Niels Bohr, the great Danish...
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Niels Bohr, the great Danish physicist who pioneered with quantum physics and laid the groundwork for the "atomic age," is also remembered for his quip: "Some things are so serious you can only joke about them." David Steinberg, the comedian, has frequently observed that he can't make up his mind whether to be a comedian or a rabbi.
Passion/Palm Sunday has this dual aspect of comedy and tragedy. A King riding on an ass. Some commentators emphasize that the scene is made even more ludicrous if you understand that this "lowly king" is riding on two animals at once -- the ass and the colt! (See Matthew's version of the story.)
It is "funny," too, if it weren't so sad, that the same people who are cheering, "hosanna" now will shortly be screaming "crucify."
But, you know, a joke can give us a powerful insight. A joke can motivate us like nothing else. The foolishness of God betrays our foolishness and moves us to shape up. We can laugh -- even in church -- because our sin is so serious that God has done something about it! If God took our sin too seriously in the wrong sort of way, we would all be annihilated.
Passion/Palm Sunday has this dual aspect of comedy and tragedy. A King riding on an ass. Some commentators emphasize that the scene is made even more ludicrous if you understand that this "lowly king" is riding on two animals at once -- the ass and the colt! (See Matthew's version of the story.)
It is "funny," too, if it weren't so sad, that the same people who are cheering, "hosanna" now will shortly be screaming "crucify."
But, you know, a joke can give us a powerful insight. A joke can motivate us like nothing else. The foolishness of God betrays our foolishness and moves us to shape up. We can laugh -- even in church -- because our sin is so serious that God has done something about it! If God took our sin too seriously in the wrong sort of way, we would all be annihilated.
