Imitating Jesus the Philosopher

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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.

The greatest man in history: Jesus
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 

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