The Magician, the Crowd and Jesus

Last week, while I was downtown, during my lunch break, I ran across a street performer who was just starting his show. He was your classic street performer, funny, partly charming, partly obnoxious. As the crowd was a bit thin he managed to get the people who were there to hoop and holler as if something amazing was happening. Much to my surprise his plan worked and within two minutes there was a crowd of over fifty people forming a circle around him. He was cracking jokes left and right, poking fun at passers by, he definitely had comic talent. His act was tight, smooth, no flaws. He began with a little slight of hand, moving various object under cups on his makeshift table. Unlike many other magicians this guy actually demonstrated how he pulled off some of his tricks, which I thought was quite humble of him.

The finale was the classic routine perfected by Harry Houdini. A volunteer from the crowd placed him in a straightjacket, belt-buckled the straps, and wrapped a large chain around him from head to toe and padlocked it. It took the magic man about five minutes but he finally freed himself, the crowd applauded, most people gave him some money, and then everyone went on their way.

There was one moment that struck me, hurt me and challenged me. During the gathering process, before the show got underway, the magician would joke with the new people arriving. To one couple, he said we (ie. the crowd) were their to begin our Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. To another group of young girls he said he was teaching us about Jehovah Witnesses. The crowd laughed, I laughed, it was amusing to see the victims puzzled responses. Then, a group of construction guys came over and the magician said the comment you knew was coming. "Welcome, we're here to talk about Jesus," he proclaimed. The men believed him to be serious and walked off as if that was the last thing they wanted to hear about. The crowd laughed, I laughed, it wasn't amusing to reflect on our response.

The truth was no one would have given the performer a second glance had he been a street preacher. Why is it there seems to be such an unwillingness to enter into a discussion about Christianity in a group setting? Why is street preaching not the effective form of evangelism it was in the early Church? Perhaps the reason is the message which is preached, perhaps it is the manner in which it is done, perhaps it is the nature of our society.

The part that hurt me was the fact that I laughed. Why should I think it funny to think someone might actually publicly proclaim Jesus in a creative way? Public preaching seems to have become stereotyped within certain strains of Christianity as something negative. I too have fallen into the habit of lamenting over the judgement day, street-corner preachers. Yet, I hope, I pray, I believe that today someone could preach to a crowd, under the guidance of the Spirit of God, and over three thousand would come to know Christ. Maybe I'm just naive.