Easter 4
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha... She was devoted to good works and acts of charity.
-- Acts 9:36
Luke, the author of Acts, made it a point throughout the gospel of Luke to match stories about men with stories about women. As we leave the story of Saul's conversion and return to the Jerusalem church and the ministry of Peter, we again hear of the ministry of a woman disciple in the early church. This Tabitha, or Dorcas, had developed a ministry of charity in the city of Joppa. Reflecting Jesus' own ministry, she had chosen to focus her ministry on the vulnerable of society. "All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them."
In a strongly patriarchal society that had no formal social security system, widows could quickly find themselves in severe financial difficulty. Her clothes closet had apparently addressed some of those needs. In capsule form, this short story reflects the experience of the early church. While they were a vulnerable minority within society, rather than choosing to expend their efforts on protecting themselves, they deliberately went out into the streets and ministered to the really needy of their community. Because they were ministering to the poor and the diseased of society, they exposed themselves to the unsanitary conditions of their community. Like Dorcas, they were not immune to contracting diseases themselves in the process of exercising their ministry. When they did so, they drew upon the healing power of the faith community and the power of God's Spirit to assist them.
Peter, who symbolizes the church leadership, responded to their need in the same way that they were responding to the needs of others. As the life of Christ demonstrated, and the early church constantly experienced, while believers were not immune to pain and suffering, God was faithful to them in often-miraculous ways. Even today, a church that is attentive to signs of the presence of God's Spirit will notice ample signs of God's healing presence among them.
-- Acts 9:36
Luke, the author of Acts, made it a point throughout the gospel of Luke to match stories about men with stories about women. As we leave the story of Saul's conversion and return to the Jerusalem church and the ministry of Peter, we again hear of the ministry of a woman disciple in the early church. This Tabitha, or Dorcas, had developed a ministry of charity in the city of Joppa. Reflecting Jesus' own ministry, she had chosen to focus her ministry on the vulnerable of society. "All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them."
In a strongly patriarchal society that had no formal social security system, widows could quickly find themselves in severe financial difficulty. Her clothes closet had apparently addressed some of those needs. In capsule form, this short story reflects the experience of the early church. While they were a vulnerable minority within society, rather than choosing to expend their efforts on protecting themselves, they deliberately went out into the streets and ministered to the really needy of their community. Because they were ministering to the poor and the diseased of society, they exposed themselves to the unsanitary conditions of their community. Like Dorcas, they were not immune to contracting diseases themselves in the process of exercising their ministry. When they did so, they drew upon the healing power of the faith community and the power of God's Spirit to assist them.
Peter, who symbolizes the church leadership, responded to their need in the same way that they were responding to the needs of others. As the life of Christ demonstrated, and the early church constantly experienced, while believers were not immune to pain and suffering, God was faithful to them in often-miraculous ways. Even today, a church that is attentive to signs of the presence of God's Spirit will notice ample signs of God's healing presence among them.
