Laughing Out Loud

“You should write about laughter.” This is what David Adah-Ogoh told me, one of the many ideas I got when I solicited the Casa community’s thoughts about my next blog. It was an offhand comment, quickly made, just a statement thrown into overlapping opinions. Nevertheless, his idea jumped out at me in the same way that laughter jumps out of a crowded room. Maybe I should write about laughter. 

At FMS, we talk a lot about community, and we use a lot of words to describe what it means, why it is important, and how we do it. However, when I think about community, my soul does not conjure up paragraphs of explanation but rather hears the laughter of those with whom I live, those whom I love. 

Laughter bonds us. It is a glue, a tie, a link that loudly and publicly fastens us to each other in shared delight. No group of people can become a community without first sharing a good laugh. 

Of course, life is not all laughter. Any person who has lived in an intentional community would be quick to admit that it can be a challenge as much as it can be a blessing. In our broken world of broken people, there is more than enough conflict, anger, and resentment to go around. Even the Apostles, we are told, though they were graced with God in their midst, frequently argued within their shared community. However, there is nothing that can bring a fractured group together like a chuckle, nothing that can make people put aside their differences like succumbing to the giggles you can no longer suppress. As I imagine Jesus with his disciples, as I hear someone throwing out a joke to cut the inevitable tension, their laughter sounds a lot like the voices I hear at my dining room table. 

Question for Reflection: When has a moment of laughter bonded your family, friend group, or intentional community?

Claire Bosch and a few of her fellow DCSC volunteers share a joyful moment during their spring retreat at Mt. Irenaeus.