On Laughter

It seems to me that laughter is a blessing from God. Giving in to the lure of the comical and the absurd and going through the admittedly strange aural and physical contortions related with laughter somehow makes the soul lighter if only for a moment.

There is an ethical question related to laughter: the question of subject matter.

Personally, I find that the easiest sort of humor to practice- the type that makes fun of or is at the expense of another is probably the least satisfying and the least ethically sustainable form. Especially if you see laughter as a type of worship and participation in Divinity.

Holy laughter (and here I'm not talking about a charismatic experience) happens when we encounter the ultimate comedy of life. And Christian life is a comedy, at least in the classic sense: In tragedy life goes from good to worse. In comedy, life goes from bad to better. Christianity is traditionally about the way that God intervenes in the fallenness of the world to make good come from bad -- and that is the source of joy.

From a life of joy springs a willingness to laugh, morally and ethically. And that sort of laughter (laughter at ones own foibles, at the work of God, at the absurdity of man, at simple silliness, at childish happenings, etc.) is a holy gift that takes us away momentarily from the cares of a fallen world and shows us (emotionally at least) a glimpse of what it means to dwell in the shadow of God's wings.