Word to the Wise
Saturday, May 9, 2020 - 4th Week of Easter - Sat
[Acts 13:44-52 and John 14:7-14]"Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father." [John
The "Farewell Discourse" is, as I have mentioned, like a tapestry of threads or a cord made up of many strands which spiral together. The Evangelist and others who contributed to the final composition have woven all of this and it has passed down to us from the time it was created - roughly 90-110 A.D.. By that time, the gospel clearly shows that considerable reflection about the person and identity of Jesus had taken place. Putting all the testimonies of witnesses together into a single testimony is bound to result in repetitions and, perhaps even conflicts as the story moves forward. Such is the Farewell Discourse.
In today's passage, Jesus' identity with his Father who sent him is accented. That relationship is what the testimony of the "signs" points to. The first twelve chapters of the gospel are called by scripture scholars, THE BOOK OF SIGNS. The chapters that follow are called THE BOOK OF GLORY. (Chapter 21 is called the APPENDIX.) When Jesus is asked earlier what one must do to accomplish "the works of God," he answers: "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent." Jesus' "work" is to reveal his relationship to his Father.
The final "work" of God in the gospel is the death and resurrection of Jesus. Our response in faith furthers that work. Jesus, in today's passage, tells the disciples that they will do great "work" in his name. That work is bringing others to faith in Jesus as the one whom God has sent. The Farewell Discourse aims at preparing the disciples for that challenge. There is more to come because the discourse is, in itself, a challenge to our reflection. AMEN