from our vain ambition’s
worry, come to Christ to find release. Come away from noise and clamor, life’s
demands and frenzied pace;
come to join the people
gathered here to seek and find God’s grace.
---Marva J. Dawn, 1999
Horror vacui, “Nature abhors a vacuum”, was thought to have been
postulated around 485 BC by Greek physicist-philosopher Parmenides. The theory,
in my (very) laywoman’s terms, is that where nothing is, something will rush in to fill it up. Lots of things about physical science don’t
make sense to me; this, I have no trouble with. Clear off the kitchen
table…whoosh, two days later, the surface is covered with the flotsam and
jetsam of daily life. Horror vacui, indeed.
I thought of this principle
as I read Marva Dawn’s wonderful new hymn text. She addresses the call,
tempting to us all at various times in our busy lives, to come away, to retreat, to leave behind. And the things she names
as ‘retreat-worthy’ are indeed the things that wear us down and use us up. But
our lives don’t need to be left vacant, empty spaces void of substance or
meaning when we retreat from the stressors of everyday.
Dawn suggests that when we come
away from rush and hurry we come toward
the stillness of peace. When we retreat
from the idea that we change the
world by worrying we move forward to
release through trust in Christ. And when we draw back for a time from the lures of this world, with its
clamor, frenzy, and unending demands, we can step into the gathered family of faith, seeking grace in each
other’s company and God’s presence.
Nature abhors a vacuum. So
when we step away from what binds us, let us lean toward the fullness of faith.
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