October 25, 2024 Living in Kairos Time
Friday, October 25, 2024
Living in Kairos Time
14 With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says:
‘You will indeed listen but never understand,
and you will indeed look but never perceive.
15 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes,
so that they might not look with their eyes,
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart and turn—
and I would heal them.’
Matthew 13:14-15, NRSVUE
The Washington Post conducted an experiment to find out if people are capable of recognizing beauty out of context.
They conducted an intriguing social experiment with the help of world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell. Dressed incognito in a baseball cap and jeans, he set up his multimillion-dollar Stradivarius violin at the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station in Washington, D.C., on January 12, 2007, during morning rush hour.
The question was: Would passersby stop amidst their daily hustle and bustle and take a kairos moment to listen to the enchanting classical music played by the masterful violinist on one of the finest instruments ever crafted? They estimated at least 75-100 people would do so.
Over 43 minutes, Bell played six classical pieces, including works by Bach, Massenet, Schubert, and Ponce. Out of the 1,000+ people who walked by, only six stopped and listened, soaking in the moment, for any length of time. Most were completely indifferent and never gave Bell even a glance.
Reflect: If you had been there, would you have been one who walked by or one who stopped to listen? Take a pause today, a kairos moment, and drink in the beauty of God’s creation, or experience the fullness of His Presence in an ordinary moment.
Pray: Lord God, heal me where my heart has grown dull, my ears hard of hearing You, and my eyes blind to seeing how You enrich my life through Your handiwork and opportunities. Enable me to step back from my activity and routines to bring the background into the foreground of my awareness where I can appreciate the beauty and Your hidden gifts that are right in front of me right now. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
By His Grace,
Gloria Ashby,
Lay Leader