My comments are more about Bach’s music and Bell’s experiment than the season of Lent. 1) When I have been in major cities with urban transportation systems, for example the Metro in Paris, there are often musicians playing or singing, not just in the hallways but sometimes on the train itself. In the latter scenario it is very uncomfortable when they pass the hat after they finish performing. I never offered any money on those occasions and rarely did even on my way to an exit or a transfer station when I stopped to listen. 2) The simple fact that few people didn’t stop to listen to Bell’s performance, as already mentioned, is likely due to our busy lives and the schedules we have to meet. However, throwing a dollar into an open violin case shouldn’t be a way we judge how people react to a “free concert” or appreciate the artist or the music being performed. 3) Performing music in this particular kind of venue may have been why people didn’t stop to listen. Listening to Bach, or jazz, or a composition by the performer in a reverberant area like an underground train station is nice but it is not as conducive to truly hearing the music as a concert hall, a church sanctuary or synagogue. If Bell wanted to see how people would stop and listen to hear Bach he could have picked any of those three venues, offered free admission and without a doubt filled every seat. Even a department store like Macy’s in Philadelphia would gather a more attentive crowd than the subway. 4) Another issue is the familiarity of Bach’s music with the general public. If Simon and Garfunkel started singing in the halls of the subway I guarantee people would stop to text and call friends. In a matter of minutes the place would be a fire hazard. Some time ago Simon and Garfunkel performed a free concert in Central Park. It only took a few hours for the news to get out they were performing and soon the park was packed with people. Would people text or call a friend if they saw someone playing a Bach concert for free? If someone knew the performer or was a big fan of Bach then maybe. Does Joshua Bell have the same name recognition with the general public as Simon and Garfunkel? Does the music of Bach resonate with the general public as well as the music of Simon and Garfunkel? The answer to those last two questions is easy, “No.” 5) I love Bach’s music. There is no other composer I feel as close to as Bach. But to hear his music in a subway station with all the noise of the trains and the people coming and going is just not my cup of tea. I recognize that is not the case for everyone. Someone having an emotional day or feeling overwhelmed might very well be moved by hearing his music in a train station. I would like to think his music could reach all people at a very deep, spiritual level if only they would stop and listen. That probably is not going to happen in a train station as much as in a church, synagogue or concert hall where the spirituality of his music has a much better chance to reach someone. 6) For Bach’s music to be appreciated by a greater percentage of the population his music must be heard in our houses of worship and on radio stations and concert halls. Stop and listen in those places of meditation and inspiration. That’s where you will find the message of Bach’s music being conveyed at its deepest level. His music can transport us to a higher source whether it be Advent, Lent or any time during the church year.