Goethe
“A person should hear a little music, read a little poetry and see a fine picture every day in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“A person should hear a little music, read a little poetry and see a fine picture every day in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“A person should hear a little music, read a little poetry and see a fine picture every day in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Behind the Art
Goethe
Communion
It was mid-afternoon of a busy day at one of the arts and crafts shows. I realized I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. I said to the couple, who after some time had narrowed their choices to this Goethe and a quote from Saint Augustine, “I’m going to get some coffee and a sandwich. I’ll be right back. May I bring you something?” “No thanks,” they said. “You go ahead. We’ll be right here trying to make up our minds.”
When I returned they had selected the Goethe. We talked about the text. My ideas went something like this: “A particular poem, a certain picture, a favorite piece of music — these can become more than simple aesthetic experiences. What they can become is spiritual food. Just as we, at intervals, grow hungry for a meal — this snack of mine, for example — so God has designed us also to regularly grow hungry for Him. To regularly grow hungry for beauty. To satisfy this hunger, He nourishes us with Himself. He does this in many ways. The Creator feeds us beauty through art and nature. He reveals Himself to us in scripture. In the Lord’s Supper He offers divine sustenance to meet human need. “This is My body, given for you,” says Jesus as He breaks bread and shares it with His friends. “This cup is the New Testament in My blood which is shed for you” (Luke 22:19-20).
The thought I want to share, the one that Goethe’s words suggest to me, is that there are times when even these “lesser feasts” – the poem, the aria, the watercolor – can also be a kind of communion. They awaken and feed our hunger for Beauty.
From “JOY” by Michael Podesta