Laughing In The Darkest Moments

I was perusing my Instagram social media feed this morning when I saw something that made me laugh out loud, which isn't easy.  

Instagram is the only social media platform I regularly use. My feed is remarkably free from awful political posts, horrible negativity, and people who just enjoy ruining everyone else's day.  

Clearly, I curated it well.  

It is filled with dark humor, however, which is right up my alley. 

The post that made me laugh out loud was part of a series of "Demotivational Messages."  The message started with one of those standard motivational messages: 

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

You've probably seen that message tastefully painted on a sign you can hang in your house—the kind you find in a charming little shop in a little town you stopped at on your way to a winery or something. 

Then the message went on to say: 

"Just like the first step you take before falling into a ditch." 

You might not be laughing out loud at this, and I get it.  Not everyone has a dark sense of humor, but I imagine enough of us here find some comfort in this message, and I'll explain why. 

In times of peril and ridiculous hardship, sometimes it's liberating to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation.  There is freedom in admitting that you are completely screwed because then you can move more quickly from despair to action.  

I imagine you did not expect that from a pastor. That's okay. I'm not an ordinary pastor, and I have also taken to saying what's on my mind more lately than usual.  

Which brings me to the dark humor part of it.  

Developing a darker sense of humor is a coping mechanism many people employ when they are continuously confronted with the harsh realities of life.  

When I was working as a chaplain in a hospital years ago, I had to come face-to-face with death daily.  I had to sit with people during the worst moments of their lives and witnessed some awful things that I wish I could forget.  

I also discovered that nearly everyone who worked there had, if not a dark sense of humor, at least an edgier sense of humor than anywhere else I'd worked.  The more I thought about it, the more I began to realize just how important it was to be able to laugh amid the worst things.  

Some might find that kind of thing inappropriate, but without the ability to call upon a darker sense of humor, I would not have been able to make it through the program. 

Jesus had that kind of sense of humor, which probably appealed greatly to those who listened to him teach.  

Life under Roman rule was harsh in the first century, and Jesus acknowledged this in his teachings and parables. Still, he wasn't averse to turning things around in darkly humorous ways that undoubtedly got a chuckle from the crowd. 

For example, when he said, "You shouldn't get a blind person to lead another blind person around. Otherwise, they will both fall into the ditch."  (That seemed appropriate today, considering the message I shared) 

Or when he called out the religious types for being so pious, they would tithe the herbs out of their herb garden to the Temple but would then turn around and foreclose on widows down the street.  

Ultimately, we need comedians now much more than politicians and preachers.  

We need to learn to laugh even when things seem dark and twisted, even when we feel like we are completely screwed.  To laugh in the face of danger or find a way to muster up a rueful smile when all seems lost is a step toward hope. 

For many years, my favorite comics and commentators have been John Stewart, longtime host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central, and Stephen Colbert.  

They mix social commentary with edgy humor in ways that acknowledge the moments when things are dire and confront them with defiant hope. I need this right now. We all do.  

The Presbyterian liturgy for a memorial service/funeral contains these words.  "All of us go down to the grave, but even at the grave, we make our song: Alleljuah, Allelujah, Allelujah."  I love this so much.  

Those of us who follow Jesus have the hope to laugh and sing at the moment when all seems lost.  We have this confidence because we follow the One whose example teaches us that if it seems like the end and good has not triumphed over evil, it isn't the end.  

May we all find this hope within us to laugh and sing even as we feel lost.  

And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all, now and forever.