Before I begin this sermon, here’s a brief commercial message: The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is proud to be sponsored by the Holy Bible, the best-selling book of all time. In the sixty-six books of the bible, you’ll find poetry, history, teachings and prayer – all suitable for the entire family. When purchasing a bible, I recommend getting an annotated or study bible. These versions have helpful notes, maps and essays to make sure you get the most out of your scripture-reading experience. The Bible: It’s not just for confirmation anymore!
I hope you take the commercial to heart. One of the biggest challenges facing us today is that we live in a secular society – a society in which belief in God cannot be taken for granted; and too often when belief in God is present, it exists in a superficial, abstract sort of way. Belief in God that has depth to it is a belief grounded on scripture – the story of God shaping life, sustaining life, saving life through Jesus Christ, and propelling life forward toward hope and eternal life through the Holy Spirit. When you dig deep into scripture, you can appreciate how Christian faith offers a clear alternative to the world around us, and provides a foundation that is neither superficial nor abstract. Our faith story is able to hold us up when all around us things are crumbling or blowing up or falling apart. Today’s story is a good illustration of what I mean.
After the first Easter, Simon Peter had several encounters with the risen Christ. His joy about this resurrection turned him into an apostle of the Lord – traveling around preaching, praying, telling the gospel story to a doubting world. Miracles and wonders were associated with Peter, so much so that when Peter was in the city of Lydda, friends of a recently-deceased Christian named Tabitha traveled about 10 miles to ask Peter to come pray over her body. Tabitha was known for doing good deeds and acts of charity, especially helping the widows in that city. When Peter enters the room containing Tabitha, the mourners almost overwhelm him with stories of Tabitha’s good deeds and examples of her sewing skills. Peter kneels down and prays. Then he simply says, “Tabitha, get up.” And she got up. In Greek that verb means she was resurrected. That’s the story that has been handed down to us for almost 2000 years.
Now what are we to take away from all this? Well, the story appears to be making three points. First, Peter is a tremendous man of faith. In an earlier chapter of Acts (Acts 3), he had healed a lame man who was lying on a mat by the Gate Called Beautiful in Jerusalem, and now Peter raised a woman up from the dead. Second, this woman Tabitha must have been an important woman in her own right, given that people tracked down Peter on her behalf and were so anxious to show off the tunics she had generously made for others. And third, the message of faith we are to take away is that Easter resurrection is possible and should be understood as a literal rising from the dead.
Imagine if we’re in Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, and Mr. Rogers opened the door for Mr. McFeeley, who had a “Speedy Delivery” of a tape illustrating this story of Tabitha. Based on a straightforward reading of the scripture, I can picture how it might have appeared on Mr. Rogers’ video monitor. We would have been impressed by Peter’s faith, touched by Tabitha’s good and virtuous life, and amazed at this wonder of raising someone from the dead.
Yet this is what concerns me. After a brief, superficial encounter with this story from Acts, you might walk back out the church door, telling yourself that you’re not as impressive as Simon Peter or as virtuous as Tabitha, and that there’s no way this story of literal resurrection can get a sympathetic hearing in today’s skeptical world. Everyone is busy trying to make sense of what’s happening out there: in this crazy world with poverty and racism and explosions in Texas and poisoned letters to senators and the manhunt and lockdown following the bombings in Boston. Which is why you need a study bible. You need to grapple with what the bible says; read it, question it, force it to divulge its secrets and wonders to you. Because the truth of the matter is this: You can’t fit the ocean into a thimble; and you can’t appreciate the depth of God’s love from a quick, superficial reading of God’s word.
Let’s look at this story again, beginning with Tabitha. In the book of Acts, Tabitha is called a “disciple.” A little more digging in the study bible will reveal to you that this is the exact same title given to the twelve men who followed Jesus, putting her on a par with them and ideally putting to rest the tired, misogynist view that the bible considers women to be second citizens in the church world. Tabitha is described as a person of good works and acts of charity, and the mourners at her deathbed were all widows. In bible jargon, widows and orphans are the epitome of the poor, the people utterly dependent on others for their survival. This story isn’t taking us to big palaces or to the equivalent of country club estates; it is pulling us to the margins of society, to a woman of faith whose focus was on the people most folks simply walked right by. The deep message of the bible is always about justice – not just grief or good works, but about justice for those pushed to the margins of life. That’s where Tabitha was active. That’s how Tabitha was a Christian disciple.
There’s a wonderful moment in this bible story in which Peter is beside Tabitha’s body as this cluster of grieving widows jostles him trying to show all the garments and clothing Tabitha had made for them. It calls to mind for me one of my favorite images of my mother, bless her soul, who came with my Dad to visit me when I was serving a church in Zimbabwe. Now my mother loved to shop. Her motto was “If a little bit is good, a whole lot ought to be real good.” My Mom, Dad and I were leaving some tourist spot in Zimbabwe when we passed a cluster of women who specialized in knitting cotton tablecloths. My mother quietly dropped back just to have a closer look at their wares. Soon my Dad and I heard her calling our names and turned around to see my 5’2” mother smiling while surrounded by a host of Zimbabwean women were all holding up tablecloths and dollies for her to inspect. We ended up squeezing several more items into our suitcases on that trip. I’ve always imagined a similar scene of women clamoring for Peter’s attention on that day long ago.
But a commentator on this text pointed out that the Greek verb used in verse 39 suggests that the women were likely wearing the tunics and garments made by Tabitha, not just holding them up as if in a public market. Which means this disciple had literally given them the clothes on their backs. Which made her by definition an advocate for the poor, a worker for justice, someone showing love to the least of God’s children. In those deeds, Tabitha likely moved from personal faith to political faith, for who ever cared for someone in need that didn’t work to protect them from the world’s injustices? Give birth to a child with autism, diabetes or multiple sclerosis and see how that makes you an advocate for their care. Have a friend struggle with cancer or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and see how quickly you’ll call elected officials about rules affecting how they’re being treated. To be a disciple like Tabitha is not just about good deeds; it means being a worker for justice.
Look carefully now at what scripture says about Peter. Hopefully your study bible will send you back to the Acts 3 story I mentioned earlier, when Peter met the crippled man by the Beautiful Gate in Jerusalem. He looked him in the eyes and said, “Gold or silver have I none, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ, stand up and walk” (Acts 3:6). When he was there with Tabitha, Peter didn’t draw attention to himself. He doesn’t make a big speech or production out of what he plans to do. In fact, he sends everyone out of the room and he simply prays. Nothing magical, no pleading or bargaining with God. Just a prayer and then the words “Tabitha, get up.” Who does the real work here? God does. Who provides for this resurrection? Jesus does. Who is this promise of new life, healed life, redeemed and renewed life for? For all of us.
Now here’s where the deep reading of this bible story gets personal. You carry this scripture out to the streets and people may well scoff and say, “People are not resurrected; I can’t simply grit my teeth and believe your story is true.” Likewise you carry a bible around town and people may well point to it and say, “How come there are still so many homeless and helpless people right here in Pittsburgh, the city of churches?” And in the aftermath of the Boston bombings, you hear the worry in people’s voices when they wonder if there is any place safe in all of this supposed nation under God. A deeper answer is available in the bible story. Resurrection is not just about coming back to life from the dead. There are lots of ways to be resurrected. Do you believe that? Haven’t you seen healings of body and soul, new beginnings, fresh hope? Learn more about Jesus and Tabitha’s resurrection spirit and you’ll understand. Yes, there are lots of hurting and homeless and helpless people, and it may appear that no one cares. But look closer and you’ll see folks doing their best, doing what they can, being Christ’s hands and hearts – and they are calling you to join them. Learn more about Jesus and Tabitha’s resurrection spirit and you’ll understand.
And I know there is no place that feels safe. Human beings keep expanding our vocabulary of death – whether it is bombs in gym bags full of shrapnel or drone planes we fly over other countries that create hundreds of new enemies for every supposed true enemy we kill. And we’re fooling ourselves if we don’t think someone will fly a drone plane into American airspace. We’ve let a military genie out of the bottle. But if you give in to revenge or give up out of fear, you’ve already lost. Truth is stronger than lies, if we have the courage to live by it. Learn more about Jesus and Tabitha’s resurrection spirit and you’ll come alive, be resurrected, and understand.
There’s so much in our faith story, freely available to us through Christ and his grace. And it’s not dependent on our being great or noteworthy or virtuous or wonderful. It’s a quiet wonder – like Tabitha opening her eyes. It’s a quiet wonder from God available when you take one step toward justice, when you dry your eyes and pray to see more clearly, when you accept that you are accepted by Jesus, the one whose resurrection opens the way for your resurrection and whose Spirit gives you new life right now. That’s the story, the quiet wonder, the Easter joy. Thanks be to God!
AMEN