In the news recently was the story of a 61 year old man who was taken to the hospital at more than five times the drunken driving limit. He claimed that he had had absolutely nothing to drink, at which the doctors laughed. The fact of the matter, however, was that the man had had nothing alcoholic to drink. His stomach produces brewer’s yeast, which means that any starches he eats ferment in his stomach. The man—dubbed “the human brewery”—ended up getting totally tanked without even touching a drop of alcohol. The auto-brewery syndrome patient has been placed on anti-fungal drugs, in addition to his low-carb diet, in an effort to keep his alcohol levels down. His wife had thought he was a closet drinker. It’s actually quite a bit different, but still the closest thing we’ve ever heard of to Jesus’ miracle of changing water into wine. Thus, some have dubbed him the Texas Jesus!
Do you think Jesus had a sense of humor? Do you think the crowds that went to hear him preach ever laughed at something Jesus said because Jesus intended to be funny? Do you think he appreciates being included in jokes about the Texan whose stomach turns water into beer? An article by Richard Allin in The Anglican Digest several years ago laments the fact that there seems to be so little humor in the Bible. “The Book of Proverbs,” he says, “would have been a lovely place for recording witticisms of the day.” I especially liked this part, since you enjoyed the redneck jokes a few weeks ago: “Weren’t there rednecks in biblical days that might lend themselves to some bits of wisdom? For example, a Proverb might be: ‘You’re a redneck if you come back from the city dump with more than you took. Or, you’re a redneck if you have a toothpick in your mouth during your wedding. Saith the Lord.”
Would Jesus tell a joke today? Elton Trueblood, in his book The Humor of Christ, maintains that Jesus did use humor in his teachings. His book is all about the humor that is found in the synoptic accounts of the Gospel, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. This is what Trueblood says by way of introduction to his thesis: “Anyone who reads the Synoptic Gospels with a relative freedom from presuppositions might be expected to see that Christ laughed, and that he expected others to laugh, but our capacity to miss this aspect of his life is phenomenal. We are so sure that he was always deadly serious that we often twist his words in order to try to make them conform to our preconceived mold. A misguided piety has made us fear that acceptance of his obvious wit and humor would somehow be mildly blasphemous or sacrilegious. Religion, we think, is serious business, and serious business is incompatible with banter.”
Jesus did tell jokes, according to Trueblood, many of these jokes being recorded in scripture, and the reason we don’t get the jokes is because we are so sure that he was always serious. The reason I have said so much about the humor of Christ is because I believe, along with Elton Trueblood, that the parable we heard in today’s Gospel, the parable of the unjust steward, is a joke, although a joke with a point. The steward evidently was in charge of the rented lands of his master. Apparently he had been dishonest, most likely keeping more of the profits than were rightly his. The master finds out and tells him he is finished.
The steward doesn’t give up, however. Deciding he can’t dig ditches and that he is too proud to beg, he takes another course of action. He calls together all of the renters before they have had a chance to learn that the steward has been fired, and generously reduces their debts, which they then pay. His master through the process is made to look like a very generous man, while at the same time being cheated once more out of his rightful due; and the steward has made friends, some of whom will probably be willing to hire him. Upon hearing of the steward’s cheating him of his money once again, the master doesn’t chastise him or threaten him. Instead, he congratulates him for his shrewdness. Jesus ends the parable by saying, “The sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal habitations.”
In other words, “Be as unscrupulous as you can be.” This is the exact antithesis of everything else Jesus says about money in many other parts of the Gospel. And furthermore, he says the exact opposite in the paragraph which follows immediately. “He who is faithful in a very little also is faithful in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true riches?”
There is no way that we can be absolutely certain, but the most logical answer to this seeming contradiction is that Jesus was joking, that he said the exact opposite of what he really meant. It was with a point, however, and the point is this: We Christians should be zealous in preparing ourselves for eternity; just as zealous as that unjust steward was in saving his neck. And we prepare ourselves for eternity by receiving the Sacrament as often as possible, saying our prayers, reading and studying Holy Scripture. We prepare ourselves for eternity by giving generously of our time, talent, and treasure to God’s work. And we prepare ourselves for eternity by working at being loving in all of our relationships and by being willing to forgive over and over again.
The spiritual side of life, that part of life having to do with our relationship with God and with others, is not only that part of life that endures, but also that part of life that makes the rest of life worth living. Jesus is encouraging us to strive zealously to mature in our spiritual lives.
I think Jesus did tell jokes. I’ll bet that laughter was often heard wherever he was, for life lived in the presence of Jesus is a joyful life.
Sermon preached by the Reverend Fredrick A. Robinson
The Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota, Florida
18th Sunday after Pentecost
22 September 2013