We were having dinner in a Chinese restaurant near the Ohio State University campus when I noticed the statue in the corner. It was Buddha with a broad smile. I’ve always loved a deity with a good sense of humor, so it made me smile back.
I pointed out the statue to my dinner companion, a fellow reporter who was with me to attend a workshop on campus early the next morning.
Knowing she was a deeply religious person, I seized the opportunity to start a conversation beyond the polite chit-chat we were having with our almond chicken and chop sui (or whatever).
I recalled a priest in the Toledo Diocese, now deceased, whom I had once interviewed for a story.
The priest was known for his sense of humor. An author and columnist, he preached a sunny outlook that put earthly life in perspective. For example, in the living room of his small apartment at an East Side parish, he had a bookshelf made out of a coffin. It wasn’t meant to be macabre, he said, but to remind him that life here was merely temporary until he made it to the Kingdom of God. It was also a pretty cool conversation piece that came with a funny story about how he ordered it and had it delivered to his residence – apparently a first for a bewildered casket company clerk.
But the memory that the happy Buddha triggered for me was something else the wisecracking priest had in his room – a painting of a laughing Jesus. It was the only image like it I had ever seen, I told my frosty dinner date.
Big mistake.
Her fork froze halfway between her plate and her sneering lips as she shot me a Church Lady look that made me flinch.
“I don’t remember The Bible ever saying Jesus laughed,” she said sharply.
Whoa.
My first thought was to shoot back, “I don’t remember The Bible saying Jesus peed, either, but since the whole point was that he was a man in the flesh, I’m pretty sure that goes without saying.”
I resisted. I think what I actually said was something like, “I, er, um, yee, ahhhh. Okey-dokey then.”
I had a couple other thoughts, too, that I won’t mention.
That dinner conversation – if you can call it that – crystallized one of my views on religion: It’s Team Smiling Jesus vs. the Church Ladies. I’m certain there are many roads to heaven, and I prefer to take the scenic route, thank you.
The quirky priest left an impression on me. I hope he’s sharing a good laugh with Jesus and Buddha right now.