John 14:8-17, 25-27 (NRSV)
Read John 14:8-17, 25-27 on biblegateway.com
Verse 8Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Verse 9Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Verse 10Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Verse 11Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.
Verse 12Very 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. Verse 13I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Verse 14If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
Verse 15"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. Verse 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. Verse 17This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
Verse 25"I have said these things to you while I am still with you. Verse 26But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Verse 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
Devotion
The disciples didn’t get it – even after hanging around Jesus all that time. “Show us the Father, and then we will be content.” Put another way, they say, “Give us some otherworldly proof.” Jesus tells his friends that all they need to do is look around them for evidence of the Kingdom’s breaking in. Then he adds, “You’ll do greater things than these.”
Do we believe that – greater things than Jesus? When we focus our attention on meeting our religious needs, we forget about the abundant evidence of the Kingdom’s existence now. Do we begin new churches to meet a denominational quota, to reach the Lutherans who’ve fled to the ’burbs – or do we do Kingdom work to bring the best possible life to everyone? Jesus gave his followers a vision of something beyond themselves. Why wouldn’t we want to join that mission?
Prayer
Lord, pour out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth. Break through my dullness with that vision of the Kingdom beyond myself, and let me be part of your mission. Amen.