First Congregational Church, Wauwatosa, WI
Preacher: Carrie Kreps
May 2, 2004
“ Tabitha, rise”
Acts 9:36-43

36 Now there was at Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity.
37 In those days she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room.
38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him entreating him, "Please come to us without delay."
39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he had come, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping, and showing tunics and other garments which Dorcas made while she was with them.
40 But Peter put them all outside and knelt down and prayed; then turning to the body he said, "Tabitha, rise." And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up.
41 And he gave her his hand and lifted her up. Then calling the saints and widows he presented her alive.
42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.
43 And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner

In July of 2002, I received the email that I sincerely hoped would never come. My mentor, employer, and friend had come to the end of her battle with cancer. It was time to say good-bye to her lifeless body and to celebrate all that she had inspired within me through her words, actions, and care. She was my Tabitha.

Debbie, my mentor, was the type of woman who glowed from within. Following my senior year of university, Debbie hired me and four other college-aged students to write a curriculum on servant leadership, especially for our age group. All summer we worked; writing, discussing, testing our ideas, revising, and traveling. At the end of the summer we had our product and three campus ministries prepared to teach from it and give us feedback. It seemed that Debbie’s dream of having a United Methodist Conference guided by servant leaders was going to become a reality.
If anyone has every lived servant leadership it was Debbie. Servant leadership isn’t door-mat leadership. It’s not about putting everyone first and yourself second. Servant leadership was embodied by Jesus. Take this example: in the depiction of the last supper in the Gospel of John, Jesus kneels before each of his disciples and washes their feet. He serves each of them as an act of love, an act of compassion. Jesus, possessor of all of God’s power and strength humbled himself before those he cared for most. A servant leader empowers those around him or her to serve others. The servant leader guides and mentors through love and compassion. It’s a type of leadership not often affirmed by the Donald Trumps of our world. Servant leadership is about caring for all people, not just those within the winner’s circle.

And how did I see this within Debbie? Debbie had a heart for the poor and oppressed. During a trip to Church of the Saviour in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington D.C. I was exposed to a sector of our country where there is no hope. For whatever reason these people sat in the dark, and for some the darkness was literal. Some had lost their freedom to alcohol or drugs. Some to bad decisions. Others to twists of providence. As you might imagine, cost of living in the D.C. area is extremely high. One of the agencies I spoke with estimated that a family of four needed an income of $50,000, after taxes, to pay all the bills. Often limited to minimum wage jobs, this meant most head of households worked at least two jobs and all other persons of working age worked at least one job.

At this point, you may be asking, why don’t the people just move to a place that is cheaper to live or where there are better jobs? This is a reasonable question. However, most were tied to the land, so to speak, because with no education, no savings, undependable transportation, and no hope there was no where for them to move or go. They were stuck. And this is where Debbie and other’s like her come in. Church of the Saviour was founded by Gordon Crosby, a pastor, who wanted something more of the church after returning from World War II where he served as a chaplain. This church was created on the premise of Servant Leadership. Agencies were founded, by church members, to give hope to the people of Adams Morgan. Members of the church created a hospital for people without health insurance. Their largest clientele group are homeless men and women who after being released from the hospital have nowhere to go to receive the additional medical treatment they need.
Another sector of the church runs a job agency that helps people find better paying jobs through training and advocacy. The people of this church are about serving the people Jesus hung out with – the poor and the poor in spirit, the sick and the sick at heart, the people outcasted because of profession, addictions, life style, life choices, etc. And, Debbie was in the middle of it all. The people on her list of friends included unwed mothers, widows, alcoholics, persons with addictions, the poor in spirit, the depressed, the unloved. She reached out her hand to the fallen and helped them get back up.

I could imagine the woman from our passage in Acts engaged in a ministry similar to Debbie’s. It’s not surprising since both women served the risen Christ with their whole beings. Tabitha is introduced as a disciple, a leader in the church. As a side note, this is the only place in the New Testament that the feminine form of the word disciple is used in the Greek. Even higher to her credit we are told “She was full of good works and acts of charity.”
What were her good acts? Well, looking at the original text, acts of charity can be equated with almsgiving. She gave to the poor. In addition, at Tabitha’s bedside are a group of widows displaying the garments Tabitha had made for them. One commentary suggested Tabitha spent her own money to care for the widows of Joppa. She reached out to the women outcasted because they no longer had a male to care for them. Tabitha was a servant leader.
I was working in Debbie’s office the day she called in to say that she was going to the doctor with flu-like symptoms. A week later she was in the hospital for more tests. When they found the mass on her kidney she continued to have hope. In her mind, she had a win-win situation. On earth, she had three kids, a loving husband, a grandchild, and an incredible desire to do God’s will. At death, she looked forward to entering heaven and finally asking God the who, what, whys of the world. Debbie was given six months to live from her first prognosis. The cancer was aggressive and had spread to her liver before they had a chance to start treatment. Beating the odds, Debbie lived almost a year with the cancer. Three weeks before I received the email about her death, I received a letter from her. Written by her weakened hand, she left me with treasured snippets of advice, words of wisdom, and her dreams for a world full of Tabithas. It was her hope that I would be a Tabitha through my ministry.

When her time came, Debbie was surrounded by her children, her husband, her grandchildren (she had lived to see the birth of her second). I learned later that she had spent the last months of her life writing letters to all those she had worked with and loved. In my mind, she was a Tabitha, a woman full of good works and acts of charity. She lives on in my memory and in the memories of all those she touched through her dedication to service in Christ’s name.
Unlike in Debbie’s story, Tabitha receives another day of physical life. The Book tells us that after she died, Tabitha was washed and laid in an upperroom. Her role in the community was so significant that the gathered mourners wondered what they could do to awaken her spirit. In hope and faith, two men ran to the neighboring town where Peter was staying and teaching. As soon as he received the message, he got up and went to the place where Tabitha laid. The women there showed the proof of Tabitha’s good works. They held the garments and clothing she had made or purchased for them from her own bank account.

At this point, Peter gently sends the widows out of the room. He, then, kneels before the lifeless body. His prayer is not recorded, nor do we really need the exact words, because what happens next is the answer to his prayer. With two simple words, “Tabitha, rise,” her eyes open and she sits up. In a healing reminiscent of Jesus, Peter extends his hand to Tabitha before inviting the ‘saints and widows’ back into the room to rejoice over her aliveness.
Verse 42 tells us something important, here. The healing of Tabitha became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. Through her resuscitation from the dead, Tabitha became a sign of God’s miraculous works in the community. Many came to faith through this act.

This is when my modern day skepticism comes out. Flipping through the channels it is hard to miss the ‘healing shows’ on the Christian networks. The sick and injured wait with hope to be healed by the man or woman on the stage. The lights often flash, the announcer begs for prayers and pledges of faith to ‘heal this boy of his crooked legs.’ Do you know the shows or events I referring to?

Was this healing by Peter just another one of these shows? Was Tabitha not really dead but everyone pretended so Peter would get better ratings at the next feeding of the five thousand? And, why did my mentor and friend die of the cancer when I think she was one full of good works and acts of charity? Unfortunately, that last question is one I am unable to answer today. It is a question on my list to ask God when I get to heaven.

What I do know is this. Through her ministry, Debbie encouraged countless people to follow their hearts and to go where God was calling them. I am standing before you today because of her inspiration, her care, her good works, her acts of charity and her compassion. At her funeral, I heard story after story from people who had entered the ministry because of her encouragement and example of her faith. My hope is that through sharing the story of her life and the celebration of her entrance into heaven many will come to believe in the Lord just as they did through the healing of Tabitha.

Has there been a Tabitha in your life? A woman or a man who has inspired you through their good works and their acts of charity. Are you a Tabitha to others? Do you give of your own means to show the love of risen Christ? I know I’m walking on ice here. I may make you think, so I’ll conclude with this…
I’ve seen Tabithas at work in this congregation. Several times I’ve been the recipient of Tabitha-like acts of charity. And I appreciate each and every time. Thank you.

I’ve also heard stories of generous acts of love given to members of this congregation from other members or from members to those outside. Our, and I use the term ‘our,’ because I am this close to being one of you – Our commitment to benevolences is to be noted. We are a church of Tabithas and each new day is our opportunity to do more. Through our actions of good works and charity many may come to believe in the Lord. It is our turn to hear Peter’s words, ‘Tabitha, rise.’ It is our turn to stand up alive.
Thanks be to God.