March 2011 Sketchings

“TAKE TIME TO WORSHIP”!!

In Washington, DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold January 2007 morning, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on.

About 4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

At 6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

At 10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The child stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. Several other children repeated this action, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to quickly move on.

After 1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all. During the time he played only 6 people stopped to listen for a short while. About 20 people gave money – a total of about $32 -- but continued to walk at their normal pace.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where people paid an average of $100 each to listen to the same man play the same music.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station was organized by the Washington Post (see: http://tinyurl.com/3x9s2a) as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

There are, obviously, a number of implications that could be made, and have been made, about this experiment.

For my purposes, though, I just want to say this: In our faith, we need to pause for some moments on a regular basis and to be in awe of the “greatest One” in the world. In our busyness, we miss too many things of beauty. In our busyness, we too seldom break our stride to stop and listen, to stop and be in awe, to stop and marvel at the wonder of our God in action around us.

Worship, being drawn into very presence of God, is a break in our routine to be in awe of God, to hear the wonderful “music” of God’s voice and word, to stop and see the abundance and riches that God is pouring our for us. Worship brings us into a place where we can set aside all the cares and worries of daily life to be ministered to by the God who works miracles in our midst.

As we approach Lent, as we move through life, let your Spirit be open to the presence of God and be disciplined in moving out of busyness to enter into the shadows of God’s loving grace and mercy.