The Emmanuel Encounter
What would it take to grab your attention right this moment? A winning lottery ticket? A Lexus with a bow, and your name on it? For me, last Saturday, it was 4 words. “Stefan, today’s my birthday.” She’s lived on the streets for years…no family, few friends, carrying her bags around like many of us do…everyday. Only hers didn’t contain laptops and work papers. Hers contained, “Stuff.” Her home. We knelt on the sidewalk listening to my iPhone as she sang along with Mavis Staples…”I’ll take you there.” I sang her a song…”Happy Birthday.” In the beautiful providence of God, the next morning, before the first person arrived to church, there she was again, bags in tow, sipping coffee. This encounter reminded me of the following extraordinary story my sister passed along to me.
“In Washington DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
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 the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him 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 as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities. Watch it here This experiment raised several questions: In a common-place environment (Like a stable), at an inappropriate hour (a normal day), do we perceive beauty (The Savior)?
If so, do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize value in an unexpected context? One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made… How many other things are we missing as we rush through life? ” For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10