Greater ones than these

Giving sight to the blind, healing to the lame, life to the dead.

Thus did the Lord and in today’s Gospel (John 14:7-14) thus says the Lord:

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.

"Greater ones"? How do you top raising people from the dead?

On one level, our Lord’s words began to be fulfilled by the work of the Apostles. Our Lord had proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom literally within walking distance of where he had been born.

The Apostles proclaimed the Kingdom to the ends of the known world.

And in the millennia since, the Gospel of Christ has reached every corner of the globe.

Much remains to be done, for there are greater obstacles to the Gospel than just geography: specious philosophies, pursuits of happiness perverted into descents into decadence, and even the sins of those who have professed and even proclaimed the Gospel.

These challenges can be daunting, yet the word of the Lord remains true

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.

Yes, these “greater works” include what we normally understand as miracles (both those known and unknown to history), yet perhaps the most amazing miracles of all are when obstinate disbelievers, through our humble words of faith and deeds of charity, are touched by the grace of the Father and accept fully and truly our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.