A January morning in 2007 a world-class violinist played six of Johann Sebastian Bach’s most stirring concertos for the solo violin on a 300-year-old Stradivarius worth $3.5 million. Two nights before, Joshua Bell had performed a sold-out concert where patrons gladly paid $200 for nosebleed seats, but this time the performance was free.
Bell ditched his tux with coattails, donned a Washington Nationals baseball cap, and played incognito outside the L’Enfant Plaza Metro Station. Street musicians are not an uncommon sight or sound for Washingtonians.
The experiment was originally conceived by Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten and filmed by hidden camera. Of the 1,097 people who passed by, only seven stopped to listen. The 45-minute performance ended without applause or acknowledgement. Joshua Bell netted $32.17 in tips, which included a $20 spot from the one person who recognized the Grammy award-winning musician.
On an average workday a million passengers ride Washington’s Metro system, and the L’Enfant Plaza is one of the busiest stops. A stampede of tourist and government employees hustle and bustle through turnstiles, trying to get where they’re going as quickly as possible. But those circumstances don’t discredit or disqualify the question raised by this social experiment: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the greatest musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, on one of the most beautiful instruments ever made, how many similarly sublime moments do we miss out on during a normal day?
Remember the old adage? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It’s true of everything isn’t it? But it’s especially true of miracles. Miracles are happening all around us all the time but you won’t see them if you don’t know how to look for them.
One of the boldest statements in the Bible is found in John 14:12:
“Whoever believes in me will do the works that I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these.”
Greater things? It would sound like heresy if it didn’t come from the lips of Jesus. It’s one of those verses that we tend to rationalize, so let me tell you exactly what it means. If you follow Jesus, you’ll do what he did. You’ll seek to please the heavenly father first and foremost. You care for the poor, you wash feet, and you will offend some Pharisees along the way. You’ll also traffic in the miraculous. And it won’t just be as an eyewitness. It’ll be as a catalyst. Please believe me when I say, you are someone else’s miracle!
2 thoughts on “Miracles Happen Pt 1. By Pastor Stephen Norman”
Thanks for sharing brother.
Thanks for posting these words. Especially now at Easter and focusing my thoughts on the power of Jesus’ resurrection I, too, have been thinking of this scripture in John. I continue praying that I have eyes to see his miracles and the supernatural gifts around me. I look forward to more of your posts.