大象传媒

Good morning.聽 George Orwell said that 鈥淓very joke is a tiny revolution.鈥澛� At the very least, a joke disrupts the settled order of our everyday lives.聽 The joke starts, and for a moment we鈥檙e carried into a world of possibilities, before being dropped from a height into familiarity. Laughter brings down the towers of pomp and power - sometimes our own.聽 That鈥檚 why no-one likes being the butt of a joke. Where Christians are persecuted it is because they declare that Jesus, not Caesar is Lord.聽 And Caesar can鈥檛 bear being laughed at.聽

The educationalist, Edward Lewis called laughter 鈥渢he sensual pleasure of democracy鈥� because of its levelling effect.聽 When a cartoonist draws a picture of a politician with their trousers down they are using the power of the pen to redress the imbalance between us and our leaders.聽 At best, that鈥檚 the role of satire 鈥� though it can easily become self-serving.聽

Psalm 37 says that 鈥淭he wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, he knows their day is coming.鈥澛� And the righteous can join in the joke.聽聽聽

Of course, pricking the bubbles of the pompous may be satisfying, but if that鈥檚 the end of the story nothing much has been achieved.聽 Comedians may bring down the over-mighty, but they鈥檙e not always great at building up again.聽 That鈥檚 the role of the rest of us.聽 In the space created by laughter we see the possibility of a renewed, just world.

Lord I offer you this day,
With all its opportunities and all my limitations
All your possibilities and all my anxieties.
Stay close to me today
And in a dark and sometimes scary world
Help me to shine, For Jesus sake, Amen.