I don’t like musicals and I really don’t like malls but I like this…
(via Trying to Follow)
food court musical
6 responses to “food court musical”
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B”H
Very funny. It makes one think however, not everyone you meet is really who they might seem to be. Just as we saw the “janitor” go back to work sweeping and cleaning up, how many of the other “actors” returned to their posts in this impromptu outdoor theater? When I get on the bus, is that person sitting across from me really a “student,” or is she perhaps an “actor” or a researcher or maybe even a secret agent from another country? What about you or me? Are we not meant to be ‘agents’ who represent another world? In what way are we living true to our “real selves,” or are we just blending in and being molded mostly by the things around us? Am I living as “salt and light” in the envirionment where GOD has placed me, or am I merely a mirror, who reflects the images around me, but never changes or projects the hope that ‘things don’t need to stay the way they are” ?
Thanks for sharing this video Dave. Food for thought.
Shlomo
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First, thank you David. Thank you. That was a completely rewarding watch for me for so many reasons. This is almost like living, musical, installation, performance art. What a combo.
It makes complete sense to me why they at least appear to return back to their vocational posts. They need to complete the appearance of spontaneity. This collective diversity between people that appear not to know each other is essential for the experience. Although I understand why these actors/singers return to their posts I think Shlomo raises some excellent questions. How do we appear to those who are looking at us, seeing what we do? How do we come to our conclusions about others and then determine how we will treat them or interact with them? More specifically, as followers of Christ, are we willing to live in such a way that will make us stand out (by default) from being a mere mirror representation of our culture? Definitely food for thought.
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I saw this video a couple of months ago. The Improv Everywhere peeps do some cool/fun stuff. Nothing more to add to the insightful thoughts of Thom and Shlomo…well said, the lot of you. 🙂
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It’s not surprising that you guys saw a lot more in this video than I did. It seems that two thoughts have been raised:
1. Does our Christian faith cause us to view people differently?
2. Does our Christian faith cause us to live differently?The answer is “yes” to both, of course. I suppose the question is whether or not these things are actually happening or not.
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What is interesting on that front (the two specific questions David outlines) is yet another question(s), are Christians able to work together spontaneously with other Christians they have never met before? Could we get up and and sing a song about an action that created a personal dilemma and express our need for help? Would we offer to lend a hand? Or would divide render us judgmentally paralyzed?
In the end, I also wrestle with the notion that people should probably look at us quizzically, in consternation, befuddled by our actions of grace, mercy, hope, compassion, peace and love – especially toward one another. Or maybe that would make perfect sense to those sitting nearby.
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It’s interesting that you bring up that point, Thom… I was thinking the same thing (although unrelated to this post/video) just yesterday.
I was thinking, that all too often we quote “they will know we are Christians by our love” and that we are to live as an example, that we are to be different… of course all of this boils down to “in the world, but not of it” and that should, indeed make lots of people scratch their heads.
But I also know that the world itself is changing. Satan is hard at work creating these semi-religious groups, most of them atheists, surprisingly, where the religion is not about a god or a supreme being, but about the caring community efforts that we as Christians should be doing better ourselves…
And it’s hard to be different and be interesting to people simply by living our lives, if our brand of caring is lesser than that of the world’s… Of course, the world cannot offer the hope that Christ can, and the world cannot offer peace like that of Christ’s love… but the world can do very much in the way of taking care of people by the world’s standards… they can clothe the poor, feed the starving, house the homeless, befriend the unlovable, and they can do virtually anything we can do. And often times, they do, publicly, and with corporate money (more so lately) often. These stories are “newsworthy” and get printed in papers, websites run stories, and we all fawn over how awesome it is that people are caring for each other.
So the question really becomes, “Are we loving enough? Are we willing to love in a radically different and self-sacrificial way?” Because this seems to be the true difference and the (from my own studies at least) way Christ intended. To give the last of our money, when we see no way we can make it otherwise. To take time we really don’t have, to love on someone we don’t even know, or even better, that we have a really hard time liking (or even perhaps hate).
This type of thing requires true community, because this kind of self-sacrificial giving, loving, and caring would burn an individual out in a matter of days (if not earlier). But with a community, acting together, the group can accomplish more (even spontaneously, as you mentioned, Thom) than the individual could ever do. We can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us. Yet we don’t seem to live this way. We live in fear of our stranger neighbors. We live in fear, because we already live paycheck to paycheck (or perhaps paycheck + overextended credit to paycheck + overextended credit) to give in a way the world would consider “reckless”.
I’m definitely not saying I’m above all this, and that I’ve got it down… by any means, but I definitely think the church needs to radically change its fundamental beliefs about loving people, to “suicidal” proportions, if you understand what I’m saying… the church needs to move dramatically, en masse, to effect the kind of change that the world cannot. I hope to live to see it happen. But I don’t know if I will…
David W. Swanson 
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