"A Keen Sense Of Humor Is Not Just A Side Advantage Christians Receive At B

The author is saying that Baptism’s effect goes on and grows into a sharper awareness, of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done and continues to do by virtue of this sacrament we call “Baptism.” The man’s physical sight was but the ground or basis, for a greater sight. Now how did that greater sight express itself? Verses twenty-four to thirty-four, give us but one example. In a masterfully crafted dialogue we see that this formerly physically blind fellow has a highly developed sense of humor. The sense of sight is eclipsed by his real vision, his sense of humor. Jesus had it and showed it when he was under attack by his enemies. Because Baptism enables us to imitate Jesus, because we have been undeservedly given his qualities and characteristics, we now have his eternal vision, which allows us to see this world in perspective and with a sense of proportion, the raw material of humor. The man really makes mincemeat out of the Pharisees’ questions and reveals, brings to sight, their hidden motives. He does so not by belittling them or their person, but by putting what they say up against the eternal light, which reveals them for what they are.

A keen sense of humor is not just a side advantage Christians receive at Baptism. It is not like an “extra,” in a Christmas stocking. It is really a byproduct of the eternal vision, an essential characteristic. This is not like the “put down” humor we see on TV where people are ridiculed, the Pharisees did the ridiculing in verse twenty-eight. This is not a sneering, vindictive humor or making fun of another’s handicaps. This is not the humor that attempts to look good at the expense or embarrassment of another. This is the healthy humor that attempts to see things in perspective and help others to do so, to lighten the darkness, to relieve pain, to laugh and experience joy, even if it be fleeting.

Only Christians would see humor in such a serious, quasi-official inquiry, where the supercilious Pharisees are stymied in their attempt to deny facts, to vilify their witness and to stop the progress of God’s kingdom. Only a Christian would or could connect Baptism to humor. Only the eternal vision connects such seeming opposites. Only a Christian can take the earthly power that humor has, baptize it, and thereby increase and multiply its healing and life-enriching effect.

The expulsion of Christians from the synagogues in the writer’s day was very serious, a very high price for Christian Jews to pay. The writer is saying, in effect, that while serious, it is also funny when you look at it from the eternal perspective. That is about as strange as a stranger coming up to a blind man, smearing spit and mud on his eyes and telling him to go jump in a lake! Yet, both work. Sacramental awareness simultaneously sharpens our focus and broadens our horizon. This odd concurrence increases our laughter while, at the same time, it intensifies our seriousness.

Jesus is the light of the world because he lights up the eternal world for those on earth.