Tonight, another viral video hit my Facebook wall featuring Charlotte and Jonathan auditioning for Britain’s Got Talent. (spoiler alert) This shy guy, very conscious of his appearance (the emotional scars of being teased throughout his life are visible) comes out with his friend to sing The Prayer (also performed previously by Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion). Unbeknownst to the audience, when he opens his voice to sing, an energy and power come unexpectedly that they are wowed onto their feet, including the 4-judge panel. Reminds me of the Susan Boyle audition 3 years ago that shocked/wowed a YouTube audience which led to her superstar career. A couple of things that struck me as I’ve watched these 2 performances again.
First, we all have moments when we judge the common, the unattractive. (As confessed in the Susan Boyle audition, the judge said, “We were all against you.”) But then the moment comes when you find a treasure underneath bursting through, the crowd has this sense of “I can’t believe I was thinking that before”. (You know it’s dramatic when Simon Cowell has the priceless shock-look on his face when he’s made that very judgement.) At that moment, there’s this resounding connection that, even if it’s just for a moment, the world seems right and we are grateful for the treasure that was hidden within is now shared visibly. Some would say it’s the human goodness within us. I would suggest that it’s the God-connected part in us that sees, for a glimpse, perhaps what God had intended from the beginning i.e. that we would see the treasure he has gifted us within, without the prejudice of the exterior (unfortunately the sin within us tends to suppress and distort that).
Secondly, there’s something about a smile that makes a profound connection. When I see that genuine smile on the faces of three contestants, the audience members who know they are witnessing something spectacular, even on the face of Simon Cowell … definitely when I see the smile of my wife or my two kids … there is a connection that is almost unexplainable (I’m sure there are some social scientists who could explain it to me). There is a joy that cannot be hidden. It’s in those kinds of moments that I wonder if it’s a glimpse to what God experienced in the beginning, before earth as we know it or humanity was created. It’s a sheer joy of fellowship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit that could not be contained, it had to be shared and came in its fulfillment of what we know as creation. Contained within this thing we call a “smile” seems to be a temporal embodiment of that joy. Perhaps that’s why it’s so positively contagious, especially in those moments when it’s least expected.
For now, it’s a moment that I linger onto, praising God that, for this moment at least, I am experiencing the joy that God intended for humanity in the first place.
Rev Alvin Lau 