But if you are not a Catholic devotee, there is not much to look forward to during this annual fiesta. The traffic is horrendous, the sidewalks are clogged with vendors, and the perpetual beat of the Sinulog theme song in stores and restaurants is trying at best. It is purportedly a religious festival, but somewhere along the way it "caught" the commercialization that we all experience with Christmas. The religious symbols are there, but most of Sinulog has very little to do with anything spiritual.
I had to chuckle a bit when I read the headlines of the newspaper from the past two days. Very bold, large type proclaimed the millions that had come out to participate in the solemn procession (reportedly 2 million) on Saturday and to watch the grand parade (reportedly 8 million) on Sunday. Common sense tells anyone with common sense that the numbers were exaggerated many times over. Attendance numbers of this sort are pretty routinely inflated here, but never this outrageously. Something tells me that the upcoming election season had something to do with it since city officials are involved in running the show.
But it gave me something to think about. What if Christians had the same kind of devotion to our Savior? What would compel eight million, two million, or even just 500,000 believers, many traveling from around the globe, to come together for a time of common worship, celebration, or glorification of our God and Savior? One day that time will come.
