Acts
9:36-40, 42 (NIV) 36 In Joppa there
was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always
doing good and helping the poor. 37 About
that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an
upstairs room. 38 Lydda was
near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two
men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!” 39 Peter
went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the
widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing
that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. 40 Peter
sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed.
Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes,
and seeing Peter she sat up. 42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed
in the Lord.
The raising of Tabitha was not about eternal life.
Her time to die would return, but for now she was an exception to the rule that
said death is permanent. But, why Tabitha? Why would God make her the
exception? Granted, she was a disciple of Jesus. She was a very good person.
She made clothes and gave them to the village widows. But, she has a minor role
in the church at Joppa and even after being brought back to life she does not
seem to play an important role in continuing the work of Jesus. If God was
going to make an exception, why not make Stephen the exception, rather than
allowing him to endure the hard, slow death of being stoned? Stephen was boldly
proclaiming the truth about Jesus when his life was cut short. Why not make
Stephen the exception? Or James, or Peter?
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If our “why” questions question the choice and the
fairness of God, we may hear no answer. But if our why question is about what
God is saying to us and showing to us in making Tabitha an exception to the
rule of death, then we can hear an answer that will make a difference to our
life.
Why Tabitha? Because God chose to show to the
church again that there is someone more powerful than the permanency of death
in the world. That Someone is Jesus. Tabitha, arise. Arise out of the certainty
that many had about death. Arise out of the shaky belief that the resurrection
of Jesus was only for Jesus and is uncertain for you or me. Arise out of a
forgone faith where everything is a forgone conclusion and the expectancy of
hope has been dashed by the reliability of death and rules. Tabitha was raised
temporarily from the dead to demonstrate the permanent power of the risen
Christ, and to call women and men to a life of faith in the rule of God. And many people believed in the Lord. That
is why Tabitha was raised. Tabitha, arise
is the presence of the risen Christ.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope May 6,
2001
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell
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