Theological Discourses

There are several passages in the synoptics, and many more in John’s Gospel, where we are led to follow Jesus in sustained thinking about deep matters. We may think of his instruction of the apostles in Matt 11:25–30/Luke 10:17–24, in which his intimate relation with the Father, and our privilege in seeing God’s climactic visitation of humanity, are explored. Or we may consider the discourses surrounding “light” and “water” in John’s Gospel (chapters 4 and 9). These passages direct us to worship the God-Man, and to ponder the wonder of the Trinity, whose Persons are both ordered, and in complete mutuality. In such extended passages, we come to see what Jesus means (at least in part) when He said we are no longer mere servants, but friends of God, knowing what He is doing! The Gospel emerges not simply as a means of escape from sin and death, but a way to true transformation and communion with our Creator.