Pastor John Wright

I’ve been told several times that people can tell what I’ve been reading or teaching by what I preach and/or blog, bible study or otherwise. There is no doubt that this is true. The past several months I’ve been reading and teaching Thomas Aquinas – right now in my “Narrative and Law in the OT” class we are reading Thomas’ Treatise on the Law. Thomas’ wisdom has helped me immensely to articulate better convictions that I think are true.

For Thomas, truth is the conformity of the intellect to the thing itself. This is very important, because this conformity comes by way of our senses – what is in our intellect is first in our senses. Yet the intellect is very active in understanding; it is not an inert “blank slate”. Because of the fallenness of humanity, the intellect can also be malformed, not conformed, to what is. Our intellect takes training, and thus requires us to live amid a certain type of people to train us in order to perceive what really is, to allow our minds to be conformed to reality. You want Pastor Deron, not me, to tell you about the electrical wiring in your dwelling place – my intellect has never undergone the hard training and practice that his has to understand such things.

Of course, it is ultimately the saints who know best, for caught up in the Wisdom of God, Jesus Christ, their whole existence has undergone formation into the ultimate Truth, God Godself, and all things in light of God.

Perhaps this is a good entry point into our Scriptures for this week. We hear the hard process of being conformed, made adequate, to what really is while watching the implications of malformation in the Gospel reading. We hear the call to undergo the hard process of re-formation in the Epistle, and some of the hard consequences of being so formed amid a profoundly malformed world in our OT reading.

Matthew 16:21-27

Of course, this passage immediately follows Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah and Jesus’ praise of Peter for this confession. What is the difference between Peter’s confession and his behavior? What does Peter’s behavior and words indicate he has been formed to believe about what it is to be “Messiah” or the “King of the Jews”? Given this, what would Jesus’ words require of Peter? BTW, the issue is not a “spiritual” messiah versus as “political” messiah, because one could not at this time make such a distinction, and Jesus is very much an embodied, physical and political figure. If you are Messiah, you are by nature political! The issue is how the Messiah becomes enthroned and rules over his people.

Why does Jesus rebuke Peter with the words that he does? How does this compare with the praise earlier in the passage? The “cross” of which Jesus speaks is a particular tool that the Romans used to force terror in groups to force conformity to its rule and commitments. How does this help us understand what Jesus asks for us to do in order to be formed in a way to be made to whom he really is? Why does Jesus add the point of final judgment?

Romans 12:1-8

How does Jesus’ response to Peter make this passage understandable? Why must one be transformed in order to then discern what is the will of God? Why can’t one discern God’s will without transformation? How does vv. 3-8 relate to vv. 1-2?

Jeremiah 15:15-21

What are the main characters described in this passage? What is each one’s roles? Why do “I” or “me” experience what “I” or “me” does? How does one need to be formed in order to handle what “I” do? How does the “Lord” treat “me”/”I”?

Given these passages, how does one open oneself to be formed in a way given the reality of our world and our lives? What difference does worship in Word and Sacrament, and being actively engaged in the works of Mercy and Devotion make when we engage in these with a vibrant faith? What happens if faith is missing?