Laughing Jesus

Early in life, I was a lot like Scaramouche, who described himself as ‘having a gift of laughter and feeling that the world was mad.’ The realities of life and some very difficult jobs caused me to become too serious and prone to look at things in an analytical way. Then I discovered a very good antidote to such foolishness. I was brought down by Cancer. When your world shrinks to the size of a hospital bed, you have a tendency to look at things differently. Recently, some members of a forum were speculating on the most precious substance on earth. Diamonds, sapphires, and rubies were mentioned, but I think laughter has all of them beat. There are pictures by several artists called ‘Laughing Jesus.’ When I saw one of them for the first time, I was startled. Then I came to realize that Jesus did laugh despite the traditional art through the ages that depict him as very solemn and mournful. There are many verses in the scripture where we see examples of His humor. For those of you who disagree and think that God did not have a sense of humor, just wait a few years and go look in the mirror.