Good Evening First Presbyterian,

As we make our way through the book of Acts in our one-year Bible reading journey, on Sunday I will be preaching from Acts 11, but tomorrow we are reading the story of Tabitha. In case it has been a while since you heard Tabitha’s story, here is a refresher from Acts, chapter 9:

“Now 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. At that time, she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. Since 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."

So 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. Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt and prayed. He turned to the body and said, "Tabitha, get up." Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.

He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.” - Acts 9:36-42

While I was in seminary one of my professors told us a story, when we were learning how to write funeral sermons, about death of a beloved church member. When this church member died the entire staff of her church had spontaneously gathered at the office upon hearing about it because they were so grief-stricken. When the funeral began their pastor began with the question; how can we go on without them?

When I reflect on this account from Acts, I believe that is how her community – her church – felt about Tabitha. Tabitha took care of all those around her. Her hospitality and care for others was a hallmark of the early Christian church; earlier in Acts we were specifically told about the community sharing their wealth with those in the church who struggled to care for themselves, and in particular widows.

On the surface it seems like the main action of this story is Peter healing Tabitha (as the heading in many of our Bible translations says before this collection of verses). In truth, Peter does not heal Tabitha. Peter raises Tabitha from the dead. She is dead. She has been dead. All hope has been lost, or so it would seem. They call Peter with haste. The argument can be made though, that the emphasis is not actually on Peter, but on the community mourning for this pillar of their church. A community that surrounded her in death with garments she made for them as reminders of her compassion and Christ-like love for them. They mourned but with hope, as they waited for Peter.

In his resurrection moment with Tabitha, Peter commands - “Tabitha, get up.” this verb, translated “get up” is the same verb in Greek that Peter uses in his Pentecost proclamation in Acts 2:24: “God raised up Jesus, having freed him from death.” Peter’s “get up” command to Tabitha is empowered by the God who “raised up” Jesus, and in the humility of prayer before performing the miracle through the power of the Holy Spirit moving through him.

Tabitha was an apostle, one who is sent to spread the Good News of the Gospel. She was feeding and clothing the people of God. She was doing the hard, unglamorous work of Christ’s church. She was in the lives of the most marginalized of society day in and day out making them clothes. Clothes were markers of status and respectability for widows in the Ancient Near East who had no agency because they had no men to speak for them or on their behalf. The conclusion of the story tells us, "He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.”

As we continue to read through the book of Acts, and consider the actions and ministry of the early church, let’s not forget that apostles like Tabitha and other women were part of the story of Christ’s church from the very beginning.

In Christ’s Abounding Love,

Pastor Erin