Inconvenient Beauty

The Washington Post conducted an experiment in 2007 in which they asked Joshua Bell, an internationally acclaimed violinist, to play at L’Enfant Plaza, a busy subway court, during morning rush hour. The experiment was to determine, if in a banal setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend? Almost 1,100 people passed by in the 43 minutes that he played timeless, classical pieces on a 3.5 million dollar Stradivarius. The acoustics were especially pleasing and beneficial for the performance, but the nearby lottery ticket sales, newspaper stand and shoe shine booth drew more attention than the virtuoso dressed in ordinary street clothes. He opened his case and threw in a few dollars of his own for seed money.

Things never got much better. In the three-quarters of an hour that Joshua Bell played, seven people stopped what they were doing to hang around and take in the performance, at least for a minute. Twenty-seven gave money, most of them on the run -- for a total of $32 and change. That leaves the 1,070 people who hurried by, oblivious, many only three feet away, few even turning to look.

One man does stop to listen for three minutes even though it made him run late for work. Later when he was interviewed Mortensen describes why he stopped: "Whatever it was," he says, "it made me feel at peace." The one constant category within the commuters who were drawn to the music was children who were there accompanying their parents. Each child was keenly interested and pulled towards the violinist and consequently had to be cautioned to remain in step with the parent. There was only one moment when more than one person stopped to listen at the same time. During the planning stages it was predicted that police would have to be called in for crowd control. Finally, in the final minutes a woman recognized him as the violinist who had given a concert at the Library of Congress. She stayed until the end not knowing why Joshua Bell was playing as a street musician, but knowing she wanted to hear him play again. She couldn’t understand why no one else seemed to even acknowledge his presence.

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?

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, Beauty is your reflection. We are keen enough to acknowledge the grandeur of a mountain range, the infinite swells of the ocean, and the miracle of life, but we are not as astute when beauty is packaged unexpectedly and obscurely. Help us to be sensitive to the hidden, disguised moments of beauty in our day and have the presence of mind to doubt our perceptions and explore the nameless, mysterious, beauty before us, if we but open our eyes and minds. Once again, we are called to think as children, being pulled towards an uncommon prize in our ordinary day and responding to the sound of an undertone calling our name. Let us witness your spirit in each person we meet and offer our due respect and gratitude to be in your presence. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and you find loveliness in your people. We are blessed to be within your gaze. Amen.