It’s not unusual to hear reports that Elvis Presley is alive, well and running a local chippy or driving a van in Somerton. But I was really surprised to wake up a couple of Sundays ago to hear John Lennon being interviewed on the radio. Sadly, this didn’t mean that he hadn’t been murdered after all – instead, Radio Four was re-running a lost interview. It felt good to hear his voice again.
In the interview he was talking about his experience of going to church when he was 14. I would love to say that he was saying only positive things but he wasn’t. Although he said he believed in God and in Jesus, he also talked about being thrown out of church with a group of friends for laughing in a service. Of course, we don’t know the full story, and it might have been a nightmarish situation. But Lennon was absolutely clear that he gave up on church because of this experience.
Coincidentally, only the night before hearing the interview, I was asked by someone, quite seriously, whether I was actually allowed to laugh any more – especially in church – now that I wear a dog collar!
I haven’t had a personality by-pass and still enjoy a good laugh, but these two events made me think …. What would life be like without laughter? Does God disapprove of it? Does being a Christian mean that I have to suppress my sense of the ridiculous and be serious from now on?
Surely life would be impossible without laughter. I can’t believe that God disapproves of it … it’s one of His most wonderful inventions. That is not to say that we all need to be walking around laughing uncontrollably all the time – we might be slightly worried about each other if we did! But just as we can’t deny our feelings when we are unhappy, we can’t deny the times when we feel happy or see the funny side of something. It’s part of being fully human.
So, take a moment to remember the laughter of a small child, a group of good friends, or of an audience in the theatre, on the radio or television. And enjoy it when it’s actually you, your friends, your children or grandchildren that are laughing! Have a good summer.
Lydia
Avery
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