Bob Swenson remembers John Breaux

Today, I witnessed one of the most amazing stories at a funeral at Flatirons Church in Lafayette, Colorado.  To give you a little background, approximately 2,000 people, including businessmen, policeman, firefighters, leaders, kids, Albertson employees, and a community came out to say good bye to a man who was confined to the limitations of a bicycle and severe mental/speech limitations that he was born with.  

Why would 2,000 people come to a funeral of a 57 year old man whose life was cut short by a woman driving out of control?  It doesn’t make sense on the surface until you hear the full story. I used to see John riding his bike all over town, picking up cans, bowling at the bowling alley, picking up shopping carts at the Albertsons and helping out all over town. We would see him riding his bike in the summer, in 5 degree snow storm, late at night and even at 5 am. He appeared homeless, with a full black beard, a rough hand shake, wearing weathered shoes that were worn down from being outdoors continually. He could only speak in random, short phrases, could not remember your name and was thought by many to be the result of a tragic car accident or something that severely impaired this man. He never asked for money or anything and many felt like handing him a twenty spot whenever they saw him for a warm dinner. One time I  put his bike in the back of our SUV and took over 30 pairs of pants and shoes to where he was living, only to find out that he had a closet full of shoes donated by others. It was very difficult to have a conversation with him and you resided to give him money now and then and honk your horn every time you saw him. And he would raise his hand, wave and be peddling like he was heading somewhere. He never recognized your car but he was heading somewhere always. I never knew all the places that he frequented but he seemed to have a routine. 

One time I asked him if he knew Jesus and he rattled off numerous scripture – he clearly knew Jesus…….more than I had any idea.

Josh, sitting next to me at the funeral said, we only knew 1% of Johns story. A policeman told the story of a crash in Louisville and noticing that cars were be rerouted in all directions and he looked back to see John in the street directing cars. The policemen quickly found some weeds that needed to be pulled immediately and asked John to switch gears. And there was John bowling a legitimate game of 300, honored by city council for being the citizen of the week, picking up bags of cans, bringing people donuts, buying people birthday cards, carrying around his newspaper clippings always doing things for people always – all day- seven days a week- long into the night- up the early the next day- carrying around not only a picture of Jesus but the life a Jesus. As the Pastor said, “you won’t hear the real story in the newspaper but there are 2,000 present witnesses- John new Jesus, talked about Jesus- and lived out exactly what Jesus said and would have done Himself- If you gave John twenty dollars, he multiplied the generosity. If you brought him clothing he passed it on. He would  be missing his coat because he passed it on.   

They limited the funeral service to an hour and a half because almost everyone had a John story. Probably most people there only knew 1% of the story until they looked around the sanctuary and realized that John had been serving people all over town for years, passing out kindness and the joy of Jesus in every nook and cranny in town. A man with no title, no car, and severely handicapped by no choice of his own had somehow managed to demonstrate the life of Christ more than any sermon. That’s why 2,000 people were at Flatirons church. Why there were flowers on the corner, 3 memorial bicycles at the crash site surrounded by flowers, people honoring John by picking up trash along the street, riding their bikes to the funeral . The funeral procession to the cemetery must have been 4 miles long.  

As the Pastor said:”If you want the truth of what Jesus looks like, look at the life of John through these scriptures”:

John 15:13 (New International Version)

13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Mark 9:35 (New International Version)

 35Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

Mathew 25:35

35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

We thought that John was in a horrible prison confined to unimaginable constraints to find out that we dimly  knew a small fraction of who he was, maybe 1%. 

I suppose the city will bronze his bicycle and place it with a plaque in the park. I am assured that the real truth will have to be left out since the park is owned by the government. Christ won’t be mentioned. However for those of us that were drawn to  John based upon  1% of the story, there is only one possible reason that John’s funeral would be the largest in the cities history. God is no respecter of man’s position in life, he filled John with hope, joy, and the truth about Jesus and he served from early morning until late at night –every day until the end. Some who haven’t known the saving knowledge of Jesus and the promise of power to whomever will believe will dismiss the Saint of Louisville as  a story of a life of kindness and an encouragement to pick up some trash, open doors for others, and generally to honor John by helping others. 

However that is not the story that John would have people understand. John demonstrated the life of Jesus through deed and proclamation, through a severely handicapped vessel, that every person John touched would look back, now knowing the full story and recognize that Jesus is in fact the  Savior of the world- God revealed in the least of these –demonstrated by John . the Angel of Louisville.