Be in awe of the wonders when God will use us

By John Pearring

Saturday of the Third Week of Easter
Acts 9:31-42
John 6:60-69

When discovering gems in scripture through the scholarly work of others, the professional person must credit the long list of Church Fathers, Papal documents, and theologians. Thankfully, living room theologians and coffee house apologists like myself and my cohorts at The OMG shrug off the ivory tower discipline and scholarly hubris required to catalog all our sources. We have an excuse for being the way we are, and you can enjoy our prognostications without reporting us to the authorities. 

Like any other reflection, there will be no asterisks, footnotes, or literary appendages citing Aquinas, Didymus, or Pope John Paul II. (I named those three without the pain of plagiarism because I couldn’t actually find anything new or exciting from them on today’s topic — Tabitha/Dorcas being raised from the dead by Peter.) The scholars are out there, though, that assist us in our work on these reflection subjects. 

I do feel inclined to credit a well-written source from a very smart fellow, Phillip G. Kayser, a pastor at Dominion Covenant Presbyterian Church in Omaha, Nebraska. He preached on Tabitha two years ago. His audio and text are here. 

Rather than expounding on raising people from the dead through the power of the Holy Spirit (which I found too much to filter down), I’m summarizing mostly from Kayser’s sermon. We all know God can do anything. That pretty much covers the subject of raising the dead. Kayser noted some things about the woman Tabitha that you might like to hear.

To begin with, Luke’s reference in Acts 9:36 explained why Tabitha also went by Dorcas. The writer of acts tells us she was a Jewish gal (Tabitha) but lived in a mixed Jewish/Gentile region where folks refrained from Jewish names when in social situations. Dorcas ministered to the widows and others she served in Joppa, likely including several Gentile people.

By carrying a non-de-plume as a handle for the Gentiles, she is one of our first examples of nonjudgmental missionary work. She sacrificed her leisure time (for she was probably a wealthy person) for others, and she even sacrificed her own name.

Her good deeds, cited several times in this story, are at the root of Tabitha’s critical importance to the “holy ones” and Gentiles of Joppa. Tabitha, a disciple of Jesus, “was completely occupied with good deeds and almsgiving.” According to Matthew 5:16, good works are those, “Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”

Her ministry wasn’t soup kitchen work alone — the laudable crisis service involved in charity outreach. Tabitha changed the lives of those she served with gifts that kept widows active in the community. Some argue that Tabitha sewed garments for clerics in the Church, but that is unlikely. The folks Tabitha ministered to had a status problem, which she solved with clothing. With no means to pay Tabitha, they knew she was giving them a great gift. We know this because the widows went to great lengths to show Peter Tabitha’s handiwork of garments (tunics and cloaks). Such items were too expensive for widows to purchase. This clothing allowed those in Tabitha’s service to go out among the crowds, especially religious sites, without shame. 

Next, we wonder how her resurrection (or, more correctly, back to earthly life) came about. Peter is the catalyst for the early Church’s miraculous activities. Lots of folks knew of his capabilities. According to the scriptures, he was 17 miles away in Lydda. In an era without phones, it’s fascinating that enough people knew his location—enough to set out to get him without any communication tools.

Next, why would Peter drop everything when two men traveled that far to find him? This wasn’t a soldier pleading for a servant or a father wanting his son to live, as Jesus was sought out. Tabitha had already died. Based on the sending of two men rushing to find Peter, the text tells us that Tabitha’s death would be a huge loss for the community of Joppa, and he needed to hurry before she would be buried.

Peter was not going to heal Tabitha. He wasn’t hurrying because she was dying. The plan was to raise Tabitha from the dead, and the rush to get back to Tabitha in Joppa fits the Jewish custom of burying the dead on the same day they die. Peter’s timing was short to raise her from the dead. The round trip from Joppa to Lydda and back would be 12-14 hours. Not long after she died, the effort to find Peter and bring him back rallied two fellas to make a significant journey and track him down.

The Holy Spirit placed this urgency upon everyone's heart. "Please come to us without delay,” they said to Peter. This is a most surprising story when understood in the context of great distances and an unparalleled expectation that Peter could raise Tabitha from the dead. The ruling decisions about raising Tabitha from the dead should have been don't bother Peter, don't expect a miracle, and don't make fools of yourself. None of those happened.

None of those emotional decisions ruled the day. This had to occur with the Holy Spirit motivating the right players for the right reasons and with clear knowledge of what was going on.

The final verse in the story explains God’s purpose for glory: “This became known all over Joppa, and many came to believe in the Lord.”

Peter must have had a clear vision that this would successfully happen. There's no other explanation.

Scholars spend a lot of time on Peter's pattern—telling everyone to leave the upper room where Tabitha lay dead and then introducing her alive to those waiting. Peter copied Jesus’ putting out the skeptics while he performed the miracle. However, the pattern of the miraculous rising is not central. The details of God’s prompting and urgency in raising Tabitha from the dead should astound us.

The message for those curious about this gift of raising people from the dead is to be aware of collaboration with God. Not to be prepared to act, but act with God. He will lead us in what to do. 

The miracle of Tabitha occurs under great stress and grief, armed with a faith unparalleled to those of us with shaky, hesitant beliefs. Tabitha is a lesson on how miracles take place. It’s not for us to wonder what the formula must be, the order of what to say, or to waffle over the fear of testing God. We need only be in awe of the wonders God will use us to accomplish.