First Things First

We need to ponder the meaning of Plato's dictum "know thyself." The meaning wrapped within this little phrase is essentially look within to discover the answer to that primal human question "what shall I do." The Platonic worldview percieved the self as healthy or unhealthy based on whether or not it was congruent with the dictates of human nature. Being that human nature, when flourshing, was capable of "great" things, the ethic of Plato and Aristotle became to "know thyself." Once one was living consistent with his/her nature and began to flourish (i.e. each of the persons capacities began to be exercised regularly and were well-functioning) one could discover that when one exercised their capacities that they could create and do meaningful things... good things. This healthy self had particular trajectories, and the individual is to look within to discover in what particular way it flourishes within themself. Thus one may discover that they have the flourshing artistic capacity that others did not have, or at least in the same manner which they had it, and this person then, according to this flourishing capacity was to be "honest" and act according to their flourishing capacity. Thus the movement within Platonic and Aristotelian thought is to look within to discover what meaningful thing I ought to do. This is wisdom. It should sound relatively familiar to Christians, it is the wisdom of proverbs. It is basically the sow and reap principle, which for the sage was, if you sow certain acts in a certain wise manner you will reap a generally good life. This is the hoekma of our cosmos. It is the ordering principle that God used to set in order the disordered and chaotic "void" or "deep." "Get wisdom" is the admonition of the Proverbs and of Plato and Aristotle. It is not that difficult to discover what kind of life is a "good life" according to the natural law by which our cosmos was made. Yet we need to look deeply into the crown jewel of widsom literature, Ecclesiastes. This work is written in response to misappropriated "wisdom." The sage who discovers "a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands, and poverty will come upon you like a bandit" from observing a man who was a sluggard whose property had been left uncultivated, could also become the sage who works hard according to his abilities, creates a flourishing vineyard, yet does so apart from God. This sage had discovered a meaningful life by acting according to "wisdom" but the teacher says "this too is meaningless" because what this wise guy did in building his wealth will all be lost and forgotten anyway. What are we to do? Are we to do anything? I propose that the wisdom of "know thyself" is only a secondary and derivative wisdom. If one makes it first, which all cultures, cliques, societies, and civilizations do, they inevitably become an aristocracy which has aristocratic values (such as hard work, moral behavior, individualism, an entreprenurial spirit, self-reliance, to name a few American aristocratic values). Churchs can become like this, emphasizing family values, moralism, and the like and can become very aristocratic. These churchs are doing very "meaningful" and "good" things, moral things, just things etc... And these churchs (and organizations for that matter) become crystallized around these values, each parishoner mirroring back to other parishoners how "good" they are. These churchs are well on their way to becoming Plato's Republic with Christ knocking on the gate of the city pleading with them to buy salve from Him, and clothing, and asking them to recieve Him to their feasts. All cultures, societies, and civilizations are built around the wisdom of the sow and reap principle, and individuals within these structures discover a meaningful and good life by following the dictum "know thyself." To answer the question "what are we to do" one follows the wisdom of "know thyself." And wisdom it is, but secondary and derivative wisdom. Remember Paul's admonition to the Corinthians, "not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him." Therefore I conclude with these final thoughts; first we tend to think of our calling in terms of what we are to do and thus often follow the wisdom of "know thyself," look within to discover who you are and then you will discover what meaningful thing you should do, but I propose we think of our calling primarily in terms of God's sovereign foreknowing call by which we come to Christ, and stand in Him, in the Beloved Son of God. We are called in the Beloved, and our whole selves are to be recollected to the truth of what it means to be "in Christ." For to the degree which we are not recollected in Christ is the degree which we will be tempted to use our knowledge of ourselves (our gifts, abilities, and talents) to create, according to Kierkegaard, a "world in which I did not live, but only held up to the view of others... [and be] left standing like a man who has rented a house and gathered all the furniture and household things together, but has not yet found the beloved with whom to share the joys and sorrows of his life." The Jubilee Project, or any other human venture of ours, if done primarily as an extension of "know thyself" will be an incredibly great expirement of human ingenuity, that will ultimately fall under the condemnation of Ecclesiastes. But, if perchance, it is done as an expression of Jesus' admonition "I am the vine, you are the branches, abide in me and you will bear much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing." Then it will stand as the fruit of God, tested as by fire, and will have continuity with the new creation wherein we will hear, "well done good and faithful servant, you have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's joy!"

What is the Jubilee Project?

Though there has been much dreaming, pondering, and a few sporadic conversation, as of this moment the Jubilee Project is an amorphous idea in need of some shaping and developing. To this point it is primarily, as a dream, an incubator for creative ideas, speculative conversation, and genuine spiritual inquiry. It may one day morph into a counsel of friends who have been given talents according to their ability and who "immediately went and traded with them, and gained... more talents." It is to us that the question of St. Anselm comes, "What shall your answer be on that day when there shall be asked of you an account of all the time of your living, how you have spent it, even to the twinkling of an eye?"