Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also

 

 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God; believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."  

 

Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."  Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?"  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. 

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."

 

- John 14:1-14 

 

 On Thursday, we read what is called Christ's High Priestly Prayer, which He prayed at the Last Supper.  Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said:  "Father, the hour has come.  Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.  And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.  I have glorified You on the earth.  I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.  And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.  I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world.  They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.  Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You.  For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.  I pray for them.  I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.  And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.  Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You.  Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name.  Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.  But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.  I have given them your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  Sanctify them by Your truth.  Your word is truth.  As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.  And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.  I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.  And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.  Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.  O righteous Father!  The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.  And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

 

  "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God; believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."   The setting for the readings of this week is the Last Supper.  This is Christ's final discourse to His disciples. My study Bible comments that many mansions is a word-picture (a kind of parable) of an abundance of living accommodations around a central courtyard.  "Mansions" also speaks of the multitude of blessings that await those who enter the Kingdom of God.  

Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."  My study Bible comments here that the way we reach the Father is forever established in the Person and work of the Son.  The Son is the truth because He is the unique revelation of the Father.  He is the One who became a human being so that we might have life; as He is our live, not even death can keep us from coming to Him.  My study Bible adds that only in Christ can one come to know the Father, for only in Christ is the way of all truth and all life found.  

Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?"  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves."  Here my study Bible explains Christ's remark ("He who has seen Me has seen the Father") as follows:  Our response to Christ determines our relationship with the Father.  If we reject Christ then we will never find the Father but if we believe in Christ and follow Him, then we ourselves will become "children of God," living eternally in the love of the Father (John 1:12).  While we are human beings are made in God's image (Genesis 1:26), Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son, is Himself the exact image of the Father (Colossians 1:15).  Christ does not say, "I am the Father" -- He is not.  Instead, what He declares is that He and the Father are one in essence and undivided in nature while being distinct Persons in the Godhead.

 

 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."  To pray in God's name does not simply mean to attach the phrase "in Jesus' name we pray" to the end of prayers, my study Bible says.  Rather, to pray in God's name means to pray according to God's will.  Just as an emissary of a king can only be said to be speaking in the king's name if he says what the king would want him to say, my study Bible explains, so also we can only be said to be praying in the name of Christ when we pray according to what He wants.  The purpose is not to get God to do our will, but for us to learn to pray properly, according to God's will (Matthew 6:10).  

 

How do we know what to pray for?  We know that in this world things are often unjust, and that life isn't fair.  There is a long, long history of theology in which the questions of evil in this world have been addressed, and will go on being addressed.   It is part of what we live with.  But sometimes, perhaps in our modern consumer society much more strongly than in the past, we might be tempted to think that prayer is a kind of practice in which we just ask what we want.  This can, of course, extend from the mundane to the most deeply personal and important matters in our lives.  But it is a deep effort to learn that oftentimes we don't get exactly what we want, what is "right," or "fair," or even what we think we need.  In circumstances we can't control, we know that all things are in God's hands.  And yet, there remains an evil in the world, abuses, hardship, illness, and death.  Some friends right now are deeply struggling with a tragic illness of their son.  So many are praying for them, for him, and such strong faith is always present within the efforts of his parents.  But, just like some of the tragic stories we read in the Gospels, nonetheless his life stands in danger from this illness (like Lazarus or Jairus' daughter), but we don't all have Christ in the flesh to call upon to give us a miracle or miraculous sign.  I have seen and experienced my share of the miraculous connected with prayer, but this hard circumstance of this tragically ill child is far from certain.  What I have seen from prayer in my own life, however, is a promise of Resurrection that is always present, a gift from Christ on the Cross that must be unforgettable for all of us.  And that is that our suffering is transfigured through God's grace.  Even when we might not get the outcome we want, there is always a glimmer, a light, that shines in the darkness, and this much, I am certain is true.  Through my mother's long illness I learned prayer, even when alone and feeling abandoned, and how it gave me strength, and resources, that I didn't know I could have to continue on one more day, to find the right thing to do, to do what I had to do and care for her the best I could.  These are the blessings of the light that shines in the darkness, regardless of the outcome.  The tremendous love and strength, the resources, and shared community created out of this one family's struggle and their hurting child has been extraordinary to see and to watch, their love a tremendous blessing.  But in their sadness and difficulty, and potential devastating loss, that might be impossible to see.  God's love is there, no matter what the outcome, and this is our light we can share with one another at all times, although none of us knows our outcome.  But this love we know is God's will.  It's important to know that just prior to the words we read in today's Gospel passage, Jesus has said to the disciples (minus Judas), "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35).  Perhaps it is in sharing that love that we do the greatest work of God we can do.