Wednesday 9th February 2011, the better half was out with the Home Leaguers at Bukit Panjang to celebrate Chinese New Year. I was alone and some thoughts came to me about the seventh day of the Lunar New Year.
Among the many customs carried over to Singapore is the Southern Chinese tradition of observing "Ren-ri" meaning "Man's Day." The special dish for this day is the "Yu Shen". "Yu" meaning fish and "shen" meaning raw, in other words eating raw fish. Of course with fast transportation and Singapore's connectivity, we can always get fresh fish from overseas. Raw fish is cut into very thin slices and eaten with a mixture of seven types of vegetables similar to western salad, with condiments, plum sauce, sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, pounded roasted groundnuts and other concoctions of the housewife, cook or chef.
Singaporeans like to celebrate the Lunar New Year and have "Lo hei" eating "yu shen"; not necessarily on the seventh day.
Chinese like to play on words. "Yu" for fish sounds like "extra, excess, abundance"; Shen for "raw" sounds like "life." Therefore to eat raw fish or "yu shen" is to have abundant life. I am reminded of the words of the Jesus about abundant life. He comes to give us life, yes abundant life.
Here is Paul's prayer for the church in Ephesus 3: 20, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen
Ponder over Paul's thoughts in Romans 5: 17 "For if, by the trespass of one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and the gift of God's righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ."
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