Acts 9:36-43
Who is Tabitha? We heard about her in the Acts reading
today, but I don’t see her in the faces of the statues above our altar. I can’t
find her depicted in the stained glass and we don’t have an icon of her at
home. And yet, she is called a disciple in this passage. And while some of the
people in the Bible go unnamed, we actually get two names for her, we are told
that her name in Greek is Dorcas. We know that she lives in Joppa and for those
of us who were at the Wednesday night Bible Study we know that is where Jonah
went to hop on a boat and try to run away from God. We know that she was “devoted
to good works and acts of charity.” We know that she made clothing and that she
was part of a community of widows. And we know that she was beloved. The women
were weeping for her and disciples were telling Peter to hurry up and come save
her.
When I read this passage this week I was very moved by that scene in Tabitha’s bedroom. Peter walks in and here are all these women weeping and holding up the tunics and clothing that she had made. What a beautiful image of these heartbroken women treasuring these things she had made as they wept. My mother’s side of the family is Lebanese and so as I imagine this scene I do not picture stoic faces politely stifling their emotions while carefully showing Peter the tunics. I picture more of what my mom describes from her mother’s funeral: Middle Eastern women sobbing, trilling and wailing as they mourned together in community. Less of a quiet funeral parlor type scene and more of a cathartic, raw release of sadness. And I just find it all so moving- Tabitha was loved, she was an integral part of the community, she devoted her life to good works and acts of charity, she made beautiful clothing that others cherished and she was so devoted to her faith that she was called a disciple. She mattered. So why isn’t she more well-known. Why is she not as revered or talked about or painted as other more well-known saints?
I decided to read up a bit more on Tabitha and was
disappointed in what I found as I was reading a Bible Commentary that we often
use as a resource. It states, “Her loss
is keenly felt because of the community’s responsibility for the welfare of its
needy widows … Her healing bears additional witness to the importance of the
community of goods. Yet the spotlight remains on Peter …”[1] and then it goes on to
talk about what this whole situation says about Peter and how important it was
in establishing Peter’s importance and close connection with Christ.
So … in other words … these women are wailing and these disciples are running around looking for help because they didn’t want to feel guilty about not helping a widow?? Hmm … and the whole “community of goods” thing … so she was healed because the town needed more clothes??? Are we supposed to believe that all of this sadness over a woman who devoted herself to charity was just because she was a widow who made clothes- and that it might cause problems for others if she died??? Are we forgetting that she is called a disciple? Are we downplaying the communal mourning? Did we forget that she matters not merely for her labels or what she produced but for who she was?
And then of course it’s all about Peter. Her life, death, resurrection and the community’s role in this- is all just to prove that Peter is just as important as Paul? Part of a “who does God love more” competition?
I’m not into any of that. There must be more here. Tabitha
deserves more. Something in this story made me feel connected to Tabitha. I
like this disciple who makes clothes and has these deep relationships with
these other widows. It’s really hard to devote oneself to good works and
charity. It is not nearly as appealing for most people as devoting oneself to
money and power. Good works and charity feels much more like a losing
battle. And that’s something that I can
relate to … losing battles. I am after all a Cleveland sports fan, I have
devoted my life to serving mainline churches whose denominations suffer from
declining membership and have helped organize a group to advocate for public
education which is quickly falling prey to systems which seek to make it
profitable rather than meaningful. Add to that environmental concerns, justice
and just general kindness and love and it can seem some days like it’s all a
losing battle. It can seem some days like we may as well throw in the towel.
With temperatures rising, children being killed in war as they try to flee and
a deeply divided nation where discussions become contests in who can make the
other person feel worse- it can all seem a bit like trying to push a giant
boulder up a very steep mountain. And so I identify with Tabitha and her
devotion to seemingly tireless causes with no wins in sight like charity and
good works. And I identify with those grieving women too because life and loss
and pain and reality is hard.
But I think in my quest to make a hero out of Tabitha I
have missed the mark of this passage. Just as I think the New Interpreter’s
Bible Commentary missed the mark by making it all about Peter. Just like I miss
the mark every time I forget that I am doing things I believe in to get wins or
be successful and not because of my faith in God. Just like we miss the mark
every time we think what we do as a church, as a community or as people doesn’t
matter if it isn’t flashy or resulting in massive amounts of followers or
immediate gains.
Two thousand years later we read this passage and we know
that it isn’t about individuals. Tabitha and Peter are both long gone. Of
course they are saints of the church to be remembered and honored, but only
because of the role they played in what God is doing. Tabitha was brought back
to life and that is completely amazing, but it wasn’t forever … she died as we
all do. The miracle that happened that day was in order to point to the
resurrection of Christ and its eternal implications. What happened in that room
was an in breaking of the Holy Spirit on this earth to point to God’s presence
which is unending and tireless in pursuing love. And so all of our good works
and charity, all of our bold witnesses and courageous advocacy are not losing
battles as they are part of a much larger story of a God who is the Alpha and
Omega, the beginning and the end.
Since it’s Mother’s Day I will tell you all a story from my perspective as a mom. Both of my kids are playing flag football this season. They are doing it through the YMCA so it’s volunteer coaches and no score keeping (but of course all the kids know the score). Both my boys have been lucky and have very kind and patient coaches this year. We see the other teams out there with coaches screaming and getting angry and telling kids to go to the sideline if they make a mistake and we are grateful for the kind encouragement and fairness of the coaches our kids have. But … they couldn’t score. Which sometimes made me wonder ... does meanness help make wins? But us parents kept bringing them to practices, pulling out our lawn chairs and putting on our winter hats as we sat through very windy practices and miserably cold games. We kept cheering them on, passing out snacks after games and tracking all of the good things they did so we could remind them of that after the game.
But then last week something crazy happened. We brought out
or lawn chairs and hats, we made sure their shoes were tied and their jerseys
cleaned and we sat and watched like always, but … they won. Both teams. And
when my 8-year-old caught a pass and ran 40 yards down the field I was
literally jumping up and down screaming with all the other parents and then we
parents all gave high fives to each other after. When the game ended and the
kids realized they won, we cheered with them. Because we know that you don’t
always get the win. That good works and charity, niceness and kindness are not
the easy road. We know there will be losses, but the losses are made much
easier by people cheering for you anyway and handing you a granola bar and a Gatorade
after.
Tabitha was brought back to life by Peter. The tears stopped, the community came to believe in Jesus and the good works and charity continued. Peter’s mission continued, the word about Jesus continued to spread. But none of it got easy, and they moved forward only because they knew God is at work. God is present, God does not give up. And keeping our focus on that rather than our own failures, our own frustrations and our own fears- sustains us for the journey. Perhaps Tabitha’s image isn’t found among stained glass windows and statues, but rather it is reflected in the faces of the faithful who walk this journey. We see her dedication to good works and charity in our efforts to make this world a better place in any way we can, even if it seems fleeting. We see her love and connection with others in the faces of those who grieve the ones they have boldly loved. And we see her story in the body of Christ that keeps at it, keeps trying and keeps hoping because this story is not just ours, it is much bigger than that, so let’s keep cheering each other on.
By Wolfymoza - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48549944