Define me this.

Today's Lord Supper reminded me of a conversation I had with Emilio in what seems like a lifetime ago...

We were in a local coffee shop (Beulah Cafe), having some ice cream and tiramisu as he tries to teach me the moves behind each chess piece in the hopes of eventually teaching me how to play the game. However, watching my Haagen Das melt onto the table and the usual randomness of my thoughts triggered my sudden prattling about the science of sublimation. How, in some extreme conditions, a solid material could change into its gaseous form without changing first into its liquid form.

And with that came the tangential discussion about the meaning of the word sublime (which seemed like it didn't really have anything to do with the concept of sublimation, but that's another post). I was finding it difficult to concretely convey what sublime meant. Many philosophers, poets, and artists define sublime synonymously with beauty. How do you explain a beauty that overwhelms? A beauty so extreme that it pains? It seems paradoxical. Don't all things beautiful bring a sense of joy?

As I struggle to find a suitable example to portray the meaning of the word, Emilio says, "You mean like the death of Christ on the cross for our sins?"

And there it was. The only example that could ever satisfy its meaning. The boundless beauty of Christ's sacrifice on the cross brings us to our knees, leaves us in absolute awe, makes as ache with gratitude, and changes us from the inside out. It surpasses all understanding, and yet it is as simple as love.

Thank you, Jesus.