Jesus wasn’t a comedian. But he knew the power of a great punchline.

A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs

Find today’s readings here.

The parables are perhaps my favorite Gospels to read and interpret. From The Prodigal Son to The Sower parable in today’s reading, they show Jesus at his strongest preaching to the people and evangelizing them to the faith. Something about the way Jesus strings together the story to deliver a powerful message to an audience is quite captivating. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found a connection to Jesus and the way he delivers his parables in the most unlikely of places: stand-up comedy.

Performing a stand-up set is all about bringing the audience into the story you are telling. The more roped in they are, the more likely it is that they will be caught off guard by a joke; leading to the one thing every comedian craves: laughter. When I’m compiling a set or trying to come up with jokes, the best ones I’ve come up with are the ones that start with a long set-up story and end with a joke to break the tension.

Jesus in this Gospel is not telling a joke nor should his words not be taken seriously. The lesson he delivers to the crowd is important. As he puts it, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” However, he does also have an important task to accomplish: He must get the audience to open themselves up to what he’s saying and listen.

Jesus does not start with the lesson at the heart of the parable. He doesn’t just say, “You guys should listen to the word of God, it’s pretty neat.” That would be like starting with the punchline. He works up to it. Like a good comedian he sets the lesson up, he tells a story, he captures the audience’s attention. The sower and seeds parable is so effective because it is an interesting and, in some ways, a slightly humorous story. 

There’s an idea in comedy known as “the rule of three.” It essentially means that the best jokes can be repeated three times throughout a set for maximum effectiveness and memorability. Jesus does this here. Three times he describes different ways the seed could fall and not flourish. Although it’s not a joke, it is undoubtedly more memorable and powerful through the repetition he employs. 

Then like a good comedian, Jesus delivers the punchline. He explains the point of the story and gives the lesson at the heart of it. He tells the crowd the point of the story and explains the importance of opening oneself to the word of God. Ironically Jesus, through his story, gets the crowd to actually perform the lesson themselves. He gets them to listen to the word of God by telling a parable about the importance of listening to the word of God—undoubtedly there is some humor in that. 

Ultimately, Jesus is not a comedian. There is nothing more important than the words he says. But I like to think that Jesus would be a comedy fan. He follows the tropes. And, in the end, he delivers a great punchline.

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