Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles
“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.” On a feast of the Apostles, such as today, it is worth dwelling on these words of our Lord. The “works” of Jesus, as one Scripture commentator puts it, are his deeds that make God known. Jesus makes the blind see, he makes the lame walk, and he raises the dead. And wondrously, the Lord says that we, the ones who believe in him, will do his works, and even greater ones!
In extraordinary circumstances, such as in the lives of the Apostles and other saints, believers have done signs and works of healing like those of Jesus, and in doing so, they have made God known to the world. But in more ordinary circumstances, believers have done works of a different nature: acts of heroic love, practiced in everyday situations as well as in times of challenge and difficulty. Although these works may not have the aura of the miraculous, they are no less works of Jesus, and therefore no less effective in making God known. By the power of his Spirit, the Lord works through us to make the Father known.
Today, let us consider this promise of Christ that we will do his works, and even greater ones. Let us examine how our works make God known, and pray that all that we do might manifest in an ever-more transparent manner the glory and love of God.