Comedy: Generosity

Artist: Scott Erickson

Introduction

Freely we receive, freely we give.

“The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.’” (Luke 1:28 NIV)

Sometimes I get the idea that God has placed me in a divine comedy. I mean, if I just think about the ways that God has invited me to participate in His Kingdom coming to earth it truly is funny. Once, I invaded a brothel with a Grandma who brought cupcakes (it's’ a long story but trust me— it’s funny). 

I met a really important world leader of a denomination on a big stage in front of thousands of people and when we embraced our bobby-pins stuck together! I’m not even joking. Of all the people he could have chosen, He chose me. The least qualified, the most unlikely, the one who so often gets it wrong. And in case you haven’t noticed the advent story is filled with this divine comedy.

One moment that strikes me as particularly joy-filled and really quite hilarious, is the moment when Mary goes to Elizabeth to deal with the news of her newfound condition. It’s funny on so many levels. Mary has been chosen by God as a divine instrument through which to partner in bringing God to earth. A woman. A virgin. A young girl.

Mary’s song is one of the most inflammatory passages of scripture you will ever read (and has been banned in places because of its fiery rhetoric) and yet it is also saturated in divine cheeky comedy. God chose me?! What?! It’s the biggest, most ridiculous, hilarious decision of the cosmic order. We have a plan to redeem the entire human race and the created order and we choose… (drum roll), the most insignificant person we can find.

Now, I mean no disrespect to Mary, quite the opposite. God didn’t choose her in spite of her social standing, or age, or gender, or situation. He chose her BECAUSE of them. He chose her to display HIS power. I imagine God winking at the legions of angels as He sends Gabriel with the message. The scriptures suggest in Revelation that there is a lot of fuss and noise in the heavenlies over this event. To be sure, I can hear in my spirit the sound of singing, and shouting, and a whole lot of laughter! This is God’s plan? Indeed.

To confirm this as the plan of God, the angel tells Mary that another birth is going to happen to another woman at the opposite end of the social spectrum in age and standing (religious leader’s wife, too old to get pregnant). And even though this woman is married to a priest (and a good one at that) the priest cannot even speak about what is going on.

The one guy who could explain everything to the people who are trying to understand what on earth is going on—CANNOT TALK. People, this is funny.

And this is part of the nature of this story of Jesus entering the world. It’s packaged in joy. It’s funny because He chooses the most unlikely, ill-qualified, confused people to work with and through. And yes, I’m thinking about you! And me. We are invited into a divine comedy that is not making fun of us—no, it is inviting us to the party—to belly laugh with God.