Kahu's Manao

Fourth Sunday of Easter
Good Shepherd Sunday
Sunday, April 25, 2010

The Rev. Kealahou C. Alika

“Life-giving Acts”
Acts 9:36-43 & John 10:22-30

Easter is the Christian festival that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. The name “Easter” comes from the name of the Anglo-Saxon goddess of Spring who was known as Eostre or Ostara.

The festival itself developed from the Jewish Passover. According to the Bible the events of Jesus’ last days took place at the time of the Passover.

Down through the centuries the day of observance for Easter has varied. Currently it is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox – or the day when there are twelve hours of night and twelve hours of daylight (in the northern hemisphere). Itʻs not the shortest or the longest but the most equal in terms of niight and day.

Easter was earlier this year than last and while we may be inclined to view its passing as an end to another season, the fact is the Easter season will continue throughout the greater part of May. It will come to an end on Pentecost Sunday, May 23rd.

So all of our planning and preparations for Palm Sunday/Passion Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Easter Sunday morning may be pau. All of the work – of time and energy – is done. But the season itself is not yet over.

Our reading from The Acts of the Apostles reminds us that our celebration of the resurrection of Jesus continues. The story is about a remarkable woman named Tabitha.

Her name comes from an Aramaic word meaning “gazelle.” We are also told that in Greek her name is Dorcas. She is described as a mathetria, the feminine form of the Greek word for “disciple.”

We learn very quickly that she serves as a disciple of Jesus among the widows of her community. We do not know if she is a widow herself. The more important emphasis is on her work among the widows and the way in which she is able to bear witness to the Risen Christ in word and deed. (Seasons of the Spirit, Woodlake Publishing, Inc., Kelowna, BC, Canada, 2009, page 104)

The miraculous aspect of the story – of Peter raising Tabitha from the dead – may capture our attention. After all the raising of Tabitha strongly resembles Jesus’ raising a little girl to life (Mark 5:35-41).

There is also a striking parallel between the words of Peter – “Tabitha, get up” – and the words of Jesus – “Little girl, get up.” In addition when Peter “showed” Tabitha “to be alive” to the widows and those gathered outside house, the same word is used that appears when Jesus “presented himself alive” to many after the resurrection. (Acts 1:3)

But the story is about more than Peter’s ability as an individual to heal Tabitha. It is a story about the role of a healing community. When Tabitha becomes ill and dies it is the community that is torn apart by her illness and death.

What happened in Joppa happens in communities everywhere. On the drive home yesterday I heard news of a tornado that had just devastated a town but missed most of the story and was not aware of the time or location.

This morning Danny Brown, our organist, mentioned that the tornado devastated communities across 150 miles of Mississippi. He also reminded me of the memorial services for the coal miners who died in West Virginia the other week. And a week ago we received the news of the most recent earthquake on the Tibetan plateau that killed over 1,000 and injured over 10,000 others.

Like the widows in Joppa there are communities across the country and in other countries that find themselves about the task of recovery and healing. The widows in Joppa lost someone for whom they cared very deeply. Tabitha was “devoted to good works and acts of charity.” (Acts 9:36)

After Peter is summoned from Lydda to Joppa by two men, he arrives to find all of the widows weeping in the room where Tabitha lay after being washed and prepared for her burial. They show him tunics and other clothing that she made while she was with them.

They are crying over the loss of a beloved friend. (Feasting on the Word, Year C, Volume 2), Bartlett & Taylor, Westminster/John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky, 2009, page 429) The fact that we are told her Aramaic and Greek names seems to suggest that she was known within the faith community of Joppa and in the wider community beyond. (Op. cit.)

Those who gathered around Tabitha were calling upon Peter for the healing of one of its members. In other words they were reaching out to Tabitha as a community. The emphasis is not upon Peter, but upon the community.

Today we are aware of the value and significance of prayer, of a hopeful attitude and the resources of medicine. Our time of prayer each Sunday is that no one should face disease, illness and death alone. Like the community at Joppa we become healing partners in overcoming the illness and brokenness we see in our own lives and in the lives of those around us.

It was the community at Joppa that yearned for a hopeful outcome for Tabitha. It was the community that gathered to wash her body. It was the community that brought the tunics and clothing she had made for them. It was the community that shed tears for her. It was the community that waited outside as Peter went in and knelt beside her in prayer.

It could be said that they were the community of the resurrection; that they were a community whose aloha for a beloved friend caused others to believe in the Risen Christ. If there is a distinction to be made over the raising of Tabitha from death to life again, it would be the difference between “praying for a cure, which seems to dictate to God our desired outcome, and praying for healing, which can come in a hundred unexpected ways.” (Op. cit.)

The miracle of that day was not simply in what Peter had done, but in what the community at Joppa had done. They stood together, they wept together, they hoped together and they celebrated together.

Stephen Jones is the pastor of the Second Baptist Church in St. Louis, Missouri. He makes the following observation: Tabitha “will not live forever. This is not her day to die, or at least to remain dead, but (she) is not immortal in her earthly pilgrimage. Peter will not return time and again to revive her. Even Peter will not live forever. The emphasis of (the story) is not upon a return from death, but upon a community honing all of its spiritual strength and resources passionately upon life and wholeness.” (Ibid., page 431)

The life-giving acts that seek to wipe away tears, restore life and bear witness to God’s love is what Tabitha offered to the widows at Joppa and beyond. It was what Peter offered to Tabitha and to Simon, the tanner, and later to Cornelius and many others. It was what the men and women sought for Tabitha.

I see such life-giving acts in our life together as the Body of Christ here in Mākena through the ways we are able to share our love and care for one another. I received two emails recently. One came from a very dear friend and member of our church who lives in Illinois.

“I had an appointment with the (doctor) yesterday,” she wrote. “The blood work showed that the Ca125 numbers continue to rise. There are also new cancers, just like we had last October. So we are doing a CT scan (this Sunday) to determine the course of future treatment. The doctor explained yesterday that the cancer may have become resistant to the current chemo treatment and we may have to switch to another chemo.”

She added, “The news came as very depressing as I am feeling so well even with the side effects of the neuropathy. I know that God has a plan and that I must continue to have faith and hope, but sometimes it gets a little hard.”

Immediately after responding to her email, I opened the second email from another member of our church who lives in Kīhei. It was a story that I sent on to Illinois and it went like this:

“The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.”

“Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief and anger. He cried out, ʻGod! How could you do this to me?’”

“Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him.”

“ʻHow did you know I was here?” asked the weary man of his rescuers.

ʻWe saw your smoke signal,’ they replied.”

“The moral of this story: It’s easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we should not lose heart because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.’”

May the power of the Risen Christ strengthen us to bear witness to God’s healing love. May we continue to share our concern and care with others through our words and deeds. Amen.

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