Across 110th Street

… in God’s eyes, these girls were beautiful

“G

od blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. God blesses those who are humble for they will inherit the whole earth. God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of heaven is theirs.” Matthew 5:3-10

Bobby Womack released his album Across 110th Street in 1972. The title track was a single in 1973 and rose as high as number 19 on the R&B charts in the USA. The song has been used in film, Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown and Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, and in the Activision video game True Crime: New York City. 110th street is an informal boundary line for Harlem, one of the five boroughs in New York City. The song is great. This is 70’s soul at its best: a very chill vibe, yet gritty and cuts deep. It tells a story, carries a message, and leaves an impression. I’m sure you know the song, and I bet you’ve already sung the hook “Across 110th street…” But have you listened to what comes next in the rest of the chorus?

Across 110th Street,
Pimps trying to catch a woman that’s weak
Across 110th Street,
Pushers won’t let the junkie go free.
Across 110th Street,
A woman trying to catch a trick on the street, ouh baby
Across 110th Street,
You can find it all in the street.

Doesn’t seem as chill without the music, does it? Here’s the rest of story:

I was the third brother of five,
Doing whatever I had to do to survive.
I’m not saying what I did was alright,
Trying to break out of the ghetto was a day to day fight.

Been down so long, getting up didn’t cross my mind,
I knew there was a better way of life that I was just trying to find.
You don’t know what you’ll do until you’re put under pressure,
Across 110th Street is a hell of a tester.

Chorus

I got one more thing I’d like to y’all about right now.
Hey brother, there’s a better way out.
Snorting that coke, shooting that dope man you’re copping out.
Take my advice, it’s either live or die.
You’ve got to be strong, if you want to survive.

The family on the other side of town,
Would catch hell without a ghetto around.
In every city you find the same thing going down,
Harlem is the capital of every ghetto town.

Chorus

I’ve been to New York City, but I’ve never crossed 110th street. I’m not even qualified to write about such manners. I live in Essex, Ontario [Canada]; a small town of under 10,000 people. I’ve never thought of myself as an exclusively urban type officer and I’ve never been the “street combat ministry” type. I don’t know if it’s in me, and I do find it intimidating. However, I did come face to face with some of these issues as a student last year.

I was in Regina, Saskatchewan [a mid-western Canadian city] for a weekend placement and was part of a ministry to sex trade workers. Talking to these women and girls, looking into their eyes, and hearing their stories was heartbreaking. I have a mom, a sister, a wife, and a daughter. All the women in my family are special to me. However, my mom, Sarah, Nancy, and Hannah mean the world to me. The women/girls I met fall into at least one of the above categories, and may fall into more than one. These women/girls mean the world to somebody. As hard as it was to see with my eyes, in God’s eyes these women/girls were, and are, beautiful. Why? Because they were made in God’s image; because God breathed life into these women/girls; because God loves these women/girls; because God became Jesus Christ to embrace these women/girls; because God is asking us as the Body of Christ to embrace these women/girls.

In John chapter four we read a conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman. There are four awkward pieces to this puzzle. One, Jesus is talking to a woman. Two, this woman is a Samaritan. She is a member of the mixed and hated race. Three, she was known to be living in sin; and four, this conversation occurred in a public place. No respectable and God-fearing Jewish male would talk to a woman under these circumstances. I guess Jesus didn’t care. He “crossed 110th street” to show this woman compassion and to point her in the right direction.

I think the late Michael Yaconelli would agree. He wrote: “According to his critics, Jesus ‘did God’ all wrong. He went to the wrong places, said the wrong things, and worst of all, let just anyone into the kingdom. Jesus scandalized an intimidating, elitist, country-club religion by opening membership in the spiritual life to those who had been denied it. What made people furious was Jesus’ ‘irresponsible’ habit of throwing open the doors of his love to the whosoevers, the just-anyones, and the not-a-chancers like you and me” (Michael Yaconelli, Messy Spirituality, 65).

Jesus Christ “crossed 110th street” often. He ate with sinners and tax collectors. He embraced the “unclean.” He broke the rules. As the Church, the Body of Christ, his representatives on earth, Jesus is asking us to eat with sinners and tax collectors. Jesus is asking us to embrace the “unclean.” Jesus is asking us to break the rules.
The women I met in Regina, like millions of other people around the world, are hungry and thirsty for justice. Christ said they will be satisfied. The only question is whether we’re willing to help, serve, and love in the effort. Will we cross “110th street”?

Writer: Captain Mark Braye enjoys film and music, being active, good conversation and a good laugh. Mark and his wife Nancy are the corps officers in Essex, Ontario, Canada. Hannah, their first child, was born last year.

1 Comment to Across 110th Street

1. Good challenge Mark.
   It seems your challenge is to ask yourself and your congregation ‘where is 110th street in Essex, Ontario?’
   You can be sure there is one.
   Our challenge as Christians is always to keep our eyes opened for 110th street regardless of if we live in an urban or a rural setting. And then be willing to cross it.
   Godspeed
Dion Oxford on March 20th, 2008

Leave a comment