It’s a Friday today. Good Friday to be specific but I don’t think this season is remembered around the world as it is here. Although it’s not the same as I remember when I was growing up, the Lenten season is very much a part of our culture and tradition.
I remember whenever the Semana Santa would come, before the invasion of cable tv, local tv stations would be off the air and there would be nothing to watch for days and networks would resume programming only on Easter Sunday. The streets would be quiet, people would be doing their church rounds and I would always hear the Pasyon being sung over a microphone blasted thru the church patio for all to hear. Perhaps a loud attempt to get God’s attention. There would also be kasoy and suman and ripe yellow mangoes on our table. Lots of watermelon, guavas and all that summer fun feeling of simple goodness. Those were my good old days.
Today, however, Holy week has a different and deeper meaning to me. I appreciate the fact that the whole country stands still… work, politics, school, shopping are suspended temporarily giving each one a chance to step back and re-assess one’s life apart from all these things that fill our daily grind. It is a chance to have a leisurely conversation… to commune-icate with God.
It is amazing how much communicating with others has evolved. I remember those days when our town had switchboard operators that would plug those red and black cables into a thing that looked like a massive piano with little holes and blinking lights that connect you to the person you were calling. Now we have space saving small business phone systems that do the job of 3-5 people. I remember when cellphones were so thick and bulky, you could whack someone with it and you could be charged with assault with an ugly weapon. Now cellphones come in all sizes with all the G’s, X’s and all the alphabets that go with it. You could practically do anything with it except cook, perhaps? Our conversations have evolved into abbreviations, spellings and acronyms that would send Noah Webster into confusion. KWIM?
In the middle of all the traditions, the technology and the gadgetry to help us communicate, I still relish the simplicity of spending a quiet afternoon, with just the wind on my face, the grass for my bed and the clouds as my blanket…to get down on my knees and bow my head and my heart… to whisper a simple wish, to utter a silent prayer, to send a message of eternal gratitude to this awesome, merciful and loving God who has given me forever access to His line in heaven 24/7. I will never run out of load, never get my line disconnected, never need the latest model with all the bells and whistles whenever I need to make a call. Knowing this, my heart is content.
