A late comedian and his faith

The comedian Norm MacDonald died last month. He was younger than me at his passing. Cancer. The stand-up comic suffered for almost a decade and said nothing about his illness publicly before his death on Sept. 14 at age 61.

Our paths never crossed, but because we live in a wired world, with dozens of MacDonald's video clips available on YouTube, I felt as if I knew him.

Late night talk-show hosts would become amused and occasionally exasperated by his seemingly interminable stories.

It always paid to listen to the end because the deadpan, self-deprecating humorist always made the conclusion worth the effort.

Google MacDonald's "Moth" joke sometime.

Norm made me laugh.

I write about MacDonald in this space because he wasn't shy about telling others about his belief in God.

Serving as a judge on TV show "Last Comic Standing" featuring new comedic talent, MacDonald reprimanded a young man, Harrison Greenbaum, who made fun of people of faith during his on-stage routine.

"If you're going to take on an entire religion (Christianity), you ought to know what you're talking about," said Norm, schooling the would-be comic who had told the crowd the writings of J.K. Rowling -- author of the Harry Potter novels -- meant more to him than the thoughts of Jesus.

"One of those books is a classic about a man who sacrificed himself for the good of the world -- and the other is the Bible," Greenbaum said.

Roseanne Barr, MacDonald's fellow panelist, praised Greenbaum for what she called "bravery" in his potshot at the book revered as the ultimate written revelation of God to human beings.

"I disagree," said MacDonald.

"I don't think the Bible joke was brave at all. Rowling is a Christian who famously said if you're familiar with the Scriptures, you can easily guess the ending of her books," earning MacDonald a look of incomprehension from Barr.

"I didn't like [your act]," MacDonald said in conclusion.

An entertainer of MacDonald's celebrity has a platform, and he used it on multiple occasions to proclaim his faith, a position setting him apart from the Hollywood elite.

"Whoever acknowledges me in the presence of others, I will also acknowledge in the presence of my Father in heaven." (Matthew 10:32)

Norm was not a religious comic.

His humor was not Christian based.

Observational comedy was his forte and, in my opinion, MacDonald occasionally made some regrettable comments in the service of eliciting a laugh.

In other words, he was not above indulging in coarse low-hanging fruit.

When his thoughts went to matters of religion, however, the crowd got a clear sense that Norm was a believer.

I'll never have a platform in my life to influence the thoughts of others as he did.

MacDonald went against the grain of his profession to make clear his statement of faith in God and in an afterlife.

If you're unfamiliar with Norm, watch him on YouTube sometime.

We're all different so MacDonald's sense of what's funny may or may not resonate with you.

When it counted, Norm stood up for faith in his comedy.

You'll note it time and again if you are diligent in your YouTube search.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and, in your name, perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you.'" (Matthew 7:22-23)

This column concludes with a comment admittedly well above my pay grade.

I have a sense when Norm MacDonald showed up suddenly almost three weeks ago, Jesus didn't see him as a stranger.