Jesus was a philosopher of his
time and as philosophy students, we ought to imitate him. Looking into the life
of Jesus, we learn that he made contemplation the centre of his life and that
is why before his mission, he had a time of contemplation in the desert.
Imitating him we need to enter into deep contemplation. Aristotle put it well
in saying that true contemplation is the source of happiness, which is the
ultimate desire of every human being. Jesus shared the fruits of contemplation with his followers and the
people he met.
Many students understand
philosophy as argument and they fail to enter into contemplation. Being
philosophy students, how do we apply our philosophy? Does it lead us to
contemplation? I imagine a philosophy student visiting Makenke slum where
people are sick, hungry, homeless and poor. This student applies his
philosophy, by sharing the philosophy of Kant with the sick, Plato’s allegory
of the cave with the homeless, and the period of enlightenment with the poor.
I think philosophy is made to
help us think well, become more human, and analyze issues critically. Consider
a philosophy student who applies Levinas’ philosophy of “the encounter”. Every
encounter calls us to love and see the face of the other (God). I would call such a student wise since he
would meaningfully take the responsibility of bring hope and light in the lives
of those he or she encounters. In this way he will be imitating Christ who
encountered the hungry and fed them, Christ who encountered the sick and healed
them. Likewise we can heal others by our words. We imitate Christ who met the
poor and enriched them. The question still remains, “how do we use the
philosophy we acquire?” Is the aim to show others that we have learnt about
philosophers by quoting them when in an argument? A philosophy student should
contextualize his or her philosophy in order to enrich others.
Yes, Jesus!
The Jesus who had no servants yet they called him MASTER!
Had no degree, yet they called him Teacher!
Had no medicines, yet they called him HEALER!
He had won no military battles, yet he conquered the WORLD!
He committed no crime, yet they CRUCIFIED HIM!
He was buried in a tomb, yet he LIVES TODAY!
It is so wonderful to serve a
leader who LOVES US
Mutuku Henry Mutune