Laughing Jesus?
Thinking about the Wedding at Cana - and not just because of my fondness for wine ... It also comes up regularly as a Luminous Mystery of the Rosary. I've turned over in my mind many times the chilly answer Jesus gives his mother when she tells him the wedding's run out of wine, and I've never really felt satisfied by what I ended up with. Until now, maybe.
Jesus says, "Woman, how does your concern affect me? My time has not yet come."
And then Mary says to the servers, "Do whatever he tells you."
She doesn't have any doubt that he's going to do something, nor did she doubt that he would be able to solve the problem (which makes one wonder, tangentially, how she knows that this is the moment he's chosen to perform his first miracle and begin his public ministry?).
So yesterday it pops into my head, what if he's kidding when he answers her? Sometimes I'll put on a show of being falsely ornery when people ask me to do something, but usually only if we're close, as close as husband and wife, brother and sister, mother and son. Kris, for example, might say, "honey, while you're up, could you pour me a glass of that wine you're drinking." And I might say, in a really over-the-top-sort-of-huffy-pompous voice, "What, am I your servant, suddenly? I would not get you a drink if the bottle were in my hand and ..." Blah, blah, blah, and meanwhile of course, I'm pouring Kris a glass of wine and bringing it to her with all haste. And it's funny, because we both know I'm kidding and would really mean the opposite.
There are other times when I see this core script played out when someone timidly poses the question, "could I ask a favor?" and the respondent replies with a comic psuedo rebuff to illustrate how silly it is that the person should even have to ask... Question: "Can I ask a favor?" Answer: "Absolutely not." Understood meaning: "Of course, silly, I would do anything for you. All you have to do is ask me."
So what do you think? Possible Jesus is jesting here? His actions indicate that he means the opposite of what he says, that Mary's concern over the wine does mean something to him, and also that his time has come. If so, it would remind me of the way Gibson portrayed him joking with Mary during the flashback scenes in The Passion. Can anyone think of other times when Jesus expresses his sense of humor?
Jesus says, "Woman, how does your concern affect me? My time has not yet come."
And then Mary says to the servers, "Do whatever he tells you."
She doesn't have any doubt that he's going to do something, nor did she doubt that he would be able to solve the problem (which makes one wonder, tangentially, how she knows that this is the moment he's chosen to perform his first miracle and begin his public ministry?).
So yesterday it pops into my head, what if he's kidding when he answers her? Sometimes I'll put on a show of being falsely ornery when people ask me to do something, but usually only if we're close, as close as husband and wife, brother and sister, mother and son. Kris, for example, might say, "honey, while you're up, could you pour me a glass of that wine you're drinking." And I might say, in a really over-the-top-sort-of-huffy-pompous voice, "What, am I your servant, suddenly? I would not get you a drink if the bottle were in my hand and ..." Blah, blah, blah, and meanwhile of course, I'm pouring Kris a glass of wine and bringing it to her with all haste. And it's funny, because we both know I'm kidding and would really mean the opposite.
There are other times when I see this core script played out when someone timidly poses the question, "could I ask a favor?" and the respondent replies with a comic psuedo rebuff to illustrate how silly it is that the person should even have to ask... Question: "Can I ask a favor?" Answer: "Absolutely not." Understood meaning: "Of course, silly, I would do anything for you. All you have to do is ask me."
So what do you think? Possible Jesus is jesting here? His actions indicate that he means the opposite of what he says, that Mary's concern over the wine does mean something to him, and also that his time has come. If so, it would remind me of the way Gibson portrayed him joking with Mary during the flashback scenes in The Passion. Can anyone think of other times when Jesus expresses his sense of humor?
posted by Ernesto at 7:13 AM
2 Comments:
Ernesto, excellent question! I often wondered why he responded like that. I have to admit, my mind stayed with your stories and analogies. I wish I knew what your voice sound like as I made up one in my mind as I read your responses...
As I mentioned in an off-blog communication with Ernesto, if I'd even called my mother "woman" I'd better have been smiling. But that exchange between Jesus and Mary almost certainly suggests something about the undercurrents of their relationship. Perhaps it was humor, but it sounds strangely like the way that many modern sons speak with their mothers. Moms are always pushing their sons to live up to their potential. Sons frequently act like they could care less what their mothers think, but then turn around and exceed their mothers' expectations. The humor here is not that of the stand-up comic, but it is humorous in a Seinfeldian vein.
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