Sunday 11th May – Risen Life – Pastor Adrian Kitson

I think I have only known one person with this name, Tabitha. We met her in Auckland while serving Mountainside Lutheran Church there. ‘Tab’ (for short) was a great young woman of faith. Tab never liked the fact that people who knew of this biblical Tabitha would take it upon themselves to also call her ‘Dorkas’ from time to time! Shame, since in Greek, Dorcas means Gazelle – a slim, sleek and beautifully moving creature….

Like you and I and Tab, and Peter and these first followers of Jesus, we in this new resurrection community. We live post-Easter. Peter is living his new life post-Easter. Easter has changed him and given him a direction and purpose, not to mention a prayer life he never had!

So, what is life like in this new-resurrection, post-Easter community? Luke presents his Book of Acts to shed light on that for us.

This Easter life was previewed before it happened. Luke tells us of three resurrection from death moments powered by the Father through his Son: the widow of Nain’s son (Luke 7:11–17), Jairus’s daughter (Luke 8:49–56), and Eutychus, a young man who Paul literally bored to death (Acts 20:7–12).

Now, after THE resurrection of the crucified Son of God that completely destroys death’s hold over humanity, this resurrection of which Luke tells comes quickly on the heels of a previous healing rstoring sign.

Peter is over in Lydda, about 20km’s from Joppa (modern day Jaffa), on the Mediterranean cost. In Lydda, Peter happened across this man named Aeneas who was paralyzed and immobile enough to be bedridden for eight long years (Acts 9:33ff).

Peter did what he had seen Jesus do many times.

³⁴ ‘Aeneas,’ Peter said to him, ‘Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.’ Immediately Aeneas got up. 

The result was faith. Lots of faith.

³⁵ All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

That is always the point of these miracles – these ‘signs’ of God’s grace. Faith in Jesus – God’s grace with us and for us.

Just like here in our community, when something interesting happens, the grape vine works overtime. We can imagine the folks in nearby Joppa would have heard about this pretty quickly!

Unsurprisingly they call for Peter. Peter comes.

We hear more about Tabitha (maybe this is why her Mum and Dad, Jan and Ray named Tab, Tab).

[Tabitha] was devoted to good works and acts of charity.

And this Tab must have been a pretty good clothes maker.

All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 

Tab certainly has a huge heart for the most vulnerable in her community – widows.

But then the terrible happened.

^37 ….[Tabitha] became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. 

I find it interesting that unlike those pre-resurrection people around the dead daughter of the Synagogue leader, Jairus (Luke 8:53), who simply laughed at Jesus’ statement that this twelve year old girl was only sleeping not dead, these post-resurrection of Jesus followers in Joppa don’t seem to have too much trouble believing that resurrecting a person from death is not impossible. Why would they? They believe what they had seen and heard or heard from those who did that Jesus did rise and was walking and talking and eating and speaking his peace into troubled hearts.

It is a beautiful scene in that quiet room.

Peter is again, doing what he has seen the Master do. Before Jesus raised that young daughter of Jairus, Jesus cleared the room, except for Peter, James and John. Peter saw and heard Jesus say,

‘My child, get up!’ 

Peter follows what he has seen:

⁴⁰ Peter put all of them outside

He saw the girl’s;

⁵⁵  …spirit returned, and at once she stood up. …

[Jesus tells them]  ‘to give her something to eat. 

So now, Peter does what he saw the Master do:

[Peter] …. 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.

There is a bit of different reaction between the two crowds – one pre-resurrection, one post-resurrection.

Pre-resurrection people – before Easter Day:

⁵⁶ Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

Post-resurrection – after Resurrection Day:

Then calling the saints and widows, he [Peter] showed her to be alive. 

But in the end, same result as the healing sign of that paralyzed man in close-by Lydda:

⁴² This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 

Where are we? Living like the resurrection of Jesus never happened and living accordingly, or knowing it has living accordingly?

Before-Easter people were astonished at the possibility of God’s promises to raise people from the grave.

We often seem astonished when God actually does something that is a sign of his presence and power. Sometimes our responses to Jesus promises and presence are borne of no trust, no faith in this Jesus’ ability to deliver on his promise that death will be subdued and defeated by him and apprehended by anyone by faith in him.

When Jesus raises people, heals people, changes people there is often not faith but fear – “Don’t tell anyone. They won’t believe us or they will think we are strange” ..

There are responses to God’s promises and moving that are not faith but dismissal and even ridicule.

There are plenty these days who might join in the fn of those forst mourners

“They laughed at him”.

Sometimes that is my doubtful response.

There is a decision to resist this man and his resurrection signs – too dangerous to my ego, my plans, my ability to control life and relationships.

Interesting to note that the plot to kill Jesus often thickened each time he showed the signs of God’s new resurrection life breaking in on us.

But, here in this raising of Tabitha at the hand of the Apostle, there is at least some kind of ‘awareness of the possibility’ that God has and can do this. There may have even been outright faith in resurrection life being real and true and wonderful for some of those first church.

How are you facing your illness, your inevitable end, your aging, your dying your grieving, your losing, your living?

Doubt, fear, dismissal, fighting to stay in control?

Or

Like Tabitha and those first followers and Peter.

Resurrection real and true and mine and hope for not just at the end but today.

Resurrection life in me that enables me to “Work while it is still day”: Serving, loving, praying, asking, seeking, getting alongside anyone and especially those who have few alongside of them?

I am praising the Lord Jesus for our congregation because I see a lot of Tabitha kind of faith at work among us.

I see lots of people living in resurrection hope now because they trust it will theirs at the end.

This is a hope-filled resurrection community going about its resurrection hope by serving, giving, caring, praying loving, learning, teaching, forgiving and bearing witness to this new life in Jesus in whatever ways they can.

Praise the Lord of Life!

I do wonder how Tab lived her life after it was given back to her?

I wonder how you are living life that has been given back to you in your resurrection moment in that watery font of life?

I suspect she got the sewing machine out and kept on making tunics for those vulnerable women in her town.

Funny how this risen life is so very everyday life. Funny how our everyday life leads to this day….

⁹ After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ They cried out in a loud voice, saying,

“Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb!”

¹¹ And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² singing,

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honour
and power and might
be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”  (Revelation 7:9-11)

This is our hope in this everyday risen life.

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