Resist Sarcasm? I’m Trying!

Last updated on: February 21, 2016 at 9:36 am by Larry D

Resist Sarcasm? I’m Trying! 2016-02-21T09:36:26-05:00 Larry D

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I was asked to contribute a piece to Aleteia today, a short reflection for the Jubilee Year of Mercy. They liked it enough to publish it – I hope you like it, too.

Sarcasm I now see to be, in general, the language of the Devil; for which reason I have, long since, as good as renounced it.

—Thomas Carlyle

Last week Elizabeth Scalia tweeted Aleteia’s post “56 Ways to be Merciful during the Year of Mercy.” After reading it, I tweeted back: “Not gonna lie. No. 1 on the list is a toughie.” That’s how I got asked to write this reflection. If you’ve read my blog, you know I can be sarcastic — I say that with no degree of pride. There’s a fine line dividing sarcasm and satire, and I sometimes trip over it.

Why is resisting sarcasm tough? Short answer: I can be a jerk, and I’m good at it. Long answer: since Elizabeth wanted a short reflection, I’ll stick with the short answer.

The Jubilee Year of Mercy is the perfect time for me to address this.

Sarcasm is derived from the Greek “sarkazein,” meaning “to strip off the flesh.” How’s that for an image! It’s a verbal velociraptor, capable of rending flesh from bone more precisely than any tooth or talon. It separates, yet not in the way that Scripture does. God’s word is “sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12), separating truth from lies. Sarcasm, however, separates truth from truth, dignity from character. God’s word is the Word, who came to bring us life, to show us the Father’s mercy. Sarcasm is merciless, and thus I concede Carlyle’s point. Satan loves sarcasm, because it leaves wounds that can be difficult to heal.

Click here to read the rest.

Image source: Mike Mozart [Creative Commons] via Flickr

Catholic Blogs

Year of Mercy

Year Of Mercy

Previous Post

December 11, 2015

The Remnant Petitions Pope Francis: Change Course, Or Quit

Next Post

December 15, 2015 "Why I Left Church Militant" - A Former Employee's Tale

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion All The World's A Blog And we Are Merely Posters American Catholics AoftheA Public Service Announcement Bible Bishops Caption Contest Catholic Blogs Catholycs Crossfit Culture Eucharist Faith Gospels Heaven And Hell Holy Days Of Obligation Huffington Post Humor Lent Literature Liturgy Marriage Mary Music National Catholic Reporter New Evangelization News Parish Report Parody Patheosi Politics Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis Prayer Pseudo-Science Puns Sacraments Saints Satire Say Hello To Our Robot Overlords Science Sin Is Still Sin Snark So-Called Same-Sex Marriage Sports St Pope John Paul II Technology Television The Crazy Right Wing Bible The Progressive Bible Things Not Said In Scripture Thoughts Uncategorized Vatican Video Womynpreests Year of Mercy

Select a Month January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which prophet was told to eat a scroll in a vision?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Daniel Obadiah Joel Ezekiel