A Symphony in the Subway

The Wired Word for May 6, 2007

In the News

Joshua Bell, 39, is a world-renowned classical violinist who has won the highest honors in his field and normally plays to standing room only crowds who pay upwards of $100 per ticket to hear him play. He plays a Stradivarius violin that was handmade in 1713 and is valued at $3.5 million. Despite his reputation and musical genius, however, Bell couldn't draw a crowd who could hear him for free in a Washington , D.C. Metro subway station.

The Washington Post had invited Bell to participate in an experiment in "context, perception, and priorities." The question the Post wanted to explore was, "In a banal setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend?" Dressed like an average street performer, Bell stood near a trash can in the L'Enfant Plaza station during a Friday morning rush hour in January 2007 and played several classical pieces on his Stradivarius, including Bach's Chaconne (one of the most difficult violin pieces to master), as busy commuters came up the escalators on their way to work.

The results were telling. In the 45 minutes that Bell played, 1,097 people went by. Only seven people stopped to listen for at least a minute. Twenty-seven people dropped money in Bell 's violin case, most without stopping or looking at him, for a total of $32.17. Said the Post: "If we can't take the time out of our lives to stay a moment and listen to one of the best musicians on Earth play some of the best music ever written; if the surge of modern life so overpowers us that we are deaf and blind to something like that -- then what else are we missing?"

More on this story (and a video of Bell 's performance) may be found at these links:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070411/music_nm/bell_dc

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9521098

http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/6290.html

The Big Questions

1. Several of the people who passed by Joshua Bell in the Metro were later asked why they did not stop. Most cited a busy schedule as the reason. Why are people in our culture so busy? Are we busier now than people in previous generations?

2. Is beauty truly "in the eye of the beholder" or is there a universal standard that most people would recognize?

3. Interview magazine once said that Bell 's virtuoso playing "does nothing less than tell human beings why they bother to live." How does art increase the value of human life? How is life diminished when we fail to take time to appreciate beauty?

4. What does the presence of beauty in unexpected places tell us about God?

5. In the video of Bell 's performance, many of the people who acknowledge his playing are children. What can we learn from children about recognizing unexpected moments of grace and beauty?

6. Should Christians be promoters of the arts and, if so, how might they do so?

Confronting the News with Scripture

The Bible gives us some examples of how we might recognize and respond to unexpected moments of beauty and grace. Here is a sampling:

Psalm 92:1-4

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre. For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

The superscription of Psalm 92 assigns it as a psalm to be used on the Sabbath day -- a day of rest and reflection on God. The praise of God on the Sabbath, including the use of music and the spoken word, prepares the heart of the worshipper to be more fully aware of God's presence not only on that day but on the other days of the week as well. Perhaps one of the reasons many people do not take time to recognize the beauty of God's creation around them is that they have failed to take a Sabbath and have become locked in the rhythm of the ordinary.

Question: How might worship and Sabbath rest prepare you for recognizing the beauty of God's presence during the whole week?

Ecclesiastes 3:10-11

I have seen the business that God has given everyone to be busy with. He has made everything suitable for its time ...." (For context, read 3:1-9, 11b-15.)

The writer of Ecclesiastes acknowledged that there is a "season" and a "time" for everything. God has given humans a sense of locating themselves and their "business" in the midst of God's larger plan for the cosmos ("everything"). God's sense of time is beyond full human understanding (3:11) -- a fact which instills in humanity a sense of "awe" (3:14). Since God has given humanity a sense of time and place, then every moment is an opportunity to experience the "suitable" (NIV "beautiful") things which God has given as a "gift" (3:13).

Question: How might the understanding of time as a gift alter the way we schedule and use it?

Mark 10:15

Truly I tell you whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it. (For context, read 10:13-14, 16.)

An interesting paragraph in the Washington Post article about Joshua Bell reads: "There was no ethnic or demographic pattern to distinguish the people who stayed to watch Bell , or the ones who gave money, from that vast majority who hurried on past, unheeding. Whites, blacks and Asians, young and old, men and women, were represented in all three groups. But the behavior of one demographic remained absolutely consistent. Every single time a child walked past, he or she tried to stop and watch. And every single time, a parent scooted the kid away."

Children seem to have an inherent sense of the holy and do not hesitate to give their full attention to a moment of beauty -- be it a leaf floating down a stream, a rainbow or a musician playing in a subway station. Jesus seemed to understand that children "get it" when it comes to understanding the kingdom of God . He rebuked his disciples for rushing them away, preferring instead to use their innocence and wonder as a model for openness to experiencing God's presence in the world.

Question: How might we become more "child-like" in our approach to the world around us? What do the children in your life teach you about redeeming unexpected moments of grace and beauty?

 Luke 18:40-41

Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, let me see again." (For context, read 18:35-39, 42-43.)

In this passage, Jesus and his disciples are on the way to Jerusalem and the disciples seem to be intent on keeping the timetable of the journey. Interrupted by the shouting of a blind man on the road into Jericho , the disciples order him to be quiet so as not to disrupt Jesus. Luke's statement that Jesus "stood still" when he heard the blind man seems to indicate that Jesus was fully present in the moment. He turned a moment of interruption into a moment of divine grace.

Question: What kinds of holy "interruptions" might we be missing in the midst of our busy lives? How can we pay better attention to the opportunities around us for showing the grace and love of God?

Ephesians 5:15-16

Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time because the days are evil. (For context, read 5:17-20.)

There is a sense of urgency in the letter to the Ephesians. Time is short until Christ's return, therefore we must live as people who use our appointed time wisely. For the writer, this meant putting aside the diversion and distraction of things like drink and worldliness and instead spending time in worship, particularly in "singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs ... making melody to the Lord in your hearts" (5:19). Hearing the beauty of a violinist in the subway, encouraging a hurting friend with the Scriptures, praying the psalms on a regular morning -- all of these are ways of "making the most of the time."

Question: How might we "make the most of the time" in our daily lives? What does the use of our time say about our relationship with God? How can time be an offering to God?

Questions for Further Discussion

1. If you had been riding the Metro that day in January and encountered the violinist, do you think you would have stopped to listen? Why or why not?

2. What kinds of holy moments have you encountered in the past week? How might you become more aware of those opportunities in the coming week?

3. How does the use of art in worship sharpen your awareness of beauty during the rest of the week?

4. What are some ways we can free up space in our daily routines to look for God's presence around us?

Closing Prayer

O God, help me to be more aware of the beauty of your creation. Give me a sense of your presence in the midst of each day so that I do not miss your gift of precious time. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.