08/19/18 Hope, Healing and Belonging: :32-43 A Deeper Framework for the New Community Reverend Patti Ricotta, Brewster Baptist Church

Two weeks ago, Pastor Doug introduced three powerful conversion stories that are almost back to back in Acts chapters 8, 9 and 10. These are stories of powerful men whose lives are completely transformed by coming to know . There’s the transformation of the in chapter 8. He’s the man in charge of the entire treasury of the Ethiopian Queen—a very powerful man.

Then in chapter 9, we are given the story of Saul’s miraculous conversion. Saul meets Jesus on his way to imprison Believers and instead becomes the Apostle Paul who wrote over 30% of the —another powerful story of the transformation of someone who would become a great leader in the Church. And the story we will learn about next week (spoiler alert!) is the conversion of the gentile Roman officer named Cornelius whose conversion is so powerful it opens the gates of heaven to everyone who turns to Jesus, as he did. More on that next week.

Well, I say that these powerful conversion stories are almost back to back, because the passage we are going to look at today seems to be slipped in kind of side-ways, tossed in at the end of chapter 9, breaking up the conversion stories of these three powerful men. It’s the passage about Peter’s healing of Aeneas, a paralyzed man, and Tabitha, a woman who died and is brought back to life. At first glance, this little passage – just 12 verses – seems like stories of two relative nobodies in comparison to the three powerhouse men we read about in the surrounding Scriptures.

Some commentators seem to feel the Aeneas and Tabitha stories are haphazardly placed, and destroy the momentum of the three great conversion stories. Besides, these commentators say that Luke has already given us stories about Peter healing people. Why have more miracle healing stories wedged into this particular space? Yeah, how come? Those are the kind of questions that keep me up at night, because I know that if we dig in, we’ll get a surprising answer. What is Luke trying to teach us about the New Community (the Church) that we haven’t seen yet? Hum?

Let’s read these stories and explore what they have to say. This is Acts 9:32-43. “Now as Peter went here and there among all the believers, he came down also to the saints living in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, for he was paralyzed. Peter said to him, ‘Aeneas, Jesus heals you; get up and make your bed!’ And immediately he got up. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord. Now in Joppa there was a whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is . She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. At that time, she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, 1

‘Please come to us without delay.’ So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, ‘Tabitha, get up.’ Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.”

In the middle of the fantastic stories about three great big powerful men, we see a powerless and feeble paralyzed man who gets a second chance at life and changes the whole world around him. We see what seems to be just a sweet little lady who makes her own clothes. But she is revealed to be a female disciple. Her devotion to Christ is so authentic, that she reconfigures the male dominated power structures in her society to build a community of oneness. Her ministry is so important to the public that the male disciples of the community cannot accept her death and seek out Peter to do something about it!

I don’t think there is anything haphazard about the placement of these two stories. When Pastor Doug introduced the three conversion stories, he said they show that the Holy Spirit was “enlarging the boundaries of who is included and welcomed in the family of God?” I think today’s stories deepen that theme, and enlarge the framework of the New Community in a unique way.

Aeneas and Tabitha’s healings are strategically placed in the middle of these superstar stories as kind of a “check and balance.” They bring us back down to earth, and that’s where most of us live. Aeneas and Tabitha—an ordinary man and women—prove that in this New Community you don’t have to be big superstars like Paul and the other two converts to be worthy of God’s special attention. And every single person who is transformed by the Spirit of God has the potential to change the world around them. No one who meets Jesus stays in his or her old limited place.

“But wait,” you say, “Those stories are about people long ago and far away. What do they have to do with me now?” Well, the same Spirit of Christ that caused Peter to do miracles, and healed Aeneas and Tabitha is the same Holy Spirit that inspired Luke to write their stories down so that we wouldn’t miss their power, and is the same Spirit of God that is right here today ready, willing and able to inspire you and me to become a healer like Peter, or shed our paralysis, like Aeneas or wake up to the life we were created to live, like Tabitha.

In other words, these stories help us find ourselves in the midst of the grand scheme and ever- widening framework of the New Community. Jesus was building his church then, through hope, healing and belonging, and God is still building his church the same way today.

Let’s look at Aeneas’s story. Peter went here and there among all the believers, encouraging and strengthening their faith, and he came down to the saints () living in Lydda. Lydda was a town about 11 miles SE of Joppa. When Peter got there he found Aeneas, 2 who had been bedridden for eight years because he was paralyzed. This tells us that Aeneas was not paralyzed all his life. Something happened to him eight years earlier that rocked his world. One minute he is going about his business, doing his daily work and taking care of his own daily needs. And then suddenly, he can’t do any of those things anymore, and other people have to take care of him. Has anything like that ever happened to you or someone you love?

Probably most of us have felt paralyzed by something in our lives at one time or another. Maybe you feel that way right now. Some of us may feel paralyzed by crushing debt; we’re crippled by the loss of a relationship, or immobilized by fear. There are an endless number of things that can make us feel paralyzed in our lives. Aeneas’s story tells us that Jesus Christ is the one who enables the disabled. “Peter says, ‘Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!’ And immediately he got up.”

I believe there is hope and healing for everyone. And we are challenged to always pray and never give up. Maybe the healing you receive will be dramatic like Aeneas. But if the things you’ve hoped and prayed for consistently haven’t come about, maybe…sometimes God might be trying to show you… it’s time for a different hope, a better hope?

Let me give you an example. Some years ago I was at a conference and heard a story from a nurse who had a patient with AIDS. He was an angry man who lashed out at everything and everyone. He had been in the hospital for a long time and was very sick. He knew the nurse was a Christian so he lashed out at her saying, “I hoped that my family would still love me when I came out to them, but they didn’t. I hoped my partner wouldn’t die, but he did. I hoped that I would live, but the doctor says I won’t. Everything I hoped for is gone. What do you say about that, Little Miss Christian?” She firmly but lovingly looked him in the eyes and said, “It’s time to get a new hope.” He was stunned. He immediately softened and said, “But what hope, and how? Isn’t it too late for a new hope?”

Knowing that 1 Peter 3:15 says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” She did her best. She told him about the hope of salvation that Jesus offers for those who recognize their sin. He finally understood, asked God for forgiveness, and accepted Christ as his new hope. He was completely transformed and began hungrily reading the . He called his parents and told them about Jesus. He explained to them that he knows God has forgiven him and that he will be made completely whole in heaven, but if they don’t accept Christ as their Savior, they will never get to see him whole. His transformation led to reconciliation with his family. He also reached out to his partner’s family who were angry at him because they believed he had stolen away their son. Both sets of parents accepted Christ as their savior and when the man died, he was surrounded by the love of the two families he had lost. He had a genuine trust and joy that his healing would be complete on the other side of his walk into eternity with Jesus, and he was happy!

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God’s intervention and healing is available for all of us, and it will probably look different for each of us. It may even look different from the hope you are holding onto now. But the power for healing, no matter what form it takes, still comes in the name of Jesus Christ.

Aeneas was physically healed and was able to go back to his old life, but it seems that’s not what he did. The next verse says, “All the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.” Probably, Aeneas was so grateful for his new-found freedom that instead of going back to his old life, he found a new one in Christ. It seems he used his healing to travel throughout Lydda and Sharon so he could spread the good news of what Jesus Christ can do for people who are hurting and paralyzed in any way. The healed one became a healer and changed the world around him.

Now let’s go with Peter over to Joppa and meet Tabitha. “Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas.” The first thing we learn about this woman is that she is an example of how the framework of the Church is deepening and widening. We are told that she is a “female disciple;” in the Greek, μαθήτρια (mathetria). This is the feminine form of the same word used to denote male disciples, or μαθητής, (mathetes). She is the only woman in the entire Bible who is given this title. One commentator says that the striking use of the term suggests Tabitha had a special relationship to Jesus or that she held an office in the early church.1 Another scholar suggests, “Luke implies by that usage that Dorcas is fully the equivalent of the male disciples who are named with the masculine form of the noun in 9:38 and in numerous times in the early literature of the New Testament.”2 Another says that considering the conventional structure of relations between men and women at the time, the use of the title suggests that this feminine disciple exemplifies how the new community is changing that structure.3 Luke quickly tells us why she deserved the title of disciple. “She was devoted to good works and acts of charity.” This was a woman who was fulfilling Jesus’ command to love God and love others, and James’ admonition to have faith but also have good deeds, because “faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:26).

We learn that, around the same time Peter was healing Aeneas in Lydda, Tabitha became ill and died. “Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples (the other male disciples), who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, ‘Please come to us without delay.’" This is a beautiful picture of the early church. A profound sense of belonging had captured the hearts of believers. Everyone in the community is deeply moved by Tabitha’s death. Her colleagues, the other disciples, know that her death has caused a crisis in the community. There is interconnectedness in this New Community that not only recognizes the importance of everyone’s gifts, but each one also feels the pain of everyone’s loss.

The male disciples and other men are moved by the pain of the widows, and hatch a plan to help them. To impress Peter with the seriousness of the situation, these male disciples appoint

1 Thurston, B. in Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, Dorcas, 2 John C. Holbert, PhD. In an article found on Patheos, at: http://www.patheos.com/progressive-christian/living-power-john- holbert-04-15-2013 3 Willimon, William H. Acts. Westminster John Knox Press, 2010. Ps 84-85. 4 two men to go to Joppa and try to bring Peter back with them immediately. They knew he had just healed Aeneas of paralysis; maybe he could restore Tabitha to them as well. As unlikely as it may have seemed, their love for one another compelled them to try.

“So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them.” The Greek word for “weeping” (κλαίουσαι Acts 9:39) is the same word that describes the deep mourning Jesus felt when he wept over in Luke 19:42, and is the same word that describes the weeping of Mary and that deeply moved and troubled Jesus, causing him to also weep with them after the death of his dear friend Lazarus (John 11:33). It is a word of deep and bitter mourning.

I have a question for you: Who was first, in all the world, to make clothing for human-beings? God himself! He made clothes to cover the nakedness and shame of Adam and Eve. Tabitha made clothes to cover the poverty and shame of widows. I just wonder if maybe part of the reason Jesus chose to raise Tabitha back to life is because she and God had this beautiful thing in common—providing clothing for those in need! She exemplified Matthew 25, where Jesus says those who are blessed by the father are the ones to whom he says, “I was naked and you clothed me.”

Among the Sabiny people to whom I minister in Uganda, giving an article of clothing is considered a sacred act. Providing clothing to those in need is no small thing. Widows were among the poorest and most marginalized in 1st century society, and they still are today in many societies. This is so in the East African countries where I minister. Only very recently, widows have been allowed to legally inherit their husbands’ property. But the old way is still forced on widows. When a husband dies, his father and brothers come and seize for themselves the widow’s home and every single thing in it, forcing her and her children out into the street. Can you imagine? You can see why Tabitha’s widows were weeping. She took care of them and surely advocated for them. She convinced the men of how important it is to look after widows. When she died, the life-giving ministry she provided died with her.

When Peter gets to Tabitha, somehow he knows what he has to do. But this is the first time he has ever attempted raising someone from the dead. I’d be a little nervous, wouldn’t you? Yet he has a precious memory of being with Jesus when he raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead as recorded in the passage David read from Luke 8. Peter follows Jesus’ example nearly word for word and detail for detail. Wouldn’t you? Following Jesus’ example is never a bad idea! He then knelt down and prayed, then turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, recognized Peter, and sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. “This became known throughout Joppa.” Just as with Aeneas, Tabitha’s miracle caused many people to believe in the Lord.

Conclusion: So what have we discovered from the stories of Peter, Aeneas and Tabitha? Peter’s faith became the conduit for life to flow from Jesus to Aeneas and Tabitha. That power is always available to those of us who believe. Maybe you or I won’t bring a dead person back

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In both stories, the lives of seemingly ordinary people (maybe like you and me) have a major effect on everyone around them. Superstars of the faith are important, yes, but also things are happening through faith in Christ all the time that are not in the limelight. If the lesson of last week’s passage about the conversion of Saul is that no one is beyond God’s reach, then these stories teach us that everyone—male and female, poor and rich, infirmed and healthy— everyone in the family of God is important. And wherever there is misery of any kind, the very name of Jesus creates new possibilities because God is still the God of hope, healing and belonging.

Let’s pray. Dear Lord, To some people, miracles are a powerful boost to faith, but to others miracles are a stumbling block to faith. They say that miracles are a violation of the proven laws of nature, so they can’t be real. But I’m reminded that your word says we, and our world were created to be perfect. Yet, when we decided to make up our own rules without regard for our relationship with you, we chose to let ourselves and nature down, and now we live in a fallen, broken state of disorder. But when we think about the healings of Aeneas and Tabitha and all the miracles in the Bible, there seems to be an intriguing possibility. Maybe it is not miracles that are the strange and unnatural, but our world with all its death, decay and disease. Maybe a miracle is not a violation of the laws of nature, but a sublime act in which you, the Creator, for a brief and glorious moment, restores the original order of your creation. Miracle stories like the ones we studied today bring joy, not only because they bring healing, but because they give us a glimpse of what should have been . . . and what yet may be. May our faith in you grow so strong that we become the conduit of miraculous life to all those in need of hope, healing and belonging. Amen

Questions for Discussion & Reflection: 1. What is the purpose of the signs and wonders God is working through Peter? 2. Although Peter had healed many people, he had never raised anyone who had died. What might he have been feeling and thinking as he went to Tabitha’s home? 3. What two stories of Jesus do the incidents with Aeneas and Tabitha remind you of? 4. Why do you think the healing stories of regular people like Aeneas and Tabitha come in between the stories of the great conversions of the Ethiopian eunuch, Saul and (next week) Cornelius? 5. Have you ever experienced God’s healing in your life? If so, what impact did your healing have on others? 6. Tabitha was always doing good and helping the poor – what a beautiful legacy to have. How would you like others to describe you? What do you want your legacy to be?

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