Quick hits from Fr. Neuhaus

"Know yourself," the ancient philosophers admonish us, for in knowing yourself is the beginning of wisdom. To which the Psalmist declares, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." - Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, Death on a Friday Afternoon

Fr. Neuhaus will go on to describe what this increasingly detested phrase from the Psalms does and doesn't mean, and I myself reflected on it in one of my earliest posts in the nascency of this blog. There is much more to be said about it, but for now I'm just loving the contrast between our idea of wisdom and God's. There is indeed something quite valuable in knowing ourselves, but the beginning of wisdom is found in looking to God rather than ourselves. Fr. Neuhaus comes around to this point later in the book, too.

We often equate knowledge with wisdom, or at least embracing the world view implications that our advanced knowledge seems to have brought us. I find that the beginning of wisdom, and indeed the approach I need for a healthy life, has its roots in all the implications of God's love for me, which give me something to stand on besides the intimidation I otherwise find in a variety of circumstances.

I'm struck too, by the contrast between pride and humility: why should I expect to really find the beginning of wisdom within me, from whence so many stumblings have begun?


The philosopher Alfred North Whitehead said that the only simplicity to be trusted is the simplicity to be found on the far side of complexity.  The only joy to be trusted is the joy on the far side of a broken heart; the only life to be trusted is the life on the far side of death.  Stay a while, with Christ, and him crucified. - ibid.

I've blogged on this quote before, but focused more on the latter part.  There is a world of difference between complexity and complication. I have a coworker who loves a quote from Einstein: "Everything should be made as simple as possible . . . and no simpler."  Some things are by nature complex, and trying to simplify them beyond their nature ultimately makes things complicated. For instance, most people try to have the simplest concept of God that they can manage. God is simultaneously simpler and more complex than the convolutions we go through to make God fit the limits of our mind. Every real paradox known to humankind is answered in God's simple depth. (Thanks, Fred Rogers!)

Oh, I want to have time to reflect more on this!!