What Else Have I Missed?

Now we preachers go from the Corrupt Manager to the Indifferent Rich Man (Luke 16:19-31).  Finding something to say about this text is easy.  Finding some good news in this can be difficult--especially for those of us who are among the richest people on the planet.

"And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table..." (Luke 16:20b-21a).

How did the Rich Man miss the poor wretch at his doorstep, day in and day out, year in and year out? We ignore and/or miss remarkable events and people all the time.  It is worth recalling the wonderful little experiment organized by the Washington Post in 2007.

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 thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. You can see a video of this event at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM21gPmkDpI.

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. 

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. 

How could people pass such a performance with such indifference?  We can suggest a number of reasons.  First, they were simply too hurried to take the time and energy to notice.  Their cognitive dance cards were filled the tasks of the day.  Many of the passersby clearly did not even see the violinist.

Of course, he was also out of context.  Our appreciation of many things depends on context.  He was not dressed in a tie and tails.  He wasn't in a huge concert hall.  He wasn't in front of a two hundred piece orchestra.  People had not already invested hundreds of dollars in the opportunity to see and hear him.  It was free.  How much could it really be worth?

And he blended into the background of familiarity.  How many times had some street musician opened his/her case, started playing and hoped for some donations?  Several times a week!  So this was likely one more would-be star, plying his trade for coffee money because no one would give him a "real" job. He disappeared into the woodwork and became a piece of furniture, no more noticeable than the trash cans.

“Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” (Matthew 25:37b-39)

It takes training, energy and effort to see what is right in front of us.  The Rich Man was busy with important things and had no room left to see Lazarus.  The Rich Man didn't see him in a context that attributed worth to Lazarus.  The Rich Man stepped over him often enough that Lazarus became part of the furniture, perhaps like the trash can outside his door.  The more often the Rich Man ignored Lazarus, the more that ignorance became part of his character.  In the end, it was the one feature of his character that survived the grave.

What must I do today to open my eyes and train my vision to see what God sees in my life?  What must I give up so that I have the room in my brain, my heart and my spirit to pay attention?  Here is the good news.  I know that when I allow Jesus to form my vision, I see what I need to see (and do what I need to do).