Acts 9:36-43
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. 43Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.
During the Easter Season, the church presents selections from the Acts of the Apostles to replace the usual readings from the Hebrew Scripture. From its pages, we get one version of what the church looked like in the first years after the Resurrection of Jesus. From the letters of Paul and other letters contained in the Christian Scripture, we can expand that picture of the early church. We realize that there were multiple ways in which the first Christians organized themselves and professed their faith.
In today’s first reading, we heard the story of the raising from the dead of Tabitha, also known as Dorcas. When we hear the story of the raising of Tabitha from the dead, we are invited to think of the story of Jesus raising the daughter of Jairus or the son of the widow of Nain. Through that echo of earlier gospel stories we make the connection that the same Spirit alive in the ministry of Jesus stirs in the ministry of Peter and Paul and by extension to our own day. Now don’t get the idea that you can call our Bishop to raise up the dead like Jesus and Peter. I don’t think Bishop Chip would welcome those phone calls. But that same Spirit who organized the first Christians around the table and with care for the disadvantaged is at work in the church today.
In today’s story about Tabitha, we hear that she is also known as Dorcas. Since she has both a Hebrew and Greek name, we understand that she comes from a diverse community make up of two groups. Tabitha is the only woman identified in Acts as a disciple. All the other disciples are men. She is presented as a woman of means since upon her death the widows of the Christian community not only mourn her passing but show that she provided clothing for them. She must have been a leader in the community since when she dies the leaders of the Christian community in Joppa call Peter to come to their city to do something for her. But there is more to her story.
Her ministry is described as being “devoted to good works.” (Acts 9: 36) When the male disciples, who are called deacons, exercise that same ministry among widows, their work is called “ministry” (Acts 6:4). Why is Tabitha’s endeavor labeled “good works?” Clearly the men get the leadership roles while the women find a second class position of supporting the men. We see this pattern throughout Luke and Acts where women are relegated to the galley while men steer the ship. Just think of that other story about service from Luke’s Gospel which riles women to no small extent.
In the story of Martha and Mary when Martha is told not to do the work of “ministry” and Mary is celebrated for keeping silent.
We know that while an exclusive male leadership might model the pattern in one group of early churches, Paul and the other gospels show an alternate model. In John, Martha, a clear leader of the church, is given the major confession of faith in Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” (Jn. 11:27).
Paul refers to Phoebe as a deacon in Rome and Euodia and Syntyche as his collaborators in Philippi. (Phil 4:3) Even though Acts does not describe women as leaders in the church, the community meets in the homes of prominent women who are more than just the host for the men but actual leaders of those local churches.
Occasionally it takes time to reverse patterns so deeply entrenched in Christian practice. Only in our lifetime did women regain their position as liturgical leaders in our church while other churches continue to deny them a place at the altar. On this mother’s day, when we celebrate our mothers and the women in our lives, our liturgy provides us with an opportunity to celebrate the women leaders in our church. We are grateful that God continues to raise women as bishops, priests and deacons and we give thanks for the women who lead our congregation and take initiatives in our church.
I raise up these women among us since some of us may feel disheartened over the possibility of overturning Roe v. Wade. Yes, our country is shifting toward a more conservative perhaps reactionary direction. But let us also remember how the Spirit continues to act among us. Remember the 2017 Women’s March on January 21 when women wore pink hats to affirm women’s rights. Remember that Spirit who restored women to their rightful place at the altar in our church. Remember the women who shaped you in your lives, the love they showed, the vision they created, the community they weaved together.
Tabitha teaches us an important lesson, one we learn from the long view of history. She ministered to those in need, forming among them a community of women who went deeper than their need for clothing to discover a community of mutual support in their lives shared together. Let us take that long view of history, trusting our God to find ways to care for women in greatest need, opening windows when doors seem to shut, and relying on the strength of those women we celebrate today and will lead us into tomorrow.