outWORD by Matte Downey

Jesus says something to his disciples in John 14 which seems a bit gutsy, maybe even a bit hyperbolic. At the very least, it is puzzling. He says, "Very 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" (John 14:11-12). Jesus is talking to his closest friends about his impending departure, telling them not to be troubled, assuring them that he is not abandoning them. The unity Jesus enjoys with his Father is the unity into which Jesus invites his disciples through the Spirit of God, the Advocate, the Helper. In this passage, Jesus is not making a statement about how impressive their miracles will be, but letting them know that his physical departure will not result in a cessation of the work of God. In fact, quite the opposite. Much time has been spent by readers and interpreters trying to decipher what Jesus means by "greater works." The charismatics t...

We go through doorways and openings every day, stepping across thresholds as we do, and seldom think much about it. But thresholds and doorways and gates are significant places, liminal spaces which tie two realms together. Thresholds are places of transition and decision. They are entrances and openings to new worlds, offering promise and invitation, but they are also places of ambiguity and disorientation. Open the door of your warm, cozy home during a blistering blizzard in the dead of winter and you know what I mean. Or step through the doorway of a plane after you land in a foreign country and you know the feeling. Gates are important places in the biblical text. We read about certain events happening "in the gate." This makes little sense unless we know something about ancient cities. A city usually had a wall around it and where there was a gate into the city, an outer gate would be built around it, providing a second line of defence. Between the inner and the ou...