Reflections on Ps 46 & 109 (Bro Gregory Chan)

Ascension, Pentecost and beyond...

My friends, have you ever been on a Roller Coaster? Those who have been know how exhilarating it is, to wind up & up & up, and then speed down in stomach-churning velocity, screaming in delight & hanging on for dear life.

Strangely, the Evening Prayer for Ascension Day portrays this ride vividly, taking us through a roller-coaster of emotions. Starting with the Opening Hymn, we are lifted up with joy & triumph as "the Lord goes up with shouts of joy, while trumpets all his triumph tell."

We are shown the picture of the Lord in heaven, filled with majesty. The Psalmist tells us that "he is seated at the right hand of the Father, wielding his sceptre of power" (Psalm 109). In Psalm 46 , we see "the people clapping their hands & shouting for joy", singing praise for God. Joy reverberates through the heavens as God claims dominion over all.

Finally, we are presented with the horror of being "thrown down", going round & round as we encounter the blood of the Lamb (Rev 12: 11). It is here, that the Scripture Reading from 1 Pet 3: 18, 22, tells us that God had put to death, only to be raised to life.

Through out it all, one common theme runs through every Roller-coaster ride : we cling on for dear life! We implore the Lord not to let us go and beseech him not to leave us orphans without a guide.

Like all roller-coaster rides, it is not stationery only on Ascension Thursday, the roller-coaster hurtles towards different twists & turns & heads towards Pentecost, where the MA requests us to ask God the Father to send "the one whom you promised, the gift of the Father, the Spirit of Truth."

It is then with this sense of great exhilaration that we are able to experience the above emotions, as this evening's Vespers captures the microcosm of the Passion, Death & Resurrection, and then hurtles on through to Ascension, & finally, Pentecost, its ultimate destination, where there is to have an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and the face of the earth is renewed. Let us this evening keep these thoughts in mind.

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Stay tuned for the next post by Br Jovita Ho on 01st Aug 2010.