Jokes in homilies?

[Andrew_11]

My priest begins almost every homily with a joke, and he is one of the best priests I have ever had. He is a very devout, holy man, and his jokes are usually religous.

 

[Donna_Mc]

I agree with Mark here, occassional is the key word. I think humor is fine to some degree, it’s just that last weekend it seemed to be one joke after another. This priest jokes every
week, maybe he didn’t realize just how far he went with it that
day. I would say there were at least five jokes in the course of
that one Mass. He certainly has his good points, but all those
laughs during that one Mass just didn’t set right with me. It
felt like he was trying to entertain us, and granted the people
seemed to like it.

 

[rwoehmke]

I have been involved in one way or another in teaching on religous topics and ideas for over 40 years. What I have found in talking with participants days or even months later that they don’t always remember the technical details, but they do remember stories about people and situations that encapsulate the lesson. A joke for a joke’s sake does not seem to me to cut the required mustard.

 

[mark_e_rhodes]

rwoehmke:

I have been involved in one way or another in teaching on religous topics and ideas for over 40 years. What I have found in talking with participants days or even months later that they don’t always remember the technical details, but they do remember stories about people and situations that encapsulate the lesson. A joke for a joke’s sake does not seem to me to cut the required mustard.

I agree. I write stories and poems, so I deeply appreciate memorable scenes and lines. I think this is one reason jokes/cutsie stories irk me—they’re not from the priest’s life or experience; they’re from forwarded e-mails or someone else’s jokebook.
People love stories. That’s why God put so many in the Bible! And they’re better than the ones priests too often substitute for them.
I realize I’m a hard-liner on this subject.
Mark

 

[mark_e_rhodes]

GoLatin:

I was at a Mass a few Sundays ago, when the Priest’s cell phone went off during the Sermon. Either he made it ring, or he had somebody dial his number.

The Priest answered it, and pretended that it was a call from God!

I was in a parish last Christmas Eve and the priest had a Santa Claus come in, kneel at the manger scene, and then talk to the preist about being boys and girls. I thought: “Putting Jesus and Santa on the same footing in a church is too much. What are the kids going to think when they realize there’s no Santa Claus?”

What do these funny priests say on Trinity Sunday? That’s my acid test. I used to teach RCIA and could talk for 45 minutes about the Trinity. I’ve yet to hear a priest say much about the Trinity on Trinity Sunday. Other than, “It’s a mystery! Who can understand it! Fortunately, we don’t have to! Reminds me of this funeral procession and a guy walking behind the hearse with a big, mean dog…”

 

[mark_e_rhodes]

KnightErrantJR:

Then you have the pastor that I heard at my uncle’s funeral that decied to go for the NASCAR angle, and NEVER LET IT GO. He constantly talked about the Holy Spirit as your spotter, telling you when things were coming up on your bumper . . . after a while it just seemed to be someone talking down to a bunch of hicks that could never understand higher spiritual comments without using this analogy.

What a nightmare! Though as a writer, I wish I could have heard it…
I think many priests don’t realize how hungry parishioners are for substance. I mean, if you go to your doctor, he may say something funny and that’s a plus, but you’re going there for another reason. When someone tells me their pastor is funny and all they remember are the jokes, I think, “Well, what did that priest get across? Anything?”
I distinguish between humor and jokes. Humor is a matter of perspective, a spontaneity; jokes are canned. Big difference!
I fear I’m rambling…
Mark

 

[MarthaMartha]

mark_e_rhodes:

I was in a parish last Christmas Eve and the priest had a Santa Claus come in, kneel at the manger scene, and then talk to the preist about being boys and girls. I thought: “Putting Jesus and Santa on the same footing in a church is too much. What are the kids going to think when they realize there’s no Santa Claus?”

Frightening.

My son’s parochial school used to do a Nativity play during their Christmas concert. The Wise Men brought their gifts, the shepherds brought their gifts . . . then one of the tiny kindergarten boys dressed as Santa Claus came down the aisle and laid a gift at the feet of Baby Jesus.

It was a Yes, Virginia moment. There IS a Santa Claus – and he is YOU, kids. And Christmas is about giving to Jesus.

 

[Frank_Roman]

As long as the joke or humorous story has a point then its okay. What’s bad is when I heard a priest give an entire homily about StarWars and Spiderman at a school mass. (It wasn’t really a homily, but a dialogue with kids in the pews which took place after the readings, yes this was within the context of the Mass)

 

[mark_e_rhodes]

MarthaMartha:

My son’s parochial school used to do a Nativity play during their Christmas concert. The Wise Men brought their gifts, the shepherds brought their gifts . . . then one of the tiny kindergarten boys dressed as Santa Claus came down the aisle and laid a gift at the feet of Baby Jesus.

It was a Yes, Virginia moment. There IS a Santa Claus – and he is YOU, kids. And Christmas is about giving to Jesus.

I like the idea about giving to Jesus. I was in a parish last Advent and said something in a reflection at daily Mass about trees and presents gathering under them but there was one child with nothing under the tree—Jesus. I suggested people give Jesus a present. Not something from the store, of course, but something from the heart, for him.

 

[pnewton]

KnightErrantJR:

I know that it wasn’t strictly a homily, but Fulton Sheen, several times, in making very good points in his talks on television told some really good humorous stories. .

This was the first thing I thought when I saw this topic.

I love a good joke in any type of speech, if done well and appropriately. It not only helps hold the attention of the listener so that the important points may be heard, but a joke will also serve as a mnenomic device to help the homily stay longer in the brain. One visiting priest I know who always gives the best homilies, also always includes a little humor. Fortunately, he is a seminary professor of homelitics.