By Maria Sermersheim
Meditatione Ignis
It has long been important to me to be attentive to language — my own and others’. I don’t mean language like English or German, though if you know me, you know I care about that sense of language, too. I mean the way that we describe things, the words we use and the characterizations we make. The way we speak affects our perception, so I find it important to be precise with language. Recently, I have noticed my very frequent imprecision by often introducing stories and observations with the phrase, “it’s so funny…” I use “funny” to describe so many situations in so many different senses that it has become a bit of a joke with my friends. The situation is “funny” in this comical sense, “funny” in this weird or awkward sense, “funny” in the sense that the pieces do not fit together. On one hand, this ubiquity of the phrase shows my appreciation for the wide definition of “funny,” and it keeps many unfunny things a little more lighthearted. On the other hand, I question whether it is good to put so many varying events under the same umbrella, to characterize the good, the bad and the ugly as all “so funny.”
As Catholics, as an Easter people, we know that Christ has conquered the world, and he urges us to take heart in the midst of worldly trials on account of our confidence in him (John 16:33). St. Paul modeled this lack of fear during his imprisonment when he wrote his letter to the Philippians, saying, “My eager expectation and hope is that I shall not be put to shame in any way, but that with all boldness, now as always, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death” (Philippians 1:18-20). Paul was unbothered by the specific result, life or death, and encouraged the Philippians to rejoice for the sake of Christ being proclaimed in either way. I wonder again about the word “funny.” Does it capture the Christian spirit and attitude toward the world, especially when describing generally “unfunny” things? Is Christ magnified by my description of so many things as “funny?”
I think that as long as I adhere to Paul’s admonition in the conclusion of his letter, then it’s acceptable for all of life to be “funny.” He wrote, “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). If the source of my peace and “funny” perspective is Christ, the cornerstone of my life and the conqueror of worldly troubles, then all is well. The only trouble would be if I use “funny” as a blanket statement without reference to Christ. If I generalize life as “funny” merely to cope and do not recognize the many ways in which Christ redeems it all, then I am doing myself and others a disservice. I hope that I always gloss things as “funny” only in the light of Christ’s death and resurrection, seeing how he allows me to live with no anxiety at all, and letting my language reflect that reality.
Maria Sermersheim is pursuing her doctorate in biblical studies at the University of Notre Dame and is a graduate of Reitz Memorial High School. She welcomes emails at [email protected].