Sublime

In Augustine’s striking picture, “By your gift we are set on fire and carried upwards: we grow red hot and ascend. We climb ‘the ascents in our heart’ (Ps. 84:7) and sing ‘the song of steps’ (Ps. 121:1). Lit by your fire, your good fire, we grow red-hot and ascend, as we move upwards ‘to the peace of Jerusalem’ (Ps. 122:6).”10 Discipleship should s

Julian of Norwich, “The greatest honor we can give Almighty God is to live gladly because of the knowledge of his love.”

Jesus chose life on the Sabbath: he healed people; he fed them; he supported rescuing animals that fell into wells on the Sabbath. Mark Buchanan, in his book The Rest of God, says that the golden rule for the Sabbath is to cease from what is necessary and to embrace what gives life: Sabbath … is a reprieve from doing what you ought to do, even thou

For us, as for Bach, it’s about glorifying God.

In response, it’s helpful to remember that if these practices make our lives feel heavier or become just one more thing to do, in all likelihood we have established a self-constructed rule rather than a Spirit-created one. Jesus, after all, tells us that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. He teaches us that under his “yoke” — that is, by fol