… With oar-naments!
One of the staples of Christmas dinner growing up was pulling a cracker, putting on the paper crown and telling the joke. As a child, at first hearing and with the naivety of youth, they made me chuckle. Now a grown up, and having heard most of them before, they make me groan! I wonder what effect they have on you?
I’m sure we can all agree that cracker jokes are rarely clever. You don’t need much intellect to either chuckle or groan at them. I once heard that that was the point. They weren’t meant to take brain power to work out. They weren’t designed to go over some people’s heads. They were designed to make everyone groan (and a couple laugh). They were meant as an equaliser so everyone was on the same page. They were never meant to be good jokes – they are bad jokes on purpose.
I don’t know whether that is the truth – I like to think it is because the alternative is someone somewhere thought they’d written a bunch of fantastic jokes and would be very disappointed by they’re reception!
I also like it because it means everyone is included. A bad joke can make the rounds in the office or on the bus. People can understand the punchline and no-one feels left behind (at least in principle). And part of the reason I like that idea is because that is what church should be, what following Jesus should be like. Jesus called fishermen and tax collectors, zealots and Pharisees, thieves and rich men, officials and prostitutes – he called everyone with no regard to any societal hierarchy. Everyone was welcome, everyone was equal. Was, and is.
The message of Jesus shouldn’t make you groan or chuckle, but it should be for everyone. It’s a message of unconditional love, of undeserved grace, of the impossible made possible. It might make you gasp or sing or even cry – that’s up to the listener. (OK, maybe a bit of groaning or chuckling might happen, but not because it’s bad!)
As we journey to Christmas we hear of a virgin, pregnant and unmarried, travelling to a backwater village with her carpenter fiance, visited by shepherd’s and wise men. There is space for everyone. It’s not a joke (good or bad) but something real, a promise kept, a hope for the future. Whoever you are reading this: there is room for you too. God’s message and kingdom is for everyone – the greatest equaliser of all.
What do you use to drain your vegetables at Christmas?
An advent colander!
(Sorry, I couldn’t resist!)
The Reason for my Hope Blog 