Jesus’s ‘Beatitudes’ carry familiar phrases – ‘Blessed are the meek/Blessed are the poor in Spirit/etc’. A recent Facebook post offered a wonderful modern-day ‘Beatitude’: ‘Blessed are we who laugh at ourselves, for we shall always be entertained.’ It was accompanied by a photo of three monkeys in fits of laughter. Wise, as well as witty, words. (With thanks to the ‘Clergy Coaching Network’ Facebook group for this ‘Beatitude’.)
February is not renowned as a fun month. Winter’s cold and gloom have their welcome, even if the days lengthen. As a child of the ’60s, my domestic soundtrack included Flanders and Swann’s songs. ‘February’s ice and sleet, freeze the toes right off your feet,’ they sang in the gloriously British ‘Song of the Weather’. ‘In July the sun is hot. Is it shining? No it’s not’, and so on. Why did I need to study meteorology, with this classic guide to the weather? Laughter isn’t always possible, of course. But joy and laughter surely stem from the very roots of our being. To finish, a poem by Paul Bunday which wonderfully
imagines the source of it all. Suitable for February and any month.
In the beginning…
God laughed
And the firmament fumed and spluttered with pleasure; and the sea shook
the foam of hair from his eyes.
And the earth was glad.
The sound of laughter
Was like the swaying and swinging of thunder in mirth; Like the rush of the
north on a drowsy and dozing land;
It was cold. It was clear.
The lion leapt down at the bleating feet of the frightened lamb and smiled.
And the viper was tamed by the thrill of the earth,
At the holy laughter.
We laughed, for the Lord was laughing with us in the evening; for the
laughter of love went peeling into the night;
And it was good.
