Raised to Serve: Tabitha

This sermon is part of a Lenten midweek series on resurrections in Scripture.

Text: Acts 9:36-43, Eph. 2:1-10, Matt. 25:31-46

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

            We’ve been discussing resurrections in Scripture that point forward to Jesus’ own resurrection at Easter. But tonight we’re going to skip forward to a resurrection that takes place after Easter—one performed not by a prophet, but by the Apostle Peter. In Joppa, there was a disciple named Tabitha, or in Greek, Dorcas. Both names mean the same thing: gazelle. She was known and cherished among the Christians in that community because she was full of good works and acts of charity. In a time when clothing was extremely labor intensive, and thus difficult to make and expensive to buy, Tabitha made clothing for her fellow believers, especially for the widows—those without a source of income. Her faith—belief in a Savior who came to serve the lowliest by becoming servant of all—was visible in her works. They simply flowed from what she believed about her Lord. She was an example of faith, hope, and love to the believers in Joppa.

            But then, we read, she became ill and died. This presents us with a stark and hard truth: even the most faithful die. Her charity couldn’t keep her from getting sick. Her good works, beautiful as they were, couldn’t stop death. The Law’s verdict still stands, even for those who do good, “The wages of sin is death,” and for those who are born with the corruption of original sin, even the best of us, death is waiting.

            This is a hard truth, but it’s an important one, lest we forget it. Even when our works are good, genuine, heartfelt, sacrificial; even when we are, as Tabitha was, full of good works, they still cannot save from death. If anyone could attempt to win salvation through works, Tabitha certainly would have been a contender. But even she could not outrun the consequences of being a fallen mortal. So after her death, the other Christians take her to an upper room (yet another upper room!), a place that previously had been for joyful gatherings and sharing God’s good gifts together. But now it is a place of death. They prepare her body for burial, washing it. And yet, even as they are preparing for the funeral, they hear that the Apostle Peter is in Joppa, so there’s still a spark of hope in them. They send a message to him, “Please come to us without delay.” This is what faith does—even in the dark, even surrounded by those things that would crush us and drive us into despair, faith still looks for those places, those means where God’s promise is. Faith still looks for the Word that gives life, the sacraments that destroy death and sin. So here faith looks for a means that Jesus has sent into the world to fight chaos, evil, and destruction. It looks for the Apostle, who was authorized by Jesus to tread serpents and speak life in Jesus’ name to a dying world.

            Notice that when Peter arrives, there is the usual grief evident among the mourners. The people are grieving. The widows, recipients of Tabitha’s generosity and works of love, are weeping, showing Peter all the garments she had made for them. The works remain, even when the one who did them is gone. But they don’t tell him that she deserved to be raised because of them. They don’t say that they needed more out of her. They’re just tokens of the love she showed because of God’s love for her. And it’s God’s love for her that will be the ultimate thing that Peter appeals to when he prays for her resurrection.

            We may be tempted to think that we’ve earned something from God. Even if it’s not a direct exchange, “Do this for me because I did that for someone else,” we might be tempted to think of it a down payment on future rewards from God, or that God will simply take notice and start doing nice things for us because we did nice things for others. But notice how Paul talks about works and new life in Jesus. In our reading from Ephesians, St. Paul puts it this way: “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one can boast.” And now the critical part for our consideration this evening: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” We are not saved because we serve. We are saved so that we can serve. Resurrection comes first, then good works follow. Tabitha had first been raised to new life in Baptism and faith, and then she served others. And now, she would be raised again so that she can serve once more.

            So, like the prophet Elisha before, Peter goes into the upper room and shuts the door. He doesn’t rely on his own power, but he prays. And then, turning to her, he says, “Tabitha, arise.” The word for “arise” is the same word for Jesus arising on Easter morning. Peter is asking—he’s commanding—death to depart. He’s using the authority of Christ, the One who defeated death, to raise this beloved woman. It’s the same command that will be spoken for our benefit on the Last Day. But here, in the upper room, a token of that greater future resurrection is given. Immediately death is banished because of Jesus’ Word of life, spoken through His messenger. She opens her eyes, sees Peter, and sits up. He extends his hand to help her to her feet and then presents her alive to the believers and the mourning widows. The entire people of God gathered there get to see resurrection. They learn that death is not the end.

            Resurrection is one of those things that can’t be hidden. The news of Tabitha’s resurrection spread throughout Joppa and because of this mighty sign of Christ’s ongoing victory over death, many believe. That is the ultimate and greatest result of this resurrection. Yes, Tabitha was raised from the dead, which is a marvelous thing on its own, but even greater is that many came to faith in the One who sent Peter; faith in Jesus.

            Notice the pattern here. People saw Tabitha’s charitable service and life of faith. They saw her resurrection. Then they believed. There’s an important lesson here, one we’ve already been talking about. Your good works don’t save anyone. But what they do is create a space for the good news of Jesus’ victory over sin and death to take root. People see the love of Jesus’ disciples and then, when the time is right for them to hear about Jesus’ cross and resurrection, they can connect the dots. So just as Tabitha was raised from the dead so that she could walk in the works that God had prepared beforehand for her, you too have been raised from the dead so that you can walk in works that have been prepared ahead of time for you. Just as Tabitha was called by name and brought into new life by the hand of Peter, you have been called by name in your Baptism and raised to new life through the hand of your pastor, pouring on water and speaking the Word that gives life. You have been raised for good works, not by good works. Everything you do flows from your resurrection life, not toward it. When Christ raised you in Baptism, your life became a sign to others that there is a victor over death, that the grave is not the end, that we are given a life of love and charity, grace and hope, as a gift from God.

            This changes everything. Now you do not serve because you have to, in order to be worthy of God’s love. You don’t do acts of charity because they might earn something from your Lord. Rather, you’ve been raised to new life, so you’re free to serve those who can’t repay—the widows, the lonely, the grieving, the overlooked, those who have been left on the fringes. In your new life of righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, you know that it’s the love of Christ overflowing from you to those around you. As we continue to move forward toward Holy Week and Easter, the source of our resurrected life here and the world to come, remember that it’s already all been won. Forgiveness, peace with God, the treasures of new life with Him—it’s already all yours. So you can live in that, and you can be just as free and openhanded as your Lord has been with you, as the examples of the saints have been before us: Tabitha, Peter, the women who served the prophets. Arise and serve, not to be saved, but because you are saved, and your Lord continues to serve you. In the name of Jesus, who has made us His workmanship. Amen.