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Humor and Joy in Mark, Thomas, Matthew, and Luke
A Bible and Beyond Discussion
Monday, October 25, 2021
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Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig
Host: Shirley Paulson, PhD
Humor and Joy in Mark, Thomas, Matthew, and Luke
Monday, October 25, 2021
Facebook Event Page
Presenter: Dr. Hal Taussig
Within the gospels of Mark, Thomas, Matthew, and Luke is a large set of pithy sayings whose primary meanings are humor and joy. It is probable that most of these sayings existed before these gospels were written and were for generations part of oral lore. A number of these 1-5 sentence jokes, quips, hidden transcripts, teases, burlesques, aphorisms, and celebrative gestures were probably composed by Jesus, but many others by Jesus people in post-Jesus times. And, a large number of them have lost their ancient humor, pleasure, wonder, and charm, becoming more like puzzles and piety.
Oh my word! Loved this. Found it from searching the archive. I’ve always felt that the somber Jesus pictured in paintings and literature is likely to be unrealistic. Dr Taussig’s insights ring true. “Congratulations you poor!” Well, of course. Buck up you guys. You’re in the best position to access the kingdom precisely because you’re poor and have your eyes open wishing for something more. What a riveting shock to be congratulated on their poverty. And then, it’s close to hilarious to tell listeners that they should stop obsessing over the ritual cleanliness of what they ingest when they themselves are producing through elimination really gross stuff. Lighten up guys! And the woman with the jar of flour–how rueful–she’s got it–the kingdom–and she didn’t recognize its worth or pay enough attention to it, so it dribbled away, and when she reached what she thought of as her goal she found that she’d unknowingly let the object of the goal trickle out all along the way. These examples, along with others like ‘swallowing a camel’ or ‘having a plank in your eye’, really are a telling kind of humor–not knee-slapping haw haw, but, by standing the situation on its head and poking fun at the human mind’s fixations, he’s rattling our cages in order to wake us up.