Difference between revisions of "Sermon for May 8th, 2016"

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Acts 9:36-42

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.

First Church: Tabitha, Get Up

In honor of Mother's Day, I thought I might share with you just a few things that many of us learned from our mothers, as evidenced by some of the timeless, classic quotes we often heard from them while growing up:

Our mothers taught us about RELIGION. "You'd better pray that will come out of the carpet." 
Our mothers taught us about TIME TRAVEL. "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to smack you into the middle of next  week!"
Our mothers taught us about FORESIGHT. "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident." 
Our mothers taught us about IRONY. "Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about." 
Our mothers taught us about CONTORTIONISM. "Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!" 
Our mothers taught us about WEATHER. "This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it." 
Our mothers taught us about ENVY. "There are millions of starving children in the world who'd love to eat that  asparagus." 
Our mothers taught us about ANTICIPATION. "Just wait until we get home." 
Our mothers taught us about GIVING and RECEIVING. "You are going to get it when you get home!" 
Our mothers taught us about HUMOR. "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me." 
Our mothers taught us about WISDOM. "When you get to be my age, you'll understand." 
Our mothers taught us about JUSTICE. "One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you."

Seriously though, our mothers have taught us much, and for that we are truly grateful.

St. Augustine once famously compared the church to a mother, saying "He who does not have the church as his mother does not have God as his Father." Just as a mother gives birth to her children, so the church gives birth to the spiritual lives of its children. Just as a mother nurtures and cares for her children, raising them and teaching them, so too the church as mother nurtures and cares for us, raising us and teaching us in the faith.

And so this month we are taking a look at the early church, the first church in the Book of Acts, to see what we can learn about being the church today, and being faithful Christians within a church community.

In today's scripture passage, we come to the story of Peter and Tabitha. Most of us are pretty familiar with the character of St. Peter, but who is this Tabitha? Her story occupies only seven short verses in the New Testament, but from those brief passages, there's a lot we can learn, especially if we're willing to read between the lines.

The surface level description in verse 36 gives us a few details: 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.

Joppa was a coastal city in Israel, just a few miles south of the modern day city of Tel-Aviv. In the first century, it was a thriving sea-port, a center of commerce and trade, and a melting pot of differnt cultures, traditions, and languages.

Notice that Tabitha's name is given in two different languages: Hebrew and Greek. Both communities were likely present in the early church community at Joppa. It's possbile that Tabitha/Dorcas may have had a foot in each world, and may have been a bridgebuilder in the growing rift between these two factions.