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Good morning.

Imagine a group of people, trying to hold a face to face conversation, whilst suffering all the disruptions that are such a frustrating feature of the video call. A dog barks over one person’s speech; another is repeatedly ejected from the room; a third tries to make a comment, their lips move but the words remain muted. During lockdown, I can spend hours of each day in virtual conferences so, when I saw the sketch I’ve just briefly described on social media last weekend, I laughed loud and long.

A good joke releases tension; I cannot be alone in needing that in present circumstances. But beyond that, I love the way humour can invite us to see a situation from a different, unlikely angle. From that unexpected perspective, fresh insights and understandings arise. That is as true of religious wisdom as it is of the etiquette of internet meetings.

At the heart of Umberto Eco’s bestselling novel The Name of the Rose, lies a dispute between two factions in a medieval monastery. One affirms the place of enjoyment in life, including humour, the other espouses a strict, ascetic outlook. The question of whether Jesus Christ ever laughed, lies at the heart of the argument. The Gospels don’t record him doing so explicitly, yet again and again he tells stories full of humorous elements, or engages in jocular banter with his protagonists. I’m sure he’s inviting his hearers to find the funny side of the story, and so to discover deep truths about God and themselves.

I find that I often have more in common with those of different faiths or traditions, with whom I share an enjoyment of humour, than I have with people who follow their religion with a puritanical, stony face. I loved the jokes that Rabbi Lionel Blue regaled radio listeners with for so many years. Indeed, in my gallery of saints, missionaries and mystics must share space with cartoonists and comedians. All can help us find the truth we are seeking; pointing us to the right place when we are obsessed with looking somewhere wrong. Indeed, through humour we can often find something we weren’t even looking for – or find something longed for, in a place quite unexpected.,

In my early years as a bishop, I was interviewed on a Â鶹Éç local radio station for their version of Desert Island Discs. The presenter had warned me that his final question would be unexpected and that he wanted me to answer it without pausing to think. When the question came it was short and succinct. What was I most looking forward to in heaven? My answer was immediate - the sound of God laughing.

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