"Is There Still a Little More to Do?"
a condensed version of the sermon delivered by Rev. Kirk Moore on Sunday, April 29, 2007 at Union Congregational Church in Somonauk, Illinois.

PODCAST of "Is there Still a Little More to Do?"

This morning's scripture reading is:

This week’s Bible reading tells about the resurrection of a woman named Tabitha – also called Dorcas. That’s a pretty big deal. You don’t find people coming back to life very often – even in the Bible.

But there’s a lot more going in. Let’s begin:

Tabitha, a Hebrew name, and Dorcas – its Greek equivalent, mean ‘gazelle.’ I don’t know if her name described her at all. Often names have significant meaning in the Bible. In this case, probably not. But maybe just a little. I’ll get to that in just a minute.

Tabitha was devoted to works of charity and good deeds. When she died, the people she cared for thought there must be a mistake – she had so much more to do. They asked Peter to come immediately. He did. Why immediately? Well, in addition to Tabitha being dead, the customary burial practice came into play. Peter had to come right away because Tabitha would have been buried by sundown. Peter showed up quickly, prayed and told here to get up. She did.

This resurrection miracle sounds a lot like some other resurrection accounts in the Bible. Jesus raised a little girl – the daughter of Jairus. It’s described at the end of Mark 5 and Luke 8. The words Jesus used, "Talitha, koum" sound almost exactly like ‘Tabitha, koum." The first means "Little girl, get up!" and the second, ‘Tabitha, get up!" The early believers would have heard the similarity. Her name does mean something! It sounds like "Little girl!" The early readers of Acts would have noticed the similarity too. They would have remembered how Elijah raised the son of the widow from Zaraphath from 1 Kings 17:17-24. They would have remembered Elisha raising the son of the Shunammite woman from 2 Kings 4:32-37. They would have remembered and realized that Peter and the disciples were continuing the work of the prophets and the work of Jesus. The might have asked, as we might ask, ‘Are we continuing Jesus work today?

The resurrection of Tabitha was a big deal – but there’s more. This account continues the removal of exclusivity relating to God’s love among early Christians.

Tabitha – Dorcas was a woman. The Bible also describes her as a disciple. The Greek word "mathetria" is the feminine equivalent of the masculine word "mathetes." Both mean disciple. Feminine and Masculine forms of the word don’t downgrade or raise the value of one over the other. Tabitha - Dorcas was a disciple – no less. She is one of many significant and strong women in the Bible – Elizabeth and Mary, Mary Magdalene, Lydia and Priscilla and Tabitha.

But the inclusion of women isn’t the only removal of exclusivity. Right at the end of the passage it says that Peter went to stay at the home of Simon—a tanner. Tanners worked with dead flesh. They were considered unclean, defiled and living outside of the law’s standards. Peter living in his home shows that those who the authorities called "unclean" were worthy of God’s unconditional love. Women . . . Tanners . . . everyone is included.  Nobody is excluded from God’s love and God’s welcome. How are we at including everyone as we share God’s love?

And the inclusion of everyone is also a big deal – but there’s another nugget in today’s passage!

Tabitha devoted her life to good works and acts of charity. She was living her life devoted to the two greatest commandments. Love God – and love others. I don’t know all of what she did, but here in today’s reading I see that she cared for widows and made clothing for them. Why is that important? Widows lived at high risk of not having a place to stay and food to eat. With no husband often there was nobody to care for them. Tabitha reached out in kindness to people in need. How are we doing at reaching out to people in need?

This summer the movie theatres are going to be filled with blockbuster sequels.

The sequels arrive all summer long! Here’s another: On June 22nd, Evan Almighty opens. It’s the sequel to the Jim Carrey film, Bruce Almighty, from 2003. This time around, Evan, the newscaster Bruce made talk gibberish, has been elected congressman. And God gives him a task. Evan has to build an ark to save humankind from a flood of epic proportions. I haven’t seen any previews of the film to tell you if I think it’s any good. I loved the first one, but who knows? The usual Hollywood comedy will, I’m sure, be there. This movie also promises something else. It shows and encourages random acts of kindness. As part of this kindness, and I am sure as a way to market the film to the Church crowd, Grace Hill Media, Willow Creek Church and Youth Specialties have put up a website that matches up needs of people with the talents and skills of others. I know we don’t need a website to do that. I’ve seen lots of people doing good deeds for one another in the short time I’ve been here. Here’s just another avenue of encouragement. If you’re curious, go to our church website and then click on the "ark almighty" logo at the bottom of the page. You’ll link to a page on the arkalmighty website (arkalmighty.com) that is for our church. You can post needs and respond to needs. It’s all brand new and I don’t know how it’ll turn out. I do know that churches all over the country are part of it. What a great thing it would be to see people from all over the country living up to the encouragement of Hebrews 10:24: And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds. It’s a way to respond to something St. Francis of Assisi said, "Preach the gospel, and when necessary, use words."

Have you caught all the challenges for this week? Ask – individually and as a congregation: ‘Are we continuing Jesus work today? How are we at including everyone as we share God’s love?

and

How are we doing at reaching out to people in need?

Maybe this week you can try a new opportunity for provoking one another to love and good deeds with the arkalmighty website.

Wow – all that from the account of the resurrection of Tabitha – who I hope would approve of how her story inspires us. It’s as if she, after being resurrected, got up – noticed the needs around her, and said, "Is there still a little more to do?"

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