FAITH TO RAISE THE DEAD

Acts 9:32-43   (NRSV)
Now as Peter went here and there among all the believers, he came down also to the saints living in Lydda.  There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, for he was paralyzed. Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!”  And immediately he got up.  And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
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.

We are in Resurrection season.  Being Easter, we are, of course, hearing stories of Jesus’ resurrection and post-resurrection appearances.

With today’s story we move even further post-resurrection into the life and evolution of that brand new faith, Christianity.  When we read the Book of the Acts of the Apostles it is mostly about Paul’s exploits and it would be easy to think of Paul as THE mover and shaker in this new development.  This impression is strengthened by the large number of letters from Paul in the New Testament.  We hear all about Paul’s travels and his many trials and adventures as he spreads the Word throughout southern Europe.

But today’s story reminds us that it is not all about Paul. 

One of the disciples, Phillip, followed shortly by Peter and John, had traveled into Samaria and shared the Word and converted many people there.  An amazing feat among the long hated Samaritans.  Later, Phillip, while traveling south toward Gaza, met and baptized the Ethiopian eunuch.

There was a lot going on in the more localized region, not just up north with Paul.  Had we started just one or two lines before the beginning of our reading today we would have been told: Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

So, Peter went here and there among all the believers and starts today’s reading in Lydda where he healed a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed for eight years.  It is interesting that Aeneas is a Greco-Roman name which suggests that this man may have been a Gentile – if so, not all the Gentiles came through Paul’s preaching.

Peter had been involved in healings before meeting Aeneas, such as the lame beggar cured right after Pentecost.  When Jesus told him and the others to do what he did, Peter and several of the others we know about, took him at his word and believed they could do it too.

The main part of today’s story, however, kicks it up a bit.  None of the disciples had ever raised someone from the dead.  It’s not even clear that the Christians in Joppa expected any such result when they sent for Peter to come to them.  They were, after all, preparing Tabitha’s body for her burial.  They may simply have needed the presence of their shepherd with them as they went through this time of deep grief for the woman who had quietly done so many wonderful things for people in need around her.

Since it is Mothers Day, here’s an interesting tidbit I picked up while working on this message.  I wish I could remember who said it.  In discussing Dorcas and others like her, the writer pointed out that when  the men were in charge of doing good deeds, such as the distribution of food among the believers, Luke called it “ministry.”  When it was the women, like Dorcas, he called it “good works.”  ..... just interesting.

But back to Peter -- it is not at all clear that raising Tabitha up was any part of Peter’s intention when he first arrived there, but somewhere along the way, while he was praying by her body, the faith came to him to actually believe that he – and Jesus – together, could do this thing.  He had seen Jesus bring back the dead, and Jesus had insisted they could do what he had done – and this time he finally believed it.

And so he did it.  Tabitha, get up!  Just as Jesus had done.

What do you think was going on in Peter’s mind here?  Did he travel from Lydda to Joppa fully intending to raise up Tabitha?  Did he walk into that room believing this was what he could do?  Peter, unlike Paul, knew Jesus, walked with him, was with him when he cured the sick and raised the dead.  He wasn’t relying on the stories of others; he had been there.  He had seen it all with his own eyes and heard it with his own ears.

After his resurrection, Jesus had talked with Peter and told him specifically to tend his sheep.  Peter had failed Jesus once before, on the night he was arrested.  Peter would not fail him again.  Tending his sheep meant believing the things Jesus had told him.  Peter,  filled with the Spirit, believed.  And Tabitha got up.

This is how the church was born -- in the minds and hearts and hands of people who truly believed – and acted on their belief – in full faith in what Jesus had said to them.
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It was an amazing, often difficult journey, and yet it changed the world forever.