Lenten blog | March 22, 2025

How much is that violin?

Throughout the year, the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ reproduces the Daily Lectionary for use by churches.  These are the suggested readings for March 22nd:  Psalm 63:1-8;  Isaiah 5:1-7; and Luke 6:43-45.  I would encourage you to read these short selections as part of your Lenten practice.

Many years back the Washington Post ran an experiment in a busy Washington D.C. Metro station.  They arranged for a famous Classical musician to play incognito.  As they explained:  “Joshua Bell is one of the world's greatest violinists.  His instrument of choice is a multimillion-dollar Stradivarius.  If he played it for spare change, incognito, outside a bustling Metro stop in Washington D.C., would anyone notice?”  You are more than welcome to watch the video.  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnOPu0_YWhw)  I don’t know how many people rushed by without a moment’s pause, but I did notice one commuter who appreciated the music for the sake of the music, not that it was a celebrity soloist playing it.

For a good seat in a concert hall as close to Joshua Bell and his multimillion-dollar Stradivarius as the commuters were in that Metro station you would need to pay hundreds of dollars.  And people will pay that kind of money to listen to Joshua Bell specifically.  He is a world class violinist who sits center stage among some of the finest orchestras on the planet.  Yet, intentionally incognito, Joshua Bell’s music was mostly ignored.  The music and Bell’s virtuosity were not as important as the next subway train.

This presents us with a bit of a quandary when we read today of Jesus’ words:  “‘… each tree is known by its own fruit.’”  Bell’s musical fruit was not recognized or appreciated by those who passed by quickly.  If there was notice of his celebrity, it may well have played out differently.  People may have stopped for Joshua Bell, but those same people would not stop for his musical fruit.  In other words, the tree is not known by its own fruit. 

I’m afraid too many people too often don’t take the time to make judgments based on what a person does, but rather rely on quick impressions about who a person is.  The Federal Courts are pushing back on many executive orders that are based on who a person is rather than what a person does.  They are calling such actions unconstitutional.  Sometimes people judge by the appearance of another person rather than judging them for their actions.  This can be based on the colour of their skin, the type of clothes they wear, the traditions they practice, but all deny the wisdom of Jesus’ words. 

Maybe what Jesus is trying to convey to us is that each person should be known by what they do rather than who they are.  Maybe instead of fact it’s an aspiration.  Maybe this is why Jesus speaks about what the good a person does as coming from within, coming from where it is unobservable at a quick glance.  Maybe this is why Jesus chooses to teach that “‘good treasure of the heart produces good’” and “‘for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.’”  This takes time and relationship to discern.  It invests in community, in belonging, in getting to know others. 

And, by the way, church is a community and a community-builder.  The importance of the church community was argued recently in a Boston Globe “Ideas” piece by Christine Mehta, which was based on a book by Jonathan Rauch called “Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy.”  https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/13/opinion/american-democracy-more-religion/  They argue that church bolsters democracy because it serves as a community where people can learn to interact respectfully with one another and to have expectations of one another.  You are cordially invited to join us as the community of the church that gathers tomorrow at 9:30am.  Whoever you are, you are welcome among us.

If you would like to join us for our online Bible study, please send an email to [email protected] for the Zoom logins.
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If you’d like, here is the link to the Southern New England Conference’s daily reading schedule:  www.sneucc.org/lectionary.