I recently saw a video on youtube entitled “Money Well Spent” in which a girl drops a coin in the hat on the
ground in front of a man holding a stand-up bass. When she does the man begins to play there in
the middle of a crowded plaza. Shortly
the man is joined by other musicians with a cello, violins, an oboe, and then
others. One by one at first and then in
small groups, the cello player is eventually joined by a full orchestra and
choir. The tune played by the bass
player alone is almost unidentifiable, but as the man is joined by the others,
it not only becomes clear that the tune is Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”, but the
music begins to fill the plaza and more and more people begin to notice. It is striking to me that the people in the
plaza are just going about their day and doing what they would normally
do. They do not pay attention to the man
with the cello, but they soon realize that something unusually amazing is going
on and they begin to drift towards the music.
“Ode to Joy” is such a familiar piece that many people in the crowd
begin to anticipate the notes as they come.
Children pretend to be directing the orchestra. What was an ordinary day is now transformed
by this amazing event in the plaza.
I could not help but think of the approaching advent
season as I reflected on the events in this video. A couple thousand years ago as a group of
shepherds were watching their sheep in the night, an angel of the Lord appeared to them to bring them great joy. Soon
that angel was joined by others in a great choir singing glory to God. The shepherds were amazed. (Luke 2:8-20) The coming of the messiah, Jesus, came to
them in the quiet of the night as they were going about their normal routines
and this unusually amazing event brought them great joy.
Advent is a time of “Preparation” in which we
prepare our hearts for the coming of the Lord Jesus. We reflect on the Jesus’ first coming in that
stable many years ago and the joy of his humble birth, but we also anticipate
the return of Jesus on earth when he will bring joy in gathering his followers
home and will put the world as it should be.
During advent, we also prepare our hearts for fresh experience of Jesus’
birth in our own hearts. We prepare to
have the joy of our salvation renewed in our hearts. In the ordinary quiet times of our lives, the
joy of the Lord can surprise us if we look and listen. With expectation, we are aware that we may
encounter God in the most surprising places and people. When we do have those encounters with God, we
respond to the familiar tune that we have heard in our hearts so many times;
the song of love, the song of peace, and the song of joy that we recognize as
the tune of God at work in the world. If
we are not careful, we can walk right through the plaza and miss the amazing
thing that is happening. We say, we are
too busy to stop and hear this music. We
may be too distracted to even notice that something wonderful is
happening. That is why in this season of
Advent, we seek to open ourselves to a fresh experience of God – God’s love
that breaks into our lives and brings us great joy…if we are paying
attention.
