Crocus Pocus

Votive Silence

There are frequent references in my journal to the “votive silence.”

That phrase, along with “sacred hush,” became engrained in my mind about a year ago when I began genuinely journaling as an assignment for a writing course. I had always journaled sporadically, but found myself wasting pages on getting an imaginary reader up to date on the events of my life since my previous entry. Journaling as a regular assignment initiated in me the habit of writing for a discerning audience (a writing instructor) and writing reasoned observations rather than merely recording events and my emotional responses to them.

I spent some time the other morning trying to nail down the origin of the phrase “votive silence.” A google search showed that other writers have used it to describe such varities as palm trees and chafing dishes.

But I finally determined that I drew it from the course study guide, which quoted author Derek Walcott in a Writers at Work interview:

I imagine all artists and all writers in that moment before they begin their working day or working night have that area between beginning and preparation, and however brief it is, there is something about it votive and humble and in a sense ritualistic (Plimpton, 8th ser. 272-278).

Walcott adds that “any serious attempt to try to do something worthwhile” involves ritual.

I’m not quite sure how I extrapolated “votive silence” and “sacred hush” into my thinking as direct quotes from that course, but they are firmly planted.

“Votive silence” especially appears so often because that is what I try to capture when I sit at my computer at 5:00 in the morning. And what I frequently lament failing to do in the frustration of pressing deadlines and distractions.

On Sunday morning, I was lying in bed trying not to move so my husband could get a little extra sleep. As I was quietly lying there and praying, it suddenly occurred to me that the moment itself was the votive silence and the sacred hush.

The votive silence is not something that I have to try to capture on my computer screen before I can begin my work day. It’s God gift to me every morning before I even get out of bed. I don't have to capture it at all; I just need to be aware of God’s presence and open my self-centered mind to his direction.

The Five-Minute Rule

Perhaps you’ve heard of the ten-second rule about food that falls on the floor—if it’s been on the floor less than ten seconds, it’s still good. The Myth Busters television program has dispelled that myth: any amount of time on the floor exposes food to bacteria.

But have you heard about the five-minute rule for church fellowship? A friend recently shared it with me: For at least the first five minutes after a worship service, talk only to someone you don’t already know.

Now that’s an interesting rule. If you’re like me after the worship service, you feel more comfortable looking for and chatting with people you already know. Fear of being tongue-tied often keeps us from approaching visitors or even fellow members we don’t know well.

Think about the implications of following through on this rule! Every week you’d meet at least one new person. If both parties have just spent the previous hour or more in corporate worship, surely they can find something to say to each other!

Our congregation has heard a lot of inspiring sermons stressing the communion of the saints, and many people who become members of our congregation remark about the wonderful fellowship in our church family, but most of us could work harder at stepping out of our comfort zones to greet people other than our friends after worship.

As I consider ways to increase fellowship within our church family, Philippians 2:1-4 seems to support the five-minute rule:

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Fujimura on Art

I’ve been thinking a lot about Christianity and the arts, which has gotten me thinking about Christian artists and my former Latin tutor, John Barach, directed me to the blog of Makoto Fujimura, WORLD magazine’s “Daniel of the Year” in 2005.

Fujimura is not only a world-class studio artist; he’s a thoughtful and articulate writer. Reading his blog entries on art was an exquisite experience. He writes:

We are created to be creative: and we have stewardship responsibilities that come with that gift. The more we find fittingness in the God given responsibility, the more freedom we will find in our expression.

A recent viewing of the Fra Angelica (1395-1455) exhibit at the Met led him to ask what he calls the “five hundred year question”: “What ideas, what art, what vision affects humanity for over five hundred years?” This, he elucidates, is “the opposite of the Warholian ‘15 seconds of fame.’”

“Contemporary art does not encourage such thoughts,” he writes. Noting a couple of exceptions, he adds, “contemporary artists want to compress time, rather than stretch time. We are immersed in a visual culture that squeezes life into 15 second commercials with instant gains.”

Fujimura muses that if Fra Angelica were born today he would have a difficult time finding anyone to teach him his craft because the “church would not be the first place a creative genius would look” for training in art. “That statement alone reveals how much Christians have abdicated our responsibility to steward culture.”

There is much more to thoughtfully savor, particularly his questions:

Would we see another Renaissance in the days to come? Would we have another chance to steward our culture, without losing our identity and faith in the process?

Doxology

This morning for various reasons, I am again amazed at my total dependence on God and his remarkable grace.

I am reminded of a poem I wrote many years ago.

Doxology


It's done.
I stand agape
at what's been done
by One
Triune Majesty
Who swells
my soul
until
this slack-jawed
maggot
sings.

Chai!!

I'm helping host a bridal shower tea tomorrow afternoon and I'm bringing the teas. I wanted to bring chai for one of the options, but didn't know which brand to buy. So I bought three different types. This morning I labeled three styrofoam cups and tried them all.

It was a tough decision, but I think Bigelow's Vanilla Chai will provide the best contrast with the other teas we'll have available.

An interesting side effect: The more chai I tried, the more my writing was invaded with that bane of literature--the doubled exclamation point!!