Today is the feast of St. Philip Neri. Have you ever heard any of the stories about the jokes that he used to do? He was a priest and at times he would make jokes that would crack people up. He was always respectful and reverent during Mass, but somehow he would keep his people joyful with his sense of humor. My favorite story is the time that he shaved half of his head and beard (I think it was the left half) right before he came in to Mass. Can you imagine seeing a priest walk down the aisle like that?
Now, I do not know how anyone could keep a straight face and be respectful during Mass that day! And that is my point. We do not know how it could be done. I believe the reason is that we do not yet have a deep enough understanding of reverence to grasp jokes like St. Philip Neri would do. We know a bit about reverence, but we often get it confused with somber rigidity, and they are not the same. We know a bit about funny things, but we are falling short of the Saint's grasp of humor.
Our society has been so flooded with irreverence, that we have a hard time getting back to a proper understanding of reverence. Which also means that we do not have a deep enough understanding of joy and laughter. Once we can grasp those things with the wisdom of our forefathers centuries ago, then we can begin to appreciate reverence in a more godly fashion, and thus appreciate humor as well. Until then, we are only skimming the surface.