Today is Palm Sunday. And no, I am not an avid participant in church traditions like this one. But, this morning while in church, I saw all these people waving their palm leaves during the blessing and I was deeply touched by their exercise of faith. I do not fully understand the significance of events like this (although I know they are done to commemorate significant events in the past) and maybe many of the people in the church are like me - they also do not fully understand church traditions. And yet they still believe. Because that is faith. You know it, feel it, in your heart - and you know it's for real. Yes, everything you believe in is supported by concrete facts - the bible and all the accounts of apostles. Yet more than this, the feeling alone is enough. This morning, amid all those people waving their palm leaves for blessing, I experienced one of the most beautiful faith experiences. I felt unity. I felt camaraderie. I felt love. It felt good to be with people who believe like I do.
And then this afternoon, I joined our caring group in an outreach to a home for the aged. This one is not a church tradition but a product of the church, faith in action. I was with a friend and we had a great time spent with the elderly. We ate with them, played games with them, heard them sing, sang with them, and danced with them. Again, it was a concrete expression of faith shared with people who believe. We came from different backgrounds, and some of us barely knew each other. But when we were there, that did not matter. What mattered was us, the elderly, and the mission we set out to do. And it was successful! It felt great seeing the grandparents enjoy themselves.
Faith is deeply personal, yes; it's a relationship between the person and God. However, sharing it with others is one of the greatest experiences one can have in life.
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