 December
2002
Gospel of the Streets
"Y'guys wanna hear a funny joke?"
We turned to the man who had interrupted our jovial conversation. Bleary
eyes. Unshaven. Weaving a bit. Reeking of nicotine. Would I have stopped
to listen if I had been walking the streets of Denver alone? Don't think
so.
"Whaddya say?" asked the man, who
introduced himself as Johnny. One of our group asked if the joke was
clean. After finding out that we were there for a youth ministry
conference, Johnny decided he had better clean the joke up. We had already
met three street people that evening, but I hadn't expected to
"hang out" with one. Imagine my reaction when Johnny decided
that he wanted to teach us about religion.
"Now I know that I ain't
nothing," Johnny drawled, "but I know that I'm gonna be okay, 'cuz
Jesus is with me." His disjointed speech included some surprisingly
close quotes from the Bible, and rambling about Jesus and the Sabbath.
"Judge not..."
I caught myself in a moment of
condescending tolerance. Oh great, a drunk theologian, I thought. Johnny
had interrupted our brisk walk among the Christmas shoppers after a long
day at the conference. A chill was in the air, and I really wanted to begin the walk back
to the hotel. How long were we going to --
I was stopped short by my own thoughts. Did
I have nothing to learn from this man? If I could summarily
dismiss Johnny, who else was on my list? A person who hasn't studied
as much theology? A person who thinks or acts in a way that I don't
expect? Someone who disagrees with me? How many times have I missed Jesus
speaking to me, because of my arrogance? All of this raced through my mind
in an instant.
Inwardly embarrassed, I quickly returned to
the moment.
"My court case is comin' up, an' I
might havta go to jail," Johnny was saying. Would you guys write to
me?" We told him that we were from Baltimore, but two of the guys
gave him cards with phone numbers. With the reassurance that he could call
us collect, Johnny asked if we could pray together.
Into the Huddle
The five of us stood together with
arms on shoulders, and Pat, a member of our group, started the prayer. He
prayed for Johnny and for his well-being. Then Johnny broke in with words
that were as lucid and pastoral as any we had shared at the conference
that weekend. He prayed for our safe return home, and for us to know
without any doubt that Jesus was the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He
concluded the prayer "in Jesus name", and we all resounded the
"Amen!"
Shortly afterwards, we said farewell, and
headed back to the hotel.
The four of us were amazed by the
encounter. I muttered, "The Gospel of the Lord!" and others
nodded. Who had ministered to whom?
Chris Weber
Director,
Catholic Education Ministries of Central Maryland
301-447-3707
Copyright © 2002 by the Catholic Education
Ministries Center of Central Maryland, Emmitsburg, MD 21727. All rights reserved.
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