humorous and traumatic imagery. Emanuel unpacks the bawdy humor of Esther, a book that examines diasporic life under ruthless colonial occupation. Similarly, she explores the interplay between the humorous and the grotesque in Revelation, also written in response to the oppressive might of an imperial power (Rome). Emanuel shows that both Esther and Revelation traffic in carnivalesque excess as a means of describing traumatic circumstances.
F. Scott Spencer turns the reader’s attention to two colorful scenes in the book of Acts, one in which Saul/Paul is lowered over a wall in a basket (9:23–31), and the other in which a drowsy Eutychus falls to his presumed death (20:7–12) as a result of Paul’s longwinded preaching. As with many characters in Shakespeare’s comedies and the “cliffhanger” movies that have captivated viewers, these figures in Acts narrowly escape death under comical circumstances. Spencer uses these two episodes as a launching pad to examine other humorous reversals and escapes in the Bible, and his analysis highlights the transformative potential of humor, if only we will look for it.
Casey Wait urges the reader to revel in humor, even and perhaps especially when it comes unexpectedly in solemn moments. She probes the comical elements in the book of Jonah, Balaam’s talking donkey in Numbers, and Jesus’s encounter with disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke. Disguise, reversal, and excess characterize these stories, reflecting masterful, humorous storytelling. If we allow for playfulness in the interpretive process, Wait claims that new insights become possible: “And sometimes, if we are attentive enough, we discover that the laughter we feared might be irreverent is instead the sound of grace refusing to be contained.”
Finally, Susan Sparks wrestles with a famous essay from Reinhold Niebuhr, where the great theologian argued that “there is no laughter in the holy of holies.” She explores the spiritual benefits of humor, as we wrestle with the traumatic, abrasive elements of life. Satire and silliness allow one to speak truth to power, and humor can provide an essential balm in the most challenging of human circumstances. Sparks lifts up biblical stories and memorable anecdotes in claiming that humor has a place in all aspects of Christian faith and practice, including the sanctuary.