Audience of One

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

Bach saw himself not as a glittering artist, but as a craftsman. Generations of his family had been musicians. Orphaned at the age of 10, Bach taught himself music. He walked hundreds of miles to hear the best organists of his day. For most of his life, he composed a new piece every week to be performed on Sunday. At the beginning and end of each s

Our jobs? Cooking, designing, nurturing, constructing. But there’s no guarantee that what we do will be remembered, however brilliant it is—teaching a dyslexic child to read, washing windows, pitching a fabulous business proposal.

I walk around the church, wondering whether Bach ever felt discouraged. However brilliant he was, his fellow parishioners probably took him for granted. Week in and week out, Bach wrote anyway, his way of glorifying God. Sometimes it was a joy. Sometimes it probably felt like a sacrifice.