So a rabbi, a priest, and a minister ... now tell lots of jokes

Others see a theological dimension involving the demand for redemption. "We need to laugh at ourselves because that's the whole basis of our belief, is that we're not worthy," says Beukema, associate editor at www.preachingtoday.com and teaching pastor of the Village Church in Western Springs, Ill. "It's by His grace alone that we are saved."

Some material is quite safe. When telling the Bible story of Jonah, spared from the fish's mouth but then pouting on a hillside because God wouldn't squash his enemies, a dramatist can play up the prophet's unwitting folly without much risk. Likewise the tale of Balaam's donkey, who verbally rebukes his master for missing the Lord's direction, may have missed the mark if no one cracks a smile.

Knowing what's fair game and what's not, however, can be as crucial as timing when it comes to blending humor and holiness. A generation ago, the norm was to save laughter for coffee hour because, Webb says, church sanctuaries held a loftier status, and God was thought to reign above the humorous minutiae of ordinary life. Today, he says, God is one who "walks with me, and talks with me" - so laughing together isn't far behind. But now leaders face a challenge to determine case by case when laughter is appropriate, and when it still might defile the sacred.

Leaders seem to agree on this rule of thumb: Poke fun at yourself or at universal human foibles, but never mock God, holy things or particular people. Prayer and sacraments are no times to laugh, they say. And beware of actual joke telling during worship, which Beukema deems "high risk humor because if the punch line misses, everybody loses."

Despite cautions, humor is now part of the clerical playbook. At this year's Rosh Hashana service at Temple Micah in Philadelphia, Rabbi Bob Alper in a sermon on joy laughed at the impulse to annoy thy neighbor. Drawing on his trade as a professional comedian, he recalled a childhood neighbor who never liked Alper's family and gave their Jewish household a Christmas tree. "If MasterCards had been around then, they could have produced this ad," he told the congregation. "A desk-size Douglas fir Christmas tree: $5.00. A small box of ornaments: $2.75. The chance to wreak havoc with the religious identity of the children of your despised neighbor: Priceless."

Folklorist Bill Ellis of Pennsylvania State University in Hazelton says laughter is "hard-wired" in human nature, something that often helps people resist despair. In folklore, he says, "we laugh at the devil because the devil relishes pride and can't stand to be laughed at.... Sometimes a little subversiveness in religion is just what we need."

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