Jesus: A Wisdom Teacher

Richard Rohr Weekly Meditations

Sunday

Jesus doesn’t teach his disciples mere conceptual information, as we do in our seminaries. Rather, he introduces them to a lifestyle, and the only way he can do that is to invite them to live with him.

—Richard Rohr

Monday

Jesus stayed close to the ground of wisdom: the transformation of human consciousness. What does it mean to die before you die? How do you go about losing your little life to find the bigger one?

Is it possible to live on this planet with a generosity, abundance, fearlessness, and beauty that mirror Divine Being itself?

—Cynthia Bourgeault

Tuesday

Jesus, as a teacher, largely talked about what was real and what was unreal, what was temporary and what would last—and therefore how we should live inside of reality. It required humility and honesty, much more than education.

—Richard Rohr

Wednesday

There was no need for Jesus to stand behind a podium or pulpit to pontificate. Instead, he interacted with his listeners’ hearts and minds in a manner that became integral to the story itself.

—Gary Paul Nabhan

Thursday

Jesus is better seen as a charismatic teacher, healer, and speaker of traditional wisdom than as a rabbi who, in a study house, focused on understanding the words of Torah and determining how best to implement them.

—Amy-Jill Levine

Friday

Jesus came to teach us the way of wisdom by bringing us a message that offers to liberate us from both the lies of the world and the lies lodged in ourselves.

The wisdom of the gospel creates an alternative consciousness, solid ground on which we can really stand, free from every social order and every ideology.

—Richard Rohr

Week Thirty-Two Practice

The Transformative Wisdom of the Gospels

Through the Gospels, Jesus models a path for a transformative way of life. Author and psychotherapist Thomas Moore explains:

Nothing in the Gospels suggests that Jesus was interested in creating a religion.

He was offering everyone a chance for a peaceful and fulfilling life by adopting a different set of values. The crux, of course, is a shift from judgment, competition, and aggression to the rule of an open heart. The Gospels represent a movement out of narcissism and paranoia to a more mature, self-possessed life of deep community.

The Gospels do not focus on a plan for spiritual self-improvement and a virtuous personality. They are not a set of platitudes about living properly, but rather a restructuring of the human imagination about how we can be in relation to each other and to the world.

They offer a new way of imagining the human worldwide community.

How, then, do you live the Gospel spirit today? You do exactly what the Gospel says: Firstly, you cultivate a deep respect for people who are not of your circle and whom society rejects….

Secondly, you do everything possible to deal effectively with demonic urges in yourself and in society.

You do something about aggression, paranoia, narcissism, greed, jealousy, and violence. You live with a mind-set that doesn’t justify such things but seeks alternatives.

Thirdly, you play the role of healer in every situation. The word therapy [healing] appears 47 times in the New Testament—you adopt a therapeutic posture in the style of Jesus the healer.

In all your work and interactions, you take the role of healer. Finally, you stay awake and don’t fall into the unconsciousness of the age. You also help others wake up to a thoughtful life imagined in fresh, original, and convivial ways….

If you follow the example of Jesus and listen for your destiny and fate, you will have to go your own way, adapting the simple, radical teachings to your own calling and circumstances.

You will evoke the kingdom in your own style, making your own life a tiny mustard seed, cultivating the weeds of your thoughts, making yourself the embodiment of the moral beauty and spiritual intelligence found in the Gospels.