2014-02-27
Explanation
The Joke
A child is writing a prayer letter that reads "Deer Jesus, please help my mommy with being a mommy." The child has misspelled "Dear" as "Deer." In the next panel, rather than the prayer being answered by the actual Jesus, a literal "Deer Jesus" appears -- a deer wearing priestly vestments, a halo, and a cross necklace. This Deer Jesus turns to the mother and says: "Teach your kid to spell."
The Humor
The joke operates on a classic literal interpretation of a child's misspelling. Instead of "Dear Jesus" (a standard prayer greeting), the child writes "Deer Jesus," which summons a cervine Christ figure. The humor is layered: first, there is the visual absurdity of a deer dressed as Jesus appearing in divine light. Second, instead of addressing the child's heartfelt prayer about helping their mother, Deer Jesus ignores the actual request and instead scolds the mother for her child's poor spelling -- which is both the practical solution to the prayer reaching the wrong recipient and a hilariously deflating response to what was meant to be a tender moment. The child's innocent mistake turns a sincere prayer into a complaint about the education system.