May 11, 2025 Sermon
Sermon title: “Tabitha is Raised”
Scripture: Acts 9:36-43
(Other lectionary suggestions include Psalm 23, Revelation 7:9-17, and John 10:22-30.)
Acts 9:36-43
Peter in Lydda and Joppa
36Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. 37At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. 38Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.” 39So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. 41He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. 42This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.
Again, Happy Mother’s Day! I hope you had a good mother. I certainly did, but I know that not everybody does. Our Scripture for today about Tabitha and her being raised from the dead is a nice story, and perhaps a good topic for Mother’s Day. Did you notice all she did? One minister, a guy named Brian Bill, suggests that she was raised from the dead because she was compassionate, and God didn’t want compassion to die in that church! And the Rev. Mr. Bill says something else: We are told that all the widows stood around crying, and they showed Peter the robes and other clothing that Tabitha had made. “They were crying because her death meant their own death as well.” Why? Because the phrase “robes and other clothing” refers both to outer garments and underwear. “Tabitha had made everything they were wearing. They were literally clothed in her compassion. And their custom clothing shows how Tabitha saw each one as an individual.”
When Peter raised Tabitha from the dead, he had seen Jesus do the same thing. Remember Mark 5? Jesus raised up a little girl who had died, saying, “Talitha koum!”. That means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” Peter said, “Tabitha koum!,” which means, “Tabitha, get up!” Peter changes ONE LETTER. Talitha koum becomes Tabitha koum! And the result is the same: a person who was dead rises up!
You and I live in the 21st century. Do we really believe in these resurrections? The New Testament mentions several of these, not only Jesus on that first Easter Day, but in Acts 20, the Apostle Paul raises Eutychus after he fell into a deep sleep during a sermon. What’s interesting is that after Paul raises Eutychus, he continues with the service! Nothing special today: one guy died, but we raised him up and continued with the service! And there are other Biblical accounts of people being raised. I Kings and II Kings, for example. Elijah raises the son of a widow, and Elisha raises the son of the Shunamite woman. Jesus raises the son of a widow in Luke 7 and then he raises a daughter in Luke 8. And in the Gospel of John, Jesus raises Lazarus. Do we believe these accounts, or did those writers mean something else by “DEATH”? As an ordained Christian minister, I believe that Jesus was raised from the dead. The others? I just don’t know.
The minister Brian Bill whom I have already quoted has quite a sense of humor. Listen to this as he wonders what happened AFTER Tabitha was raised: He says, “We don’t hear about what happens next but I don’t think she went out on a speaking circuit to give her testimony. I’m convinced that after she regained her strength, she went right back to her quiet and unassuming service. Miracles always magnify God and work to spread the good news of His glory. When you hear of someone claiming a miracle and all they’re doing is focusing on themselves, your guard should go up.” Boy, is he right there!
And then Pastor Bill compliments members of his congregation. He says that perhaps some of his parishioners have “a special ability to serve. Perhaps you’re a quiet practioner of acts of kindness just like Tabitha was. You notice needs that others don’t even see and you find joy in meeting them. This is one of the most important evangelistic methods because service-style evangelists touch people nobody else can reach. Serving breaks through cynicism and a helping hand can soften a hard heart. Whether it’s making meals, sewing clothes, fixing cars, hanging drywall, or working in a Food Pantry, God can use you to point people to Christ. It was Francis of Assisi who said, ‘At all times preach the gospel. When necessary, use words.’”
Peter called on Tabitha to get up and she did. But that’s only part of the story. God is calling each one of us, too. We need to be involved in acts of compassion. We aren’t Catholics, but the Church just elected a new pope. He is following in Pope Francis’s footsteps, and he is interested in helping the poor. That’s a good sign. Both he and Francis are interested in helping the marginalized, the poor, the hungry, the immigrants who need help. Pope Robbie has already crossed swords a little bit with V. P. J. D. Vance, and that’s a good sign, too! Vance converted to Catholicism, but he can still learn a lot from this new guy from Chicago!
Back to doing acts of compassion.....No one can do everything, but everyone can do something. This minister Brian Bill quotes from the Book of James: “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food? If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” And I know you have heard that before: “Faith without works is dead.”
Perhaps I should have said this earlier, but Tabitha is called a disciple. The word is the feminine form of the word used for the disciples of Jesus. And it is the only place this word appears in the Bible. Says the minister Beth Quick, “Tabitha is the only woman who is specifically given the label DISCIPLE, even though we can look back and recognize the discipleship of other women who followed Jesus. Tabitha’s discipleship is such that even Luke - who wrote Acts – can’t deny it. She’s a special woman, and her discipleship is demonstrated in good works and acts of charity.”
Do you think the small community in Joppa invited Peter there hoping for a resurrection? Probably not, but they wanted the famous disciple to see her, even if she was dead, because they wanted him to know just how much she meant to them. Says the Rev. Beth Quick, “I can exactly picture it. The tears of grief, the pride, the love. ‘See what she made? She was so talented. She took care of so many people. She was such a sweet disciple of Jesus.’ And I can imagine Peter taking it all in, how much this woman meant to this little community of faith.”
It occurred to me that the people who knew Tabitha wanted others – including Peter -- to know how much she meant to them. That’s what we do here, with our memory board of those who have passed on. I have been told of people who died before I came here, and how much I would have liked them. That’s what those who knew Tabitha wanted: to share stories of just how much she had done for them.
Says Pastor Beth Quick, “We are Easter people, people of resurrection and new life. And we don’t quit being Easter people after Easter day or even when the Easter season is over. No - everyday, we seek to cultivate hope in a world where so many feel hopeless. I wonder - when someday your time in this life is through - what will folks show of you? What’s the legacy of hope and life that you’re creating? We are Easter people. Let’s spend our lives cultivating resurrection. Amen.”
Pastor Skip
