"God has a most wicked sense of humor."
- Maureen O'Hara
At times, outright ridicule is appropriate.
I find this true of authoritarian bodies who make ridiculous pronouncements.
I recently re-read the most amusing chapter in all of the bible, and want to share this brilliant example of God's sense of humor.
Without further suspense,
the story I have in mind is the ninth chapter of John's book. It is the story of how Jesus heals a man who had been born blind.
The humor comes in the interactions stirred up in the Judean community. Will you suspend your disbelief for five minutes? You might find this story as hysterical as I do.
That's hysterical!
Photo courtesy of Ben White and http://unsplash.com
Almost from the start,
Jesus was on the outs with local government. In Judea, the ruling class and the religious leadership were one and the same. Like today, there were factions - Pharisees, Scribes, Sadducees - but when it came to this upstart outsider from Galilee, the factions closed rank and cooperated in opposing Jesus' teaching.
Could the bible be funny?
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Jesus has just slipped away from a confrontation.
His critics are ready to stone him. As he walks away from that encounter, he notices a blind man. Even Jesus' closest friends don't "get him" yet because they think of the man's blindness as some kind of punishment.
Spitting on the ground, Jesus makes mud from the dust and smears it on the blind man's eyes. He then sends him to wash in the pool called "Sent."
What a laugh!
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Keep in mind that the man is blind.
As he walks to the pool and washes, he has never in his life seen anything or anyone, much less Jesus. But he now knows Jesus' voice. When the mud is washed away, he opens his eyes, having become sighted for the first time. That's when the fun begins.
It starts among his neighbors.
Although the bible doesn't give us the man's name, let's call him "Itzak" for the purpose of our story.
"Hey, isn't that Itzak?"
"Sure looks like him."
"I thought he was blind."
"Yeah - he's been begging all his life."
He's been begging all his life...
Photo courtesy of Avi Chomotovski and http://pixabay.com
"No way! That can't be him!"
Meanwhile, Itzak is trying to get their attention. "Hey, it is me. I am the man."
"How the heck is it that you can see?"
"I know, isn't it great? This fellow named Jesus says to me "Here's mud in your eye," sends me to "Sent Pool." So, I wash the mud off, and BLAM! I can see!"
"Where is this Jesus guy?"
"I haven't got a clue."
At this point, it is probably some Pharisees among the people who start to get nervous. They take Itzak to the town council.
I know one thing; I was blind, now I see.
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"Tell us again, what happened?"
This time, standing in front of the region's entire assembled authoritarian leadership, Itzak is a bit less verbose.
"He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and I see."
Brief as his statement is, Itzak has poked a nest of hornets, but the reaction is divided. The knee-jerk response? Jesus couldn't be from God! Working on the Sabbath is strictly prohibited. It begs the question, however:
"How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?"
Hmmm, could they be starting from the wrong assumptions?
When they ask his opinion of Jesus, Itzak simply replies "He is a prophet."
As they say, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. "Let's get this fellow's parents in here and see if he's telling us the truth."
Itzak's parents are summoned.
"Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"
Is this a trick question? As in all hierarchical societies, if you don't play ball with the leadership, your name is mud.
"We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes."
"He is of age; ask him."
Neat side-step. Well, at least it is now established; this man was born blind, and can now, quite undeniably, see. How do we keep this off the radar? Maybe we can get Itzak to recant.
"Ask him yourself."
Photo courtesy of Elli Stattaus and http://pixabay.com
Calling him again to testify,
the Judean rulers remind Itzak that he is still under oath.
"Give glory to God. We know that this man Jesus is a sinner."
Itzak sticks to his guns.
"Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."
When they ask him to repeat his testimony, Itzak's answer is genius:
"I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?"
Talk about stirring up the hornets!
Itzak's question infuriates the council! How dare he suggest such a thing! Ridiculing Itzak, they put him down, saying "...as for this man, we do not know where he comes from."
Listen to Itzak as he schools the Judean council with some pure logic:
"Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
Deeply offended and unwilling to be schooled, the council tosses Itzak out.
This is so typical of authoritarian leadership.
They "powers that be" seem constitutionally incapable of learning or taking direction. When faced with the bald truth, they simply reject it along with anyone who asserts it. But it is too late; the camel's nose is in the tent.
The camel's nose is in the tent...
Photo courtesy of Paul Brennan and http://pixabay.com
When Jesus hears what happened,
he finds and shows himself to Itzak, who then comes to a place of full belief.
For me, this story works on so many levels.
It reveals the folly of authoritarianism. It exposes God's sense of humor as he uses an unschooled blind man to put the religious leaders to shame. It of course shines the light on who Jesus is. Just as in the Garden of Eden, he is the one who forms new life from the dust of the earth. He is the creator/God who brings all things under his absolute control.
Why not read John 9 for yourself?
I think you'll be glad you did.
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