Pastor Howard Boles once used a deleted movie scene from the Monty Python troupe on Biblical shepherds in their fields as part of a sermon message. In the clip, as herdsmen are engrossed in passionate conversation about the wonders of sheep, they totally miss the night sky dramatically alight behind them with majestic wonder at the birth of Jesus.
“I used that as a humorous way to say that sometimes we can miss what is going on right in front of us,” said Boles of First United Methodist Church in downtown Columbus. “I just thought that was a really clever way to do that.”
Boles will take lightheartedness one step further when the church celebrates its first Holy Humor Sunday at 10 a.m. May 23 at the church, 618 Eighth St. The service also will be livestreamed on the Facebook page for Columbus First United Methodist Church.
“We’ve told people to bring their funnybone,” Boles said.
Boles is adept enough as a speaker that he has used a funny line or two to make a very serious point at public gatherings. For example, three years ago, at an immigration rally on the steps of Columbus City Hall, he wanted to impress upon the crowd how significant it was that various mainstream Christian denominations, including Protestants and Catholics, were speaking with one voice to support Latino immigrants here.
“We usually cannot all agree on a good green bean casserole recipe,” Boles said as people knowingly chuckled.
Boles readily offered a reminder that humor is indeed in the Bible. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah mocks the prophets of Ba’al by asking if their apparently unresponsive God is, well, taking a bathroom break as they cry out to him.
Serious, respectful humor has been linked with the gospel in the past, including the 1993 film “The Gospel According to Matthew,” featuring an often-smiling, often laughing Jesus portrayed by actor Bruce Maraschino.
Boles mentioned that he found ample resources on Holy Humor Sunday when he did a quick online search. Some websites include everything from knock-knock jokes to semi-corny trivia lines such as the following: “Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible? Samson. He brought down the house.”
The pastor figures that Holy Humor Sunday will begin even with a lighthearted bulletin and include nearly every part of the service in some way.
“This past year has been such a heavy time in many regards,” Boles said. “There has been the pandemic itself, the lack of being together with people, the social isolation, all of that. It has made a challenging time for everyone. And we just thought that a little bit of playfulness and lightheartedness might be good for the soul.”
Ideally, Boles would like to see the day become an annual celebration.
Kevin Butler, First United Methodist’s music director, believes in the power of humor enough that he brings at least one joke to staff meetings every Tuesday.
“I think that, initially, people may be a little reluctant (about this),” Butler said of the planned service. “But once we get things going, I think they will find it very amusing, and, at this point of the COVID-19 crisis, I think they will find it very cleansing.”
The music will even highlight a bit of humor, though Butler is not releasing that publicly. He will say only that the handbell group will perform “a musical classic,” as he called it, sure to bring a smile.
Butler added that general ministry leaves ample room for good-natured laughter. He cites the traveling comic Christian entertainers Tommy and John Thomas Oaks as a good example, since they take serious Bible subjects and inject them with over-the-top humor to make memorable points.
“Humor is so very prevalent in pour lives, and sometimes we tend to take the Bible so seriously that we don’t always realize that there probably were some funny things that happened along the way that actually would make the stories more human and more real,” Butler said. “Humor is a way that allows you to reach some people that you may not reach at all any other way.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Scripture’s take on laughter” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
- Proverbs 17:22: A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
- Psalm 126:2: Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”
- Job 8:21: He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting.
- Ecclesiastes 3:4: A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
- Genesis 21:6: And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.”
[sc:pullout-text-end]
