looking (and believing) like a fool

A Meditation for Holy Humor Sunday
April 11, 2010
Shalom Mennonite Church

Text: John 20:19-29 (Thomas' encounter with the risen Jesus)

"looking (and believing) like a fool"

A toilet plunger is a symbol for foolishness in our household; it has been ever since Yolanda and I lived in Denver during our years of graduate school and seminary. One day the toilet in our small apartment backed up and we had to borrow a plunger from some friends. After employing it (successfully) it came time to return it. Yolanda suggested that since it was such a nice day we should walk the two miles to our friends' home. I considered walking across campus, through nearby neighborhoods and at least one busy business district carrying a toilet plunger. I replied, "No thanks, I'd rather drive."

I didn't want to look foolish. Most of us don't. We'd rather be seen as competent, capable, relevant and responsive to the situation at hand. We want to be seen as having our act together. For most of us, this fine art of fitting in happens almost reflexively and unconsciously; we learned it from a very young age. It is embarrassing to look foolish! It's to be avoided!

I think Thomas wanted to avoid appearing as foolish. He didn't want to go out proclaiming something outlandish like, "Jesus is risen!", without some kind of proof. So, he makes a rather ridiculous and absurd statement; "I'll believe it when I can poke my fingers in the nail wounds in his hands and stick my hand in the spear wound in his side."

The next time the disciples gather in the cloistered "upper room" Thomas is with them. When Jesus appears he gives his now familiar greeting, "Peace be with you," before turning to Thomas and saying "Alright Thomas, feel free to have a poke around!"

I imagine a stunned Thomas turning to Peter and saying "I'm not going to touch it, you touch it." And Peter replying, "I'm not going to touch it, you touch it!"

It is difficult for me to imagine this scene unfolding without there being laughter erupting at some point. In fact, I can't imagine any of the resurrection stories happening without laughter - Jesus laughing, the disciples laughing, and those of us reading the stories today laughing at the sheer joy of it all! Why is it we tell these stories of resurrection with such solemnity and seriousness most of the time?

Certainly it wasn't all laughs for those first disciples after the resurrection. They were sent out to share the Good News with others. And we know from the stories that have been passed down that they were often met with disbelief, resistance, or even aggression.

This really isn't a surprise given the message they were bearing: A messiah who was condemned a heretic and crucified a criminal, a man who rose up from the dead, and a Way that included befriending tax collectors and sinners, nonresistance to evil and violence, poverty, forgiveness, and letting go of self-centered living and self-righteous believing. Pretty foolish stuff in the eyes of the world.

As the Apostle Paul would later tell folks in the early church, the wisdom of God is foolishness in the eyes of the world (1 Corinthians 1:18-21). To be a disciple, one must become a "fool for Christ."

We continue to proclaim a Way that runs against the grain of much in this world, and it can seem quite silly to many. And for those who come and ask us for proof, for empirical evidence for our belief we have no data to offer - no more and no less than the first believers. We are meant, quite simply, to reflect it through our lives.

This is not an easy Way. Great leaps of faith, hope and love are required of us to follow the example of Jesus in this world today. And perhaps one of the greater risks we face is getting really, really serious about it. There are a great many really, really serious people in the church! (And we don't need any more).

It's kind of funny, really, because we profess to follow one who knew how to party, and laugh, and savor life in its fullness. Jesus never once told his followers to "get serious." Yes, he did call their attention to quite serious and important things in this world and in people's lives. However, we might pay attention to how he did this. By gathering with people at table, by sharing in conversations, by engaging life in a wakeful, passionate way, Jesus taught his followers to love passionately! And how can one do that without joyful exuberance and a good laugh from time to time?

Jesus grounded his teaching in earthy, homey, ordinary things: mustard seeds, oil lamps, fish, bread, wine, water, wind, mud. Perhaps he did this to remind folks that when we take ourselves and our religion too seriously, we tend to remove ourselves from living in touch with our world - we get "holier than thou" and "holier than now."

Who know, Jesus may have been earthy enough to make a parable out of a toilet plunger . . .

The Joy of God is like a toilet plunger. It has the power to unclog the messy gunk that plugs us up and blocks us from flowing in this life with grace, peace and playfulness!