At the Fall 2025 ReVision Conference, Brian McLaren highlighted the contemplative witness of the philosopher Boethius (d. 524), a contemporary of Benedict of Nursia:
Boethius was orphaned at a young age and was raised by a very wealthy aristocrat, which brought him enormous benefits. Because of his privilege he was given an education in the Greek and Roman classics. By the age of twenty-five, he was brought into the government of the violent and unstable King Theodoric, becoming a counselor and advisor to the king at thirty-three. This young Christian man had a great position of privilege. So what did he do with it?
Boethius uses his brilliance to do what he believes needs to be done, seeking to integrate Christian theology and Greek philosophy. He also does some important political work in Theodoric’s kingdom. In the year 520 he takes a dangerous stand, borne of his own integrity and faith, for Christian unity between the East and the West, and he pays for it. In 524, he is imprisoned by King Theodoric for defending one of the king’s critics.
In prison, Boethius is removed from public life, like Benedict in his cave. And like Benedict, people come to see him. He uses his remaining months in prison to teach, and eventually to write a text, The Consolation of Philosophy, that is still studied today as the last great work of the Roman classical period and the first great work of medieval literature.
In The Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius describes how he is met in his suffering by a female figure who offers him wisdom:
While I was quietly thinking these thoughts over to myself and giving vent to my sorrow with the help of my pen, I became aware of a woman standing over me. She was of awe-inspiring appearance, her eyes burning and keen beyond the usual power of men. She was so full of years that I could hardly think of her as of my own generation, and yet she possessed a vivid color and undiminished vigor. It was difficult to be sure of her height, for sometimes she was of average human size, while at other times she seemed to touch the very sky with the top of her head, and when she lifted herself even higher, she pierced it and was lost to human sight. [1]
Sophia, the feminine figure of wisdom, offers him calm, helps him recenter, and guides him into contemplation you might say. The writing of this book becomes a contemplative practice for him that influences generations of people across the following centuries, through and beyond the decay and complete collapse of the Roman Empire.
Shortly after finishing The Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius is brutally tortured and executed. The government in which Boethius worked and strived to do good turns on him and executes him.
These two men, Benedict and Boethius, were called to two completely different paths to live out their Christian faith. [Read about Benedict here.] One stayed in the center of power and tried to influence it, holding fast to his faith. The other left the centers of power and went to the margins to build an alternative community where they could keep the way of Christ alive and maintain some sort of wisdom in a world that was obsessed not with truth, but with power and wealth, violence and weapons.
References:
[1] Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy (Penguin Classics, 1999), 3–4.
Adapted from Brian McLaren, “ReVisioning through Ancient Eyes: Choosing Contemplation and Action.” ReVision: What Do We Do with Christianity? (Center for Action and Contemplation, October 2025). Unavailable.
Image credit and inspiration: Annie Quick, untitled (detail), 2025, photo, Albuquerque. Click here to enlarge image. Bare feet resting on the earth signifies a quiet monastic gesture. Reactivity loosens its grip and a contemplative response can arise.
Story from Our Community:
The meditation by Greg Boyle so touched me, especially this: “The moral quest has never kept us moral; it’s just kept us from each other. So maybe we should abandon the moral quest … and embrace instead the journey to wholeness, flourishing love, and defiant joy.” Defiant joy! What a wonderful phrase! In spite of everything, seek defiant joy. I’m focused on walking to and from the cancer center for my appointments, walking to the hospital on the day of my surgery, walking, not being wheeled, into surgery. I describe this as “defiant health.” I look forward to seeking defiant joy!
—Lea M.
