This afternoon, on Good Friday, we walked around the neighbourhood for the fourth time in our little church's life together. Our first ever service, three years ago, was a Good Friday service. So happy third birthday, God's House of Many Faces!
As we walked, we stopped at various places to remember parts of the crucifixion story. At each site, we each planted a wildflower seed and sang, "Unless the seed falls to the ground, ain't gonna be no life at all."
We also read excerpts of poetry by Bud Osborn at each stop. Bud Osborn is one of the coolest people I know. Actually I don't really know him at all, but I know his work, and every time I see him in the neighbourhood, I feel like I want to ask for his autograph. He's a DTES resident, prolific poet, activist (especially against homelessness and against the war on drugs), a very humble and courageous soul. The story goes that he began following Christ after having been given the book "The Prophetic Imagination" by Walt Brueggemann.
Today, for our service, Jodi chose several excerpts from Bud's poem "Street Sermon" that I've copied out in full below. It's from his book "Hundred Block Rock." The first time I read this poem, when it was printed in the local Carnegie Newsletter last year, I found myself weeping. For some reason, the title and disclaimer led me to expect a full-on anti-Christian diatribe. Instead I got one of the rawest, most moving sermons I've ever read. I write it here in hopes that you'll be similarly moved this Good Friday, and in hopes that you'll buy some of Bud's poetry. The poem is long, and there is some language, but I promise, it's worth it.
Street Sermon
(after hearing one too many preachers haranguing about hell-fire on granville street)
brothers and sisters fellow low-life listen we are in luck one
guy at least came just for us a tremendous low-life jesus he
didn't come down here to this blood-stew for no limousine
riders no bible thumpers no hotshot angle-shooters no
came down here I believe it's the truth for me and you I
mean junkies winos hookers cripples crazies thieves
welfare bums and homeless freaks lowest of the low least of all
do your parents hate you? your teachers hate you? po-lice
hate you? your friends hate you? you hate you? you're
really in luck everybody hated jesus too you got nowhere to
live? nowhere to go? nowhere to hang your hat? jesus said
to a cat 'even the foxes of the field and the birds of the air
got somewhere to lay their weary ass down but not me oh no'
do people scorn you? put you down? tell stories about what
a problem you are? a judge told me I was of no use to society
the president of a university told me I was trash and obscene
my own mother god bless her told me I was the world's
biggest asshole but all that just makes me eligible to hook
up with jesus who got nailed up bleeding sweating balls-
naked to a wooden cross to take all that bad bullshit off my back
jesus tells you not to hate your own self which is easy to do
out here running around like a fool but just ask jesus he'll
help you with that 'love yourself' he says 'so you can love
somebody as unloved and unlovable as you been'
I mean jesus didn't come all this way go through all that
trouble to send you and me to hell no maybe these other
soft successful types I don't know but not you and me bona
fide losers you and I know this world is all the hell we're
going to see jesus came to cool us out from this hell right
here right now for real with love not handcuffs editorials
or plastic gloves
do you slash-up? overdose? drink lysol? stick rigs in your
arms? or pull a knife on somebody else? well jesus is just for
you he was the world's all-time biggest loser the straight
people the priests and judges hated him because he said
low-life scum would get to heaven before they did
and at the end when jesus needed his friends they all took off
on him except for a hooker named magdalen but all his
close friends split said 'no way I don't know him' except for
his friend judas who turned jesus in to crimestoppers his
friends made him take the rap all alone you know how that
feels and jesus kept his mouth shut when pontius pilate
the chief of police wanted jesus to cop-out with a plea
so if you feel misunderstood nobody know how you feel or
what you talking about that's jesus too he know about you
he been through it and don't you allow these puffed-up
self-righteous chumps sell you no goody-goody jesus hell
no jesus got pissed off plenty times
when jesus was wandering around no bus fare all his
buddies kept saying 'what should we do? what should we
do? we're scared' jesus told them 'lay down your life for
your friends and if your enemy rip-off your coat give him
your shoes too give up this money-grubbing power-tripping
fantasy-acting ego bullshit give it up and you won't be
scared no more'
but jesus got hung up between two thieves just another
criminal and everybody thought so little of jesus was down
on him so bad they let a mad terrorist bomber go free
instead of him but jesus told that thief hanging on the cross
next door like he telling you and me 'right now today this
very hour man I take you with me to paradise' jesus told a
death-row thief he was going to take him to paradise
jesus didn't tell a stockbroker didn't tell a rock promoter
he told the brokers and promoters 'you can't get to paradise
the way you going' a young banker came up to jesus said
'I dig your rap what I gotta do?' and jesus told him 'give it
up brother' said 'give all your money to the poor the punks
the drunks the bums give it up' and that banker did to
jesus what most people do to you when you got your
hand out he just walked away 'anything but my sports car'
in his own hometown they called jesus a crazy motherfucker
I been called crazy lots of time in my hometown locked up
in the nuthouse to prove it and jesus his neighbours told him
'we know you boy don't go pullin none of them miracles
around here' and tried to grab his ass but he ran fast damn
but you know what that's like
and if you think you got trouble just keeping your name
straight jesus confused many fools with that 'are you god
or what?' they were always asking him he said 'who do you
say that I am?' a smart-ass jesus was always being told 'you
can't do that it's against the rules it's against the law' but
jesus talking about the spirit body and soul the whole deal
real real life not just bingos lotteries and videos
and jesus believed in having a good time told those tight-ass
bastards his kingdom was like a wedding reception and first
thing jesus did was turn water into wine so they wouldn't run
out and the authorities called him a drunkard but jesus
just kept saying 'help each other love each other no matter
what it's the only thing you can count on'
so fellow low-life just know jesus loves you if nobody else
does I know he loves me especially when I don't love myself
or anybody else it's hard to believe in love in this cruel city in
this nightmare time that everybody else pretends is just fine
but remember no matter what kind of nasty shit you pull
jesus loves you in fact you can't make jesus not love you
but when you been kicked around since you were born love
is like an insult 'oh we love you so much we want to hurt you
some more' but not with jesus when you suffering real bad
just reach a hand out of your heart and he'll help you make
it jesus has already helped you make it you just didn't know it.
and the gospel tell you the gospel just the highlights of a
low-life jesus believed in the devil too the devil that runs
around in him and her and me and you and all over
everyplace else seems like jesus knew the devil personally but
jesus didn't go on and on about some therapy-self-help-
socialworker-shrink-headed-victim-disease-shit jesus knew we
couldn't be this crazy this miserable this goddamned
mean and vicious without a lot of help from the devil so
jesus kick-boxed the devil right out of people jesus knows
we're weak and easily possessed by all the crap in this world
jesus knows all this stuff
so the devil came to see jesus one on one when jesus was
strung-out from not eating and hanging-out in the desert
near kamloops and the devil said to jesus 'if you're such a
bigshot turn this stone into a loaf of bread and feed yourself'
and jesus said 'forget you I'd rather be hungry than do
what you tell me to do' did you ever do that? refuse and have
people say 'you don't know what's good for you?
then the devil said to jesus 'look here I show you all the
world cars drugs power sex beer in the whole world
I'll give you all that just say you're mine' but jesus could not
be bought and the devil kept working on him the devil said
'okay you so stupid jump off this cliff and see if your big
daddy save you like you always talking about' jesus just
laughed he knew better
I haven't always known better though those deals the devil
offered jesus sound pretty good to me but I have been
mostly fucked-up in my life so I ain't the best expert on
my own life I do need help so all you nuts junkies freaks
jesus is always by your side like a kind of no bullshit
truth-talking guide always with you but not so close by
he'll get on your nerves
I mean a lot of times you think he's not there at all cause he
ain't doing what you think he ought to be doing for you but
he's there knowing what you need better than you do knowing
you better than you do just like the devil do
but that's good because everything I know how to do and
everything you know how to do has got us both right here
probably broke maybe on dope no real hope listening to a
lunatic like me because neither of us has figured out anything
better to do with the mountain-moving love jesus has made us
all to be
(Bud Osborn)