The Great Auditorium, Ocean Grove, NJ
ROCK
CONCERT,
GREAT
AUDITORIUM, OCEAN GROVE
It
was good for us to be there
even
though our silver pates pounded
and
our ears were so deeply traumatized
by
each deafening decibel
our
hearing actually dulled, temporarily
The
thundering beat bounced off
walls
and rafters, ceiling and floor
reverberated
in our seats
and
sent tremulous vibrations
through
our entire beings
It
was a rock concert of worship music
with
smoke and strobe and spotlights
PowerPoint
and praise to Jesus. Hallelujah!
Amplified
drums and crashing cymbals
the
resounding cymbals the Psalms speak of
It's
the very same music we enjoy over the radio
when
we have control of the knob
There
was no adjusting the volume tonight
The
lead singer leaped across the stage
and
sang so loudly we couldn't hear words
We
attempted to sing along as best we could
we
clapped and shouted and raised our hands
along
with thousands, mostly young
with
wonderful innate enthusiasm
and
accustomed, receptive ears
We
even did "the wave" with them
until
we all were reminded
of
the balcony's 100 year old fragility
We
were reminded of our own 60ish fragility
We
really wanted to stay. We really wanted to enjoy
We
really wanted to span generations with great jubilation
We
didn't mean to weenie out, but
looking
one to the other
realized
our pinched faces weren't reflective
of
the fired-up ones one third our ages
so
we ducked out midway through the second performance
Tomorrow
we'll go to church
We'll
sing, "Come, Thou Almighty King"
Number
392 in the frayed pew hymnal
but
we'll treasure aspects of tonight
like
the little girl in ribbon-tied pigtails
both
hands raised way up high
like
the cool guys with their big silver crosses
their
earrings and bandanas
black
tees emblazoned with The Name
like
the twelve year old in the row in front of us
who
kept spinning his green glow stick
as
he danced in the bleachers praising his Jesus
with
all the fervor of the shepherd/king of long ago
who
led that remarkable gambol of wild abandon
before
the Holy Ark
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