It was interesting reading Kedo’s The Happiness Of God in Morung Express, Feb 3, 2014. It reminded me of two teachings: first, that there was no laughter in the world. No one knew how to laugh. On funny sights and events they just expressed, ‘pvudukro ke, ke,ke ’. Humanity then decided to buy laughter. They bought it for a Mithun that gave them liberty to laugh as they liked as they continue today. This is from Kyong folktale which perhaps the other tribes tell in their versions as well. One may wonder why the most priced sacrificial animal among the Naga tribes was paid for laughter. The readers may not rush in connecting this ancient tribal story (from their collective unconscious?) with Jesus the greatest sacrificial Savior who gave humanity a religion of Joy. However, the analogy can be heuristic.
Many people seem to have written about the redemptive power of laughter or the laughter of God. I remember a friend asking me many years ago if Jesus ever laughed in his association with his friends. I told her that Jesus, for sure, would not be a person with insecure feeling, dejected, or grave at all times. He was certainly a humorous Savior and Lord. If he was a person of grave disposition and temperament only he would not have attracted so many people, especially among the simple folks of Galilee who must have been arrested not only by the words of salvation but also by the humorous way it was presented. People who surmise Jesus as a humor filled Lord often say he would have surely laughed, at least smiled on his friend’s remark on his enforcement of the better wine at the end contrary to the custom. The Gospel writers found no space and time to record but perhaps Jesus addressed those who always rushed for food and filled themselves first, leaving those in the last queue with the lesser quality. When he called his followers ‘white washed tombs’ the intent must have been more than a direct judgment and condemnation though a blast of laughter following the remark is not recorded. If his followers had not recognized His voice they would not have continued following Him when he described their nominal religiosity saying they strain out gnats but swallow camels.
As Jesus sat with the simple folks for several rounds of discourse and told many stories there certainly must have been many such humorous remarks made to pierce their hearts, to lighten their spirits to not only tuck the truth he communicated to them but also cement their friendship. If we take Jesus as one who gave us a religion of Joy, Jesus, and for that matter, God the Father, must have been a happy God, as Kedo Peseiye holds. Let us thank for making such a costly sacrifice himself to give us joy and happiness.
