Continuing with the exploration and reflection through a series of articles written in a conversational language about Catholicism, about God, about Jesus, about the Church and many other faith related topics. Here we present:
Question 52 – Has Jesus laughed?
It can’t be proved that Jesus* laughed. In many images Jesus looks severe or sad. The Bible* explicitly mentions that Jesus cried, and that he was sometimes angry but never that he laughed.
Usually religion is associated with deep and serious things. Could this really not go hand in hand with laughter? Jesus also says in the Bible, ‘I want you to feel the same joy as I do. I want your joy to be perfect’ (Jn 15:11). Indeed, there is a lot of evidence that Jesus loved to laugh and laughed a lot.
Jesus was a real man. He did what ordinary people do. He was not a teetotaler. Jesus loved to dine and enjoyed fine wines at weddings. He preferred to do this together with others. Some of his opponents even accused him of being a party animal. We know that Jesus was a born storyteller. People were hanging on his lips. Jesus loved the birds and the flowers. Above all, he loved other people, like no other person has ever loved other people.
In short, Jesus showed all the qualities of a happy and joyful person. So Jesus also loved to laugh well. There is no other way.
– What is the connotation of the Christian faith for you: serious, sad, joyful?
– Are there aspects of the life of Jesus and of the Christian faith that make you happy?
This is the final reflection of the series of articles “52 Questions and Answers about faith” . We hope you enjoyed them and if you wish to go back to previous questions please following this link.
About the author:
Nikolaas Sintobin, SJ, joined the Society of Jesus in 1989, following a short career as a lawyer. He was trained as a Jesuit in Brussels, Paris, and Santiago de Chile. Today he is a spiritual director who is keenly interested in online ministry and discovering new ways to help people find God.
This text is republished with the permission of Messenger Publications, Ireland. To buy a hard copy of the book click here.
