Advent Day 7: Humour

A few days ago I did some research on what Tim Hawkins might have had to say regarding the topic of Christmas.

I would have posted this earlier, unfortunately I wrestled with how to lay out a blog post about it.  I did not want it to be pretentious and inauthentic. This was due the presupposition that Christians, theologians in particular, are not for laughter of any kind.  Sadly, it seems that we can at times perpetuate this false perspective, and then wonder why such a negative assumption exists.

Contrary to said assumption, Christians like to laugh, celebrate, and smile. Some even laugh at themselves, and even if their humour can be a bit dry, it is difficult to not appreciate the brokenness and the humanity in it all.Emboldened by the hope anchored in Jesus the Christ, His spirit, His humanity and God’s proclamation of reconciliation, and through the narrative accounts of  participants and witnesses. Advent reminds us to listen, to laugh and then pass that joy on.

Of course there is a lot to say about humour, laughter and joy around this time of year. How it fits into our advent journey and the important role it plays in unifying communities instead of dividing them. Laughter is found in giving. Comedians, no doubt, spend hours perfecting how they are going to deliver joy in their message.

Joy, the gift and its delivery are all key themes of Advent.

Karl Barth is reported to have said:

‘Joy is the simplest form of gratitude’

‘Away with the yardsticks! Those who cannot sigh with others and laugh about themselves are warmongers…Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God’

In sum, the end result of my two-hour research session, was a video montage found on YouTube. To me, the funniest clip was the one tagged on at the end.

All the clips can be located on his channel @: TimHawkinsComedy (well worth checking out)