the post that's not going to get finished

I've been trying to put this post together for days. But the rock tumbler that is my brain is refusing to disgorge any neatly polished little stones this time round. If you're interested, here's some of the gravel that's been filling my thoughts of late. I keep thinking that I ought to be able to actually get some conclusions about all of it--but if they're there to be found, it's by someone smarter and less distracted than me. And less prone to ruin the joke by over-analyzing it. :P
• God invented laughter
• some of the best comics are those who invite us to laugh at them
• Jesus--God's own fool (Thank you Michael Card)
• Jesus does not protect his own dignity
• humor is critcally situational and ephemeral (I guess you had to be there)
• look at the historical theology we're doing these days--we hardly understand the culture, even if the jokes of the time had been recorded, would they ever translate?
• to laugh at myself requires that I not take myself too seriously . . .
• humility is not the same as thinking badly about myself
• but it is seeing myself truly--and we're all ridiculous and have mortal faults. (xkcd's undignified)
• the concept of sputten--we take truly holy things too lightly
• in part because we take truly ridiculous things too seriously?
• God as our Father . . .
• we delight to make our children laugh
• we play the fool and silliness for them
• it's part of how they know we love them
• we make jokes around them that they don't get
• it's neat to see when they understand enough to get the joke
• it's one of the best things in the world for your kid to make you laugh
• laughter is based in large part on surprise and the unexpected
• we can't surprise God . . .
• but I think we can delight him
• but surely Jesus could be surprised? one of the confines of living within time would have been to not know every detail of the future . . . we know that the Father limited his knowledge within his time on earth
• God obviously invites us to take joy in him . . . enjoy him
• laugh with him? laugh at him? Jesus's role of holy fool and sacrifice invites us to be in on the joke . . . it is Satan who is defeated.
• he is the clown . . . the one who pulls off the impossible . . . (Bello Nock) . . . when laughter is the only response to the jaw-dropping wonder that they actually just did that . . .
• where do funny and joy and awe and all that meet?