GeeDubya's Sermon Site: Acts 9: 36-43

This morning is the fourth Sunday of the Easter Season, a season of resurrection.

As we are encouraged by an amazing spring, with the flourishing of the orchards, we are reminded of God’s deep-down commitment to new life; we see resurrection.

In Jesus, crucified and risen, the lives of those committed to following in his way are shaped by resurrection. Marcus Borg (pp.16-17) put it beautifully as he wrote, “Beginning with Easter … Jesus as the risen living Christ could be experienced anywhere and everywhere [and] so it has been ever since…. In the experience, worship, and devotion of Christians throughout the centuries, the post-Easter Jesus is real.” The mystery of Christ’s resurrection is central to our identity as Christians and as Church.

And the Bible speaks of resurrection, not just in relation to Jesus. In scripture there are nine additional occurrences in which ordinary people, often children, are said to have been raised from the dead. Long before Jesus, the Israelite prophets Elijah and Elisha were said to have enacted resurrections; in the years after Jesus, the apostles Peter and Paul did likewise. Jesus himself was said to have three times raised people from the dead, and in Matthew’s gospel the moment of Jesus’ death was said to be a moment when the faithful departed came back to life.

To those of us of a modern scientific mindset, resurrection can be, um, problematic. As a metaphor, no problem, as we’ve all seen positive turnarounds in people’s lives that are nothing short of rebirth, but taken literally it’s much harder. Especially in the past decade, living in the era of “alternate truth,” speaking of the death and resurrection of Jesus can be extremely tricky, and it gets even trickier when we think about these nine additional Biblical instances in which someone other than Jesus Christ moves from being dead to being un-dead. Paul Tillich, writing in the mid-1950s, famously stated that faith is not certitude; faith by definition, includes doubt, and in our time and place we really need to grapple with the relationship between belief and doubt, as we consider difficult concepts like resurrection, and do so in ways that are open, vulnerable and credible.

Where, then, do we go with this? Since human, bodily resurrection – actual death to actual life – does not align with my experience of life, I need to process it through faith. Faith is a place of mystery and contradiction, where legends and allegories and actual occurrences interact with one other, a place where the luxury of certainty is unavailable. And for me, the life of faith must go beyond binary thought; it is a place where I find myself much more drawn to “both/and” than “either/or,” where the question, “did it happen this way or that way?” is answered by the word “yes.”

When we come to this account in the book of Acts, about the raising of Dorcas, my concern is much less about the factual event as described, and much more about the truth that it illustrates. For rather than getting caught up in a debate about whether Dorcas/Tabitha actually, physically died and then became alive once again, I confidently proclaim that Dorcas did rise, and not only once, for in actions carried out in her name, she arises time and time again.

What we know about this woman is somewhat limited, coming almost entirely from the 9^th chapter of Acts. As somewhat of a fun fact, we know that her name, in its Aramaic version, Tabitha, and its Greek version, Dorcas, means “Gazelle”, an animal associated with beauty, grace, agility, swiftness and love. But more relevant to today’s reading, the Dorcas of Acts chapter 9 is, in the words of the Bible Hub website “a disciple living in Joppa, a coastal city in ancient Israel [within modern-day Tel Aviv]. Her life was marked by her dedication to good deeds, particularly her efforts in making garments for widows and the needy.

“Dorcas fell ill and died, causing great sorrow among the believers in Joppa. The community, deeply affected by her passing, sent for the Apostle Peter….Upon his arrival, Peter was taken to the upper room where Dorcas' body lay. The widows stood by, weeping and showing Peter the garments Dorcas had made. Moved by their grief and the testimony of her life, Peter sent everyone out of the room, knelt down, and prayed. Turning to the body, he said, ‘Tabitha, get up.’ She opened her eyes, and upon seeing Peter, she sat up.”

And then Bible Hub writes this: “Dorcas is celebrated as an exemplar of Christian charity and service. Her life and resurrection underscore the power of faith and the importance of good works as a testimony to one's faith in Christ. Her account highlights the role of women in the early Church and their significant contributions to the Christian community, [and her] legacy continues to inspire Christian charitable organizations and individuals dedicated to serving the needy. Many churches and groups have been named in her honour, reflecting her enduring impact as a model of compassion and service. Her account is a reminder of the transformative power of love and kindness, and the hope of resurrection through faith in Jesus Christ”.

A year ago, when we arrived in the south Okanagan, we quickly learned of the intimate connection between the Dorcas group in Osoyoos, and the United Church Thrift Shop. The Dorcas group in Osoyoos states “the purpose of the Dorcas Group should be that of Dorcas herself: a disciple helping others through charity acts of kindness and support” and we see that in action, important outreach happening as some forty volunteers from the Church and community make affordable clothing and housewares available to all. It is a great meeting place for people of all ages, stages and life circumstances.

A bit of digging informs me that the beginnings of the Thrift Shop reach back to 1962 when a group of women of Osoyoos United Church helped address community needs by providing clothing available and, eventually, linens, housewares and other items. By 1973 Thrift Sales took place regularly in the church basement, by 1974/75 the Thrift sales became weekly, eventually expanding to its current pattern of four days per week.

A bit more digging reveals that beyond our local context, dating to the 1860s, there have been Dorcas societies doing good works in the UK, in Australia, along the eastern seaboard of the United States, and in Canada. Many Anglican Churches, in particular, have Dorcas societies affiliated with them, including a very active one on Vancouver Island at Duncan. The tireless work of our Osoyoos Dorcas group is, then, part of a global movement, and we are so appreciative of everything their efforts mean to the Church and community.

When I put all of this together, what comes clear to me is quite remarkable, even miraculous. The simple, selfless things that Dorcas of Joppa did with a needle and thread and with a spirit of generosity, date from the days of the early Church and have been relived time and time again. Virtually every congregation I have served since 1981 can point to faithful women and groups of women – the WA, WI, WMS, UCW and Dorcas groups – whose hard work and fidelity, often underappreciated, have saved the Church from ruin. The spirit and legacy of Dorcas comes alive in human actions, are resurrected if you will, as good works are done in the name of Jesus Christ.

Something I have found this to be true over the years, is the way that the positive legacies of those who have gone before us find a home in us. As we act on those urges, life is born again. Mother’s Day is, I hope, a day when those legacies come to mind with gratitude, as the lives of our foremothers find life in our lives. “We Rise Again” is a beautiful song from Cape Breton, composed by Leon Dubinsky and popularized by The Rankin Family, and it puts it like so: “as sure as the sunrise, as sure as the sea, as sure as the wind in the trees: We rise again in the faces of our children, we rise again in the voices of our song, we rise again in the waves out on the ocean; and then - we rise again.”

The glories of the south Okanagan shout out their witness to God’s pattern of growth, death and rebirth. The life, death, resurrection and presence of Christ even now, bear repeated witness to God’s desire to free all of her children from anything that limits life and dignity. The durability of the story of Dorcas, not only in the ministries bearing her name, but in the actions of anyone who provides practical assistance for people in need, reminds us of all those ways that our lives express resurrection. In all of these, we sing alleluia to the God of new life and new birth. Amen.

References cited:

Bible Hub. https://biblehub.com/topical/d/dorcas.htm and https://biblehub.com/topical/g/gazelle.htm

Borg, Marcus. Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time. SF: HarperOne, 1994.

Dubinsky, Leon. “We Rise Again” found at https://genius.com/The-rankin-family-rise-again-lyrics

Got Questions website. https://www.gotquestions.org/raised-from-the-dead.html

Tillich, Paul. Dynamics of Faith. NYC: Harper, 1956.

Trueman, Alice. https://faithtides.ca/joyous-gifting-by-the-dorcas-ministry/