Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” vs. 12
John 14:12-17
As John recounts Jesus’ words to his disciples during his last evening with them, he makes his wishes and intentions crystal clear. Jesus wants them to continue the works that he began, i.e., to announce good news to the poor, release to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and let the oppressed go free. In a word, they are to devote their lives to making the kingdom of heaven a reality on earth. As we reflect on the state of the world on this Day of Pentecost, it’s easy to see that there’s a ton of work left to be done. Oh, we don’t need more denominations or creeds or liturgies–we’ve got more than enough of those. And we don’t need more Christians jumping on political bandwagons–that sort of thing only works to divide us. What we do need is for followers of Jesus to roll up their sleeves and adopt Micah 6:8 as our marching orders: “…and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?” On our own we might not be able to pull this off, but today we’re celebrating the continuing presence of the Holy Spirit–and through the Spirit justice, humility and kindness will become the marks of the Church.
Thought for the Day: How have I been changing?
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