...and Jesus Laughed

"Falafel" CC By-SA 2.0 by Jacob Enos. Source: Flickr

            I had some church meetings this week that took me out of town overnight. I went out with a friend after the evening's meetings were concluded, to grab a bite and chat. Admittedly, we were tired, and a bit punchy.

            ...And we have a history of laughing.

            So, when we saw on the menu "calamari dusted with falafel", we both started visualising some poor squid being pelted by deep-fried fava beans, developing a black eye from the jettisoned protein-nuggets.

            There were chuckles. Then chortles. Then giggles. Then: the all-out belly laugh.  

            We had seated ourselves away from other patrons, so we didn't have to apologise too much. But we laughed. The topics changed, the laughter continued.

            It was a lovely conversation with a friend, free of malice and full of joy.

            It was the type of fun conversation that I can imagine Jesus would have had with his friends - a little silliness, a lot of fun, sharing some food, and engaging in conversation about life and ministry.  And: laughter.

            Now, the bible never says that Jesus laughed - so if we were limited to thinking that the only emotions he experienced were what was catalogued decades later, I think we're denying ourselves the fullness of his humanity.

            Because Jesus lived, and loved, and journeyed. He had friends, and family, and experienced the entirety of emotional realities. I believe he built friendships the way the rest of us do: sharing experience, and emotions, and (often) food. So I believe that Jesus laughed, and joins us as we continue to laugh. And maybe, given his heritage, he could have made even better jokes about dusting with falafel.

            Jesus lived with joy - may we do the same, seeking laughter and love wherever we can.