“Meaningful Lives of Our Mothers in the Faith”

(Acts 9:36-43)

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.  At that time she became ill and died.  When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs.  Since 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.”  So 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.  Peter 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.  He gave her his hand and helped her up.  Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive.  This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.  Meanwhile, he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.

            What I’m going to tell you right now is the message about Jesus and his disciples that I was taught when I was a kid.  See if this matches what you have heard.  Being a disciple is only for men.  Disciples are only the 12 in Jesus’ Merry Band of Men.  Those who are called apostles open up the field to a larger group.

            I haven’t thought about all this for a while, so I did a little reading and was reminded that, number 1: the word disciple means learner or student and 2: apostle means missionary or messenger.  But, when we look at when and how these Greek words are used in the New Testament, it’s almost like they are interchangeable.

            So, the message to my young self was Disciples and sometimes Apostles are only men, and there is some rule about how many of these Jesus had in his circle.

            All that is hard to get out of my head when I see a lesson like the one from the Book of Acts that you just heard read.  Here is Tabatha, also known as Dorcas.  She lived in the city of Joppa, and she was a disciple.  The Greek word is mathetria.  This is the feminine form as opposed to the masculine mathetes.  Interestingly, this text is the only time the feminine form of this word is used in scripture.

            But there it is, big and bold.  “There was a disciple named Tabitha.”  And Tabitha’s name is the Aramaic form, the language that Jesus spoke.  But we’re also told that it is Dorcas in Greek. 

            Now Tabitha is known for her good works and her acts of mercy.  Throughout church history we have been given to know that “the important work” was done by the men, but the women—well they kept the home fires burning, feeding everyone, sweeping up the messes, you know.  But here is our Tabitha, doing the things in what I would call the Jesus House, things that are critical to the well-being of everyone.

            My teacher and beloved mentor, Dr. Van Bogard Dunn, known as Bogie, told of a time when he and his wife, Gerry, went to Tennessee to help their daughter and son-in-law out with their little twin girls.  So, Bogie found himself on the porch looking after these two little ones while the son-in-law went to work and the two women went to do errands.  He told this story as a way to talk about the work of the Jesus House.  It wasn’t Dr. Dunn sitting in his office writing scholarly books.  No, it was Bogie doing the important work of taking care of the children (even when it got really hard).  It is hard work to be looking after all the members of the household, of the Jesus House.

            Tabitha and the other women understood the importance of doing good works and acts of mercy.  In fact, the widows stood beside her when she was said to be dead.  They were showing her handiwork while Peter was there raising her from the dead, giving her his hand to help her up.

            This healing story is not an occasion for us to cry out, “Why do some get healed and raised while others don’t?”  though that is so often on our minds.  The story is about honoring Tabitha, who learned from Jesus about his ways and practiced them, showing her own beautiful style of being a servant.  It’s about Peter, who was summoned and came to Joppa immediately to give Tabitha his hand and raise her up.  It’s about the widows who came to Tabitha’s side to honor her, to grieve their sister’s life and to show her handiwork while gathering around Peter in the mission to form Christ’s Church.

            So, today, as we honor Mothers and all women who have been mothers to us in our church family, all those in the Jesus House, all the women throughout the world who work to build community everyday, let us hold the memory of Tabitha dear, the way that she helped to constitute the early community of Christ.  And let’s pray for more Woman Energy in a world that sorely needs good works and a merciful approach to leading and being in relationship.

            Now, I know, on this day when we can go on and on about mothers and grandmothers who have been extraordinary, not everyone has fond memories of their mothers and not all mothers have risen to this high standard that we go on and on about.  And not all women who have loved and helped to nurture others have actually given birth. 

So, it’s all complicated to even bring Mother’s Day up in a sermon.  Still, we don’t know if Tabitha was a mother nor do we know if all the widows gathered around her bed had given birth.  What we do know is that Tabitha was known for her good works and her acts of mercy.  May we all, women AND men, learn from her and see this day as a chance for a new beginning, like Tabitha had.  Amen.     Reply