My mother died on April 3, 1999, at the Southwest Regional Medical Center in McComb, Mississippi. My older brother and I watched her die. I was holding her right hand, and he was holding her left when she breathed her last breath. She was 82 years old and had lived a good life. She had told me some weeks before that she was ready to go; but I wasn’t ready for it. She had worked her whole life to see that me and my brothers were raised right, and in a Christian home. My father was killed early in life, so she was the parent that we looked to for guidance and advice even after we had left home and gone out on our own. She worked in the school cafeteria, and as a store clerk, and in a garment plant, putting in extra hours whenever she could so that we wouldn’t go lacking. We weren’t ready to see her leave us. I was having trouble imagining what life would be without her.
But I don’t think we’re ever really ready to see a loved one die. We keep praying for God to give us a little more time with them. We keep hoping for a miracle. But sometimes, God has other plans. And if we’re seeking His will, we find out later what it’s all about.
In our scripture, we read about a lady named Tabitha, who became ill and died. She lived in Joppa which was a seaport city in Israel. Today it’s a suburb of Tel Aviv. Tabitha means “gazelle” in Aramaic, meaning she was full of grace and beauty. Her name in the Greek translation is Dorcas. And as a matter of fact, there is a species of deer called the Dorcas gazelle. But it says in the scripture that this lady was full of good works and did many charitable deeds. She made clothes and garments for people, and was a disciple of Jesus. She used her gifts to help others and provide for those who needed clothing. She cared for those in need.
There’s a lady in Louisville, Kentucky that they call the modern-day Dorcas. She was brought to tears when she discovered that annually there were some 21,000 cancer patients in Louisville who were receiving chemotherapy treatments and losing their hair. Her name is Lynette LeGette. She learned that patients complained about being cold during the night and would wrap pajamas or towels around their heads to keep warm. God gave her the idea to create turbans for the cancer patients who had lost their hair. She is now known as the Hat Lady. From July, 2002, to December, 2004, during the first years of her project, she and six of her volunteers made over 1000 turbans providing them at no charge to those in need. She said that when you ask the Lord what you should do, you need to be willing to listen for the direction and recognize the opportunities He gives you.
Tabitha did this. She filled a need. She loved people, and people loved her. She was a familiar part of the community, and someone who was well liked. But she fell ill and died. We don’t know what caused her to be sick or how long she was ill, but it caused her to die.
The people who knew her well were devastated. This was unexpected; and they were upset and weeping over their loss. What would they do? What could they do? Whatever it was, it had to be done quickly. According to Jewish law, if an individual died, they had to be buried on the same day; except, outside of Jerusalem, they were allowed three days for the burial. They proceeded to prepare the body by washing it, and laying it in an upper room which was the custom. But time was of the essence.
Some of the disciples had heard that Peter was in the nearby town of Lydda. Word had been spreading all over the land about the good news of Jesus Christ, and how His apostles had been preaching and healing wherever they went. Churches were growing throughout Judea and Galilee and Samaria; and everywhere God was at work. Peter was becoming well known, and the disciples in Joppa knew that if they could get Peter to come to Joppa, he could raise Tabitha.
There was no internet. There were no phone lines or cell phones. They had to go to where Peter was. So two men were sent to Lydda with word of Tabitha’s death; and they urged Peter to come as quickly as possible to Joppa. They only had three days. Joppa was approximately 15 miles from Lydda; so it took some time for the two men to get there, and for Peter to travel to Joppa. But Peter arose and left immediately.
When Peter got to Joppa, they took him to the upper room where Tabitha’s body was laid. The widows and friends were weeping and mourning, and they showed Peter the clothing that Tabitha had made while she was living. They wanted a miracle, and they had faith that Peter could perform that miracle.
Peter sent everyone out of the room, and then he knelt down and prayed. He had experienced Jesus raising people from the dead; and in each case, except the situation with Jarius’ daughter, Jesus had cleared the room as well. But he turned to Tabitha’s body, and said, “Tabitha, arise!” And the miracle happened; she opened her eyes, and she sat up and looked at Peter. And then Peter gave her his hand and lifted her up. Notice that Peter did not touch her until God had restored her life. Can you imagine what Peter felt? He knew that this was in God’s plan. He knew that he was being used by God for a purpose. She opened her eyes, and she sat up. She was alive.
But how do you think Tabitha felt? She was being brought back from a place of peace to a world of turmoil and sin. John Wesley commented on this when he said, “….for her to be called back was more a matter of resignation, not joy, to be called back to these scenes of vanity.” But just think of the testimony that she must have had in relating what God had done through her.
I have a preacher friend who preached a funeral that I attended earlier this year. During the funeral, he started crying; and he related an incident where his son was killed recently in an automobile accident. He said he received a phone call to come down to the morgue to identify the body of his son. He said when he went into the room where they had laid his son, he saw the body on the table and immediately knew that it was his son. He said he broke down and cried, and asked the Lord for a miracle to revive his son. But then there was a silence, and he said he heard his son’s voice coming from behind his shoulder. And his son said, “Dad, I don’t want to come back. I don’t want to come back.” My preacher friend said that he then knew where his son was, and the pain lifted.
But Tabitha was called back; and the scripture says that Peter called the saints, and the widows, and presented her alive. Can you imagine what they felt? The joy of seeing their friend and fellow disciple alive again to continue her work for the Lord. The joy of seeing their faith confirmed.
And as far as God’s plan, word of this spread all over Joppa and beyond, and many believed and became followers of Christ. The good news was spreading, and Peter decided to stay in Joppa for a good while at the home of Simon, the tanner. This was a sign of things to come. Since Simon was a tanner, he had to deal with dead animals which made him unclean according to Jewish law, so Peter was staying with someone who was unclean. And according to God’s plan, his next job was to witness to the Gentiles who were also considered unclean.
So as disciples of Jesus Christ, what can we take from this and use to spread the Word? We need to seek the will of God in our ministries, whether it makes sense or not. We shouldn’t limit our ministries to only things that we think we can do, but be bold in letting God perform miracles through us. And we should grow in our faith in knowing that God has a plan, and rest in the knowledge that the Holy Spirit is working in and through us.
AMEN
