It's amazing how little acts of kindness can reaffirm our belief in the goodness of the human spirit despite the differences in culture, language, and history.
Before Easter ends, here is my Lenten anecdote:
Last Good Friday, as a yearly "panata", I went to a nearby church to do the Stations of the Cross. However, most of the Churches here in Japan are deemed, more of as historical artifacts than places of worship--- which is perfectly understandable when you take their history as a nation into consideration. Because of the barricade separating the entrance area of the Urakami Cathedral from the pews and the altar, I was already content standing in one corner near the cathedral's door. The case is, tourists are not allowed to cross the barricade and can only take photos of the interior of the church from the area near the door.
While I was quite unmindful of the several groups of tourists that entered, took photos, and went out of the cathedral, a Japanese church attendant walked towards me (he probably noticed that I stayed inside the church for more than the usual time that a typical tourist spends inside) and muttered something very quickly in Nihonggo. I thought that he was informing me that they were about to close the cathedral since it was already several minutes before 5 o'clock in the afternoon. When I was about to tell him that he should not worry because I was about to finish, I was deeply humbled right there and then--- the church attendant unhooked one of the hanging barricade from its metal stand and motioned me towards the pews. He was actually telling me that I can finish my prayers inside, which normally, is a restricted area for tourists.
I cannot be considered a very religious person if the measure would be following of certain church rites and activities, but right there and then, in a simple act of breaking protocols and in showing an act of kindness, my belief that God, Yahweh, Allah, the Divine Source, or whatever we may call Him depending on our beliefs, is actually present not in grand occasions but more so in simple, everyday acts which allow us to transcend the divisive force of differences in race, culture, language, and even religion.
While I was quite unmindful of the several groups of tourists that entered, took photos, and went out of the cathedral, a Japanese church attendant walked towards me (he probably noticed that I stayed inside the church for more than the usual time that a typical tourist spends inside) and muttered something very quickly in Nihonggo. I thought that he was informing me that they were about to close the cathedral since it was already several minutes before 5 o'clock in the afternoon. When I was about to tell him that he should not worry because I was about to finish, I was deeply humbled right there and then--- the church attendant unhooked one of the hanging barricade from its metal stand and motioned me towards the pews. He was actually telling me that I can finish my prayers inside, which normally, is a restricted area for tourists.
I cannot be considered a very religious person if the measure would be following of certain church rites and activities, but right there and then, in a simple act of breaking protocols and in showing an act of kindness, my belief that God, Yahweh, Allah, the Divine Source, or whatever we may call Him depending on our beliefs, is actually present not in grand occasions but more so in simple, everyday acts which allow us to transcend the divisive force of differences in race, culture, language, and even religion.
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