Acts 9:36-41 for Sunday, August 12, 2007

Translation:
(36) But, in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, which translated was said as Dorkas. She was full of good work and giving alms, which she continually did. (37) And it was at the time that she was sick and died. They bathed her and put her in an upstairs room. (38) And since Lydda was near by Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was there and they sent two men for him, begging, "You must not delay to come to us." (39) And Peter rose and he went with them. When he arrived, they lead (him) into the upstairs room and all the widows stood together with him, weeping and showing the many tunics and coats Dorkas made when she was with them. (40) And Peter cast everyone outside and knelt and prayed and turning to the body he said "Tabitha, get up!. And she opened her eyes and seeing Peter she sat up. (41) And giving her his hand, he lifted her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he showed her living.

The key here is one simple verb in v. 36. The last verb of v. 36 is the imperfect form of the verb "to do." Imperfect verbs can have a variety of past-tense translations, but here it makes the most sense to say "she continually did." In other words, Tabitha (also called Dorkas) is always doing good works. Her name is synonymous with the good that she does. She is known all throughout her town for giving alms to the poor and doing wonderful deeds.

Therefore, when Dorkas died the enormity of her death was felt by everyone, but especially the widows. Dorkas had apparently made clothing for them. Caring for widows was part of the work of the responsibility of the whole community and Dorkas was loved for the special care she took for the widows.

By this time in Acts, the reader has already encountered Peter healing another man. His reputation goes before him since those in Joppa frantically run for him. By this time, Dorkas has been dead long enough for customary funeral rites to be administered. Her body has been washed and she is ready for burial. So, we know that this is not a case where she was mistaken for dead. That Peter comes and resuscitates her is pretty amazing. It seems that Peter's role is making the healing power of the Lord available to those who believe.

Through Luke's writing both in Acts and in the Gospel of Luke, we learn that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can have healing qualities. Peter healed Aeneas and says "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!" Here, Dorkas is clearly healed because of her enormous faith, evidenced in her good works. In the Gospel of Luke, we will recall the healing of the hemorrhaging woman to which Jesus says "Your faith has made you well" (Luke 8:48).

And we know Dorkas is an amazing woman of faith because she demonstrated it in her great deeds of love. Just this week I had the opportunity to serve with some teenagers at our district's annual "Pick 'n' Plunge." Teenagers served at a number of great organizations all over the area. Before we left for our mission work, we had a great devotional lead by Pastora Lydia of a local Latino congregation. She reminded us that service is not an option for Christians. Service, mission work, is what we do. It is who we are. It is who Jesus is. In fact, she called mission work the "signature" of Christians. We see this embodied in Dorkas. The reason we know that she was a Christian is that she was always doing good work and giving money to the poor.

I hope this empowers each of us to live the signature lives of Christians so that, like Dorkas, when we leave an impression on the people near us that our lives have really made a difference.