Recipes and Recommendations for Imbibing Beauty through Books and Beverages
By Annie Nardone
THE PAGES: THE MYSTERY OF ART: BECOMING AN ARTIST IN THE IMAGE OF GOD, BY JONATHAN JACKSON
“Each human being has been called to a destiny that is both prophetic and artistic. The Son of God spoke in parables. The artist is called to become a living parable of hope, faith, love, sin, sorrow, despair, darkness, salvation, and grace.”
—Jonathan Jackson
Have you ever read a book that is so full of goodness, inspiration, and holiness that you underline nearly every sentence? Jonathan Jackson’s The Mystery of Art is a book like that, giving a voice to what artists sense on a spiritual level. Each page is embedded with words of truth that restore your imagination and reignite your passion to create.
Jackson is an actor, musician, author, and an Eastern Orthodox Christian, giving him a unique perspective into the arts and the Christian’s role in bringing their gifts to the culture. The thesis of his book is to reconnect the Christian heart and soul to “the mystery of art.” He points out that the ancient and medieval Church did not divide the sacred from the profane, and the utter rending of the two is a modern problem. This division is not fully the fault of the secularist culture; fundamentalists, puritans, and the Reformation contributed to the alienation between the Church and the arts. Misunderstanding the call to craft beauty, or working outside of the divine relationship of co-creating, society is left with art that is devoid of beauty or meaning. Jackson writes that creating in a Holy Spirit-led way aids the artist to become “so alive to the whispers of the Spirit that he loses sight of himself and enters into authentic creativity and spiritual authority.”
We are prone to forget that the gift of making is a holy endeavor. The entire process is a song of praise, co-creating in communion with our Creator to bring forth beauty and light for the world to see. Beginning with Bezalel, God calls artists and has filled you, the maker of beauty, with “the Spirit of God” in your particular craft. (Exodus 35:31). Jackson’s powerful epilogue includes five questions Jesus asked His followers that we should meditate on in our own artistic endeavors.
Start your year afresh by reconnecting with the holiness that is integral to the craft of writing, painting, songwriting, or whatever artistic vocation God created you to do!
“God has chosen to operate in cooperation with humanity and with our prayers. He has chosen to interact with His creation. He has chosen to be in relationship with humanity.”
—Jonathan Jackson
PINTS AND POURS
Frangelico liqueur is included in the following recipe as a tribute to the monastery brothers who are mentioned in The Mystery of Art. Frangelico was created over 300 years ago by Christian monks who lived in Italy’s Piedmont hills where they made a distillation using native wild hazelnuts. The name is an abbreviation of Fra’ Angelico, the hermit monk who lived in the Piedmont area in the 1700s.
FIRESIDE FRIAR
1 cup whole milk or milk substitute
2 T granulated sugar
1 T unsweetened dark cocoa powder
1 oz. chopped dark chocolate
1 shot Frangelico Liqueur
Whipped cream
Combine milk, sugar, and chocolates in a small, heavy saucepan. Whisk gently over low heat until ingredients melt and liquid is hot. Pour into mug, add Frangelico, and stir. Top with whipped cream.
COSMIC COCOA
JEEVES’ JEST
2 cups whole milk or milk substitute
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut cream
8 oz. chopped high quality white chocolate
Whipped cream
Mini marshmallows
Add milk, vanilla, and coconut cream to a small, heavy saucepan and stir over low heat until blended and hot. Drop in chopped white chocolate and slowly whisk until melted together. Pour into two mugs and top with whipped cream and marshmallows.
Annie Nardone is a lifelong bibliophile with a special devotion to the Inklings and medieval authors. She is a Fellow with the C.S. Lewis Institute and holds an M.A. in Cultural Apologetics from Houston Christian University. Annie is a writer for Cultivating Oaks Press and An Unexpected Journal. Her writing can also be found at Square Halo Press, Rabbit Room Press, Clarendon Press U.K., Calla Press, and Poetica. Annie is a Master Teacher with HSLDA and Kepler Education and strives to help her students see holiness in everyday life and art. She lives in Florida with her husband and six cats, appreciates the perfect cup of tea, an expansive library, and the beach with family.
(For a full account of God’s call and gifting on artists, read Exodus 35:30-35.)
(All quotes are from Jonathan Jackson, The Mystery of Art: Becoming an Artist in the Image of God. [Ancient Faith Publishing 2014].)
