A Life Restored—Lectionary Reflection for Easter 4C (Acts 9:35-43)
Acts 9:35-43 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
35 And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
36 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. 37 At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. 38 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.” 39 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. 40 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. 41 He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. 42 This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 Meanwhile, he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.
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As
Eastertide moves on, we return to the Book of Acts for the First Reading for
the Day as stipulated by the Revised Common Lectionary. Eastertide is the
primary time that the lectionary lifts up the Book of Acts. Unfortunately, to
do so, it omits readings from the Old Testament. But the good news is that we get
to spend time in the Book of Acts, which offers us an interesting picture of the
earliest days of the Christian community. In my mind, the best way to read Acts
is through the lens of Acts 1:8, where Jesus instructs his followers that after
his departure, the Holy Spirit will come upon them, empowering them to be his
witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth. The
Book of Acts does this primarily through the story of Paul’s ministry, a
ministry that emerged out of a dramatic encounter with Jesus on the road to
Damascus (as we saw in last week’s reading from Acts 9:1-9). Although Acts
focuses on the ministry of Paul, Peter still plays a role in the story, as we
see in this reading from Acts 9:35-43. It is a reading that sets up Peter’s
encounter with Cornelius.
In the
verses that sit between last week’s reading and this reading, Saul of Tarsus is
baptized by Ananias, preaches in Damascus, escapes from opponents, and then
lands in Jerusalem, where he finally meets up with the Jerusalem Church, before
heading off to Tarsus (Acts 9:10-31). With Saul’s ministry set up, we can now
return to Peter, who is off on his own mission trip. Although the reading for
the day begins in verse 35, it might be wise to step back to verse 32, where Luke
tells us that Peter was on a journey visiting believers living outside
Jerusalem. Among them is a man named Aeneas of Lydda, who had been bedridden
for eight years. Peter heals the man in the name of Jesus. Our reading begins
right after that revelation, in that we’re told that all the residents of Lydda
and Sharon turned to Jesus. Oddly, the RCL begins in verse 35, when it makes
more sense to begin in verse 32, so we might know why the people of Lydda and
Sharon believed in Jesus.
As we
move to verse 36, Peter is again on the move, landing in the town of Joppa that
lies on the Mediterranean Sea, not far from Lydda. There was a woman in Joppa named
Tabitha (she has the Greek name of Dorcas), who was a disciple and known for
being “devoted to good works and acts of
charity.” Gary Charles notes her
importance to the community, writing:
The death of Dorcas is not simply a personal or family loss; it has significant societal ramifications for the most vulnerable in her town. She has attended to the physical and financial needs of many (Acts 9: 36). She has especially addressed the needs of widows, easily among the most vulnerable citizens of her society, as Luke reminds us by adding them specifically to the crowd that celebrates her return to life (v. 41). Dorcas has provided security to those whose status in life rendered them insecure. No doubt her death not only elicited their sorrow, but also heightened their sense of insecurity. [Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship: 2 (Kindle p. 234). WJK Press].
In other words, she is an important participant in the
emergent Christian community in this seaside town. Unfortunately, Tabitha had
fallen ill and died. Members of the community had washed her body and placed it
upstairs in a room. When the members of the community in Joppa heard that Peter
was in Lydda, they sent word, asking him to come to Joppa without delay. Although
Peter was known for healing people, as he had done in Lydda with Aeneas, could
he raise someone from the dead? Is that the hope people had when they sent for
him?
When
the messengers arrived, Peter went with them to Joppa. When he got there, he
was taken to the room where Tabitha’s body lay, with the widows in attendance, weeping
at their loss. This was a community that was truly feeling their loss. After seeing
the tunics Tabitha had made, he put everyone out of the room and then knelt by
her side so he might pray for her. Then he turned to the body lying before him
and said to the body, “Tabitha, get up.” She awakened, opened her eyes, and sat
up when she saw Peter. Now, as is true elsewhere in the biblical story, Tabitha
did not experience resurrection. Death will still come for her, but for now,
she was once again alive. Peter then reached out his hand and helped her stand
up. At that point, he called together the saints and widows (in other words,
the church) and presented her to them alive.
Just as had happened in Lydda and Sharon, the word of Tabitha’s return
to life got out, and people in Joppa came to believe the Gospel. Luke ends this
segment by informing us that Peter took up residence for a bit in Joppa with a
man named Simon the Tanner.
These
two acts of healing, one bringing someone back to life, open the eyes of the
people in the neighborhoods that something unique was taking place. The message
of the gospel of Jesus was being accompanied by what John’s Gospel would call
signs. What we read here speaks of the kinds of events that accompanied the
ministries of witnesses such as Peter. But this reading also sets up one of the
key moments in the Book of Acts. It is while Peter is staying at Simon the
Tanner’s house that he has a vision that will lead him to the home of Cornelius.
The journey Peter takes in Acts 10 to the home
of Cornelius involves a significant border-crossing event that will open up the
church to a new mission field, one to which Paul will be called. But before
Paul can begin that ministry, the church in Jerusalem will need to come to
grips with a larger vision than may have been at first envisioned.
Unfortunately, the full story found in Acts 10 is skipped over, so what we get
in the next round is Peter’s report, and even that reading is cut short, so we
don’t get the full picture. Nevertheless, what happens here in Joppa sets the
stage for what is to come, and Peter’s encounter with Cornelius will have
significant implications for the life of the church.
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