Gavin Richard Ng’s Series of Life
March 7, 2005
Welcome to Gavin Richard Ng’s Baby Party!
Introductions—I have a series of introductions to make so that you may know who the participants here are…
Grandfather Don or Yeh Yeh
Grandmother Joy or Po Po
Grandmother Mary or Bomma (Grandfather Larry or Boppa is unable to be here.)
Auntie Lauren
Uncle Daniel
Daddy Greg
Mommy Heather
Sister Evi
And of course the major league player, Baby Gavin
Relatives
Friends
Evi
Two and a half years ago, many of us were together to celebrate the birth of Evi when I shared my hope that maybe another generation of Ngs will be able to witness the Red Sox win the World Series. As we all know so well, Boston came back when everyone thought they were dead to take the last four games in the series against the Yankees to win the American League Pennant. For most of us, that was enough of a win to last our life times. But we know that the Red Sox went on to sweep the World Series in four games. It’s amazing what the birth of a granddaughter can do to help the Red Sox win after 86 years!
Series
The word, “series” is something that we take for granted in our everyday speech. We might say, “TV Series or series of novels or series of phone calls or the World Series.” The word, “series” means a number of related or similar persons, things or events coming one after another.
Gavin Richard
The birth of our grandson Gavin is a part of a larger series of persons coming one after another. Evi and Gavin is a series of siblings. And I hope that the series of grandchildren will continue some more!
When I was doing some research on our family history, my brother Richard was able from memory recite a series of paternal ancestors for 8 generations. He provided an invaluable legacy to us to know that we are all a part of a series of family members coming one after another:
Generation 6, Great, great, great grandfather How Den, the last generation that my brother was able to remember in his childhood
Generation 7, Great, great grandfather Yet Toon, the first generation to come to America in 1910
Generation 8, Great grandfather Joseph, the first to become a naturalized citizen after World War II
Generation 9, Grandfather Yeh Yeh, the first generation to be born in America
Generation 10, Daddy Greg, the first generation to work in the tallest building in Boston
Generation 11, Gavin Richard Ng, the first generation to perhaps bring about world peace
Gavin having been given a middle name of an uncle who can remember so many generations may perhaps carry that responsibility to value the importance of family history. Gavin is the fifth generation of Ngs who set foot in America and the third generation of American born Asian Americans. The series will continue.
Hebrews 11
In the Bible, there is the book of Hebrews where in chapter 11, it reads
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going.”
By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that had foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
The series of faithfulness by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob knowing the promise that God made led them to have generations of descendants to be as numerous as the stars in the sky and as innumerable as sands on the beach. The birth of Gavin and of any child is a sign of God’s promise to bless us and to continue the series of family generations for years to come. We pray that the blessings of God in Christ will bless you as we know that God has blessed us in the births of grandchildren Evi and Gavin.
Red Egg & Ginger
The customs of the Red Egg & Ginger Party is that after a month of a newborn, a dinner is given to introduce the baby to the world. As a delicacy, eggs symbolize fertility and the red symbolizes happiness. At some moment, we will give Gavin his first haircut as a rite of passage to mark the child’s independence existence. Ginger is known to bring balance and good health to the mother after childbirth. (I think all of us need ginger all the time!) These series of traditional rituals helps us to appreciate our long history and to contemporize it for our present day enjoyment and celebration. Your presence today symbolizes the series of family and friend relationships that will help raise and guide Gavin to maturity.
Chinese Proverb
On the living room wall in Gavin’s house, Greg created a poster of Buddhist head shaven nuns. On the poster is a Chinese proverb that reveals a series of interrelated epiphanies that may lead to world peace. It reads:
If there is light in the soul,
There will be beauty in the person.
If there is beauty in the person,
There will be harmony in the house.
If there is harmony in the house,
There will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation,
There will be peace in the world.
As Heather would remind me that my watching the Red Sox play won’t necessarily guarantee that they will win, I do wonder that with the birth of Evi, they have won the World Series. I wonder with the birth of Gavin, might there be hope for all of God’s children in this room and in all the places on earth, that there will be world peace. Let the series of hope, love, and peace begin!