Give Me a Sense of Humour, Lord!

 

Did you hear the one about the Pope and a roomful of comedians? Okay, when I first saw the headline yesterday I thought it was a joke. Pope Francis giving an audience to American comedians, at the Vatican? Really? Turns out it happened yesterday and a good time seems to have been had by all. 

Some of those present are known for their potty mouths, but it's interesting that they all showed up, and Francis was obviously in a forgiving mood. When pope comes to shove, every comedian wants a forgiving audience. 

There are scholars who assure us that when Jesus speaks about a camel going through the eye of a needle he's inviting a chuckle from his audience and that there are other moments of humour in the Gospels. 

I admire Pope Francis for this initiative.  I figure there should always been room for humour in our Christian faith, including during our times of worship. And face it if we don't laugh we'll probably cry over the state of the world and the destructive nonsense that goes on in God's name. 

                                                                Jimmy Fallon with Whatisname

Here is part of the Reuters report:

VATICAN CITY, June 14 (Reuters) - It's OK to make fun of God as long as the joke is not offensive, Pope Francis said on Friday in a special audience with about 100 comedians, actors and writers from around the world.

Those meeting him at the Vatican included US showbiz celebrities Whoopi Goldberg, Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien, Chris Rock and Stephen Colbert. Around two thirds of the guests were Italians.

"Can we also laugh at God? Of course, it's not blasphemy, we can, just as we play and joke with the people we love," Francis said, speaking in Italian."Humour does not offend, humiliate, or put people down according to their flaws," he added, holding up "Jewish wisdom and literary tradition" as an example of good comedy.

The pontiff made the remarks after himself coming under fire, and apologising, for the use of an insulting word towards gay people.

"What I am saying now is not heresy: when you manage to draw knowing smiles from the lips of even one spectator, you also make God smile," Francis said.

Both Jim Gaffigan and Stephen Colbert are practicing Catholics (we all need practice) and Colbert is knowledgable and open about his faith. The Catholic News Agency offers: 

[Magaffigan], who performed stand-up at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia in 2015, joked after the papal meeting Friday that assembling a group of comedians is “like the ultimate ‘Hail Mary’” for the world’s ills. “[The pope’s] like, ‘What if we just call in all the clowns? What if we just get the court jesters …’” he told CNA. 

In his remarks, Pope Francis referenced a prayer, mistakenly attributed to St. Thomas More, to “give me a sense of humor, Lord,” saying he has prayed it every day for more than 40 years.