God Speaks

24th Week in Ordinary Time - Saturday (22 September 2018)

1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-49

Luke 8:4-15

"Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you."

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work. The one who paid the most attention was a 3-year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on. In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best 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 his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

God speaks to us continuously. He sows his word into our hearts all the time. As Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station, God plays His part incognito. Do we perceive beauty and goodness in this world? Do we stop to appreciate nature, the starry skies, the silence of the dawn? Do we recognize God's hand in an unexpected context? Do we stop and listen to people: our dear ones, our neighbours, the needy around us? What are our priorities? Do we give first place to God or to someone else or something else?

God is ever patient and never tired of speaking to us. God perfectly hides himself in the material world, but also perfectly reveals himself in this material world. This is incarnation. Our God is an Incarnate God, Emmanuel, God-with-us always. Our heaven begins right here on earth right now!

Do we have a moment to hit the pause button of our busy lives to listen to God?