I think that this story is not so much about Peter bringing a dead woman back to life,
as it is about Dorcas and how she lived her life.
Within the body of Christ the rules are thrown out the window.
Mutual aid is an essential element of the Christian faith.
It's one of the building blocks of the Christian community.
It's found in the Old Testament – and the New Testament.
God's Word is directed toward the haves, with regard to the have-nots.
The message is always clear.
A way has to be found to take care of everyone
Exodus 20:12
Acts 9:36-39
When Tabitha died, her friends sent for the Apostle Peter.
When he arrived, people were quick to show him the same sorts of things.
As it says, All the widows were there weeping and wailing,
and they showed him the coats and clothes that Dorcas had made while she was still alive. (Acts 9:39).
Remember that widows in those days could not get jobs or take care of themselves.
They were dependant upon living relatives,
and if they had none, they were totally dependent on charity.
This doesn't mean the widows only thought of Dorcas in terms of what she had done for them.
It means they realized the relationship of receiving and giving had ended.
Now, in the verses I didn’t read, that appear right after what I did read,
Peter asks the ladies to leave the room,
and he escorts them out and shuts the door,
then he kneels by the bedside of the deceased and offers a prayer.
Then, the story goes, Peter turns to the lifeless body on the bed and says, “Tabitha, wake up!”
Witnesses say a miracle happened that day.
Tabitha opened her eyes,
looked around the room,
focused on Peter and sat up in bed.
She must of thought, “What is this strange man doing in my bedroom.”
He helped her out of the bed, and helped her walk to the door of the room.
Man, there was a party that night!
Most people focus on what Peter did when they read this.
But, I think that this story is not so much about Peter bringing a dead woman back to life,
as it is about Dorcas and how she lived her life.
It is about the tie that binds us together
becoming visible through the practice of mutual aid.
The thing about mutual aid is that mutual aid is about never having things work out evenly.
Within the body of Christ there is giving and receiving between this person and that,
and it never works out that one person gives or receives precisely what another person gives or gets.
We pray,
we bake,
we clean,
we teach,
we cry,
we spend,
we rest,
we lift,
we tote,
we make curtains,
we clean church rooms,
we glue little stars on the top of construction paper stables with tiny hands,
we build tables,
we bring cans of food,
and save grocery store receipts.
We write checks with tired hands
and we wrap energized hands around hymnals to sing all the louder for the benefit of those about to be baptized,
and we do our best to welcome strangers here –
and it never, never, never works out evenly.
Mutual aid is about tangibles and intangibles.
The spiritual giving and the material giving work out the same in the eyes we're granted through scripture.
C. S. Lewis used to say: We're amphibians:
half spirit and half body.
So making sure the survivors of a disaster are prayed for,
and helping provide for their need,
matters pretty much the same.
Within the body of Christ the rules are thrown out the window.
We get more than we bargained for,
we give more than we need.
Whenever we have a church potluck,
it is inevitable that some folks are bring two or three dishes, instead of the one as they were instructed.
That is grace.
The conventional wisdom is that we're supposed to give value for value, and receive the same.
A pound of potatoes should cost the same for everyone.
Equal effort should lead to equal reward.
That's precisely the way it should work in the secular world.
We need that protection, because we're fallen creatures.
We should, however, be uncomfortable if that attitude seeps into our life as a church.
The fact that we may drop off a pie at your house doesn't mean you need to send one back.
You might drop off some extra brownies months later, if you're in the baking mood,
or better yet, you might take those brownies over to someone who just began attending the church.
If someone visits you in the hospital, you might visit a totally different person when it's their turn,
or arrange the covered dishes to be taken to the family.
You see, mutual aid is an essential element of the Christian faith.
It's one of the building blocks of the Christian community.
It's found in the Old Testament – and the New Testament.
It is expected that in greater and lesser ways that we take care of each other
and put our stuff at each others' disposal when the need is there.
This mutuality is designed to protect God's people as individuals and a community.
It's found, for instance, in the Ten Commandments. The rules set up the framework for a just and equitable society, but particularly, the command we read a while ago, Exodus 20:12 ,is especially helpful in understanding mutual aid.
The verse, you remember, is:
"Honor your father and your mother,
so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you."
You see, this is a call to the people of God to take care of older, perhaps less productive members. Although the commandment is written in the context of a male-oriented patriarchal society it guarantees protection for women as well as men.
It is aimed at the protection of individuals (some of whom may be less deserving than others)
but the rewards are promised to the entire body and not to individuals.
Taking care of one's elders does not guarantee a long life to the individual caregiver.
We all know that some parents outlive their children on many sad occasions,
but this level of care to all guarantees long life and secure life for all,
a higher quality of life for the people as a whole.
In other words, an action taken by one member of the community benefits others besides that individual,
and raises the quality of life for all.
This mutuality is at the heart of the concept of mutual aid in the scriptures.
Consider an essential part of the Torah, the Law of Moses contained in the first five books of the Bible. "When you reap the harvest of your land,
you shall not reap to the very edges of your field,
or gather the gleanings of your harvest.
You shall not strip your vineyard bare,
or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard;
you shall leave them for the poor and the alien:
I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 19:9-10).
And, this is not an isolated verse.
On several occasions, God's Word is directed toward the haves, with regard to the have nots.
The message is always clear.
A way has to be found to take care of everyone.
It's not a question of voluntary charity.
It's mutual aid.
The community of God is commanded to find a way for folks to take care of each other.
In the case of these laws, the door was opened even for an outsider, Ruth the Moabite,
a member of a nation despised by Israelites,
to take part in the bounty of the land and ultimately to become a part of the faith story.
The impatience of the prophets at the people's inability to share God's justice and bounty is evident in all their pages.
"I desire mercy and not sacrifice" (cf. Hosea 6:6).
Indeed, many report that when they read the Bible from cover to cover they are surprised to discover that the one consistent theme in scripture from first to last was God's call to justice,
and that call had a definite economic edge.
The duty of the people of God to take care of each other is explored in a much more intentional way in the New Testament.
From the beginning, there is the assumption in the ministry of Jesus that all are included in the circle of care.
Lepers, ethnic outsiders, tax collectors, untouchables, women,
all who might be marginalized,
are touched and accepted by Jesus,
and brought into the community.
They can then choose to become followers,
able to help in the caring for each other.
Others marvel that these people can be accepted and protected,
but Jesus defends their inclusion.
So it is not surprising that the early Christians assumed that they were responsible for the care of all who touched their community.
Moreover, this included not just spiritual,
but financial assistance on the part of the believers.
We see this reciprocity expressed first in the lives of those who cared for Jesus.
The picture emerges during his ministry of a large body of believers who moved from place to place.
In addition to Jesus and the twelve apostles, there are references to a sizable number of disciples, male and female.
The fact is that all of these people needed to eat and drink, and a place to sleep.
Mary of Magdala, after careful Bible study, emerges as a woman of means,
possibly of the upper class,
who helped support the ministry of Jesus along with several other women,
including Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward,
and Susanna (Luke 8:1-3).
The home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus in Judea also provided for Jesus during his trips south toward Jerusalem.
The disciples had every expectation that the community of faith would take care of their needs (Luke10:1-9),
and in addition they shared out of a common purse (John 12:6).
Jesus admonished the people to "Love your neighbor as yourself,"
which is drawn from Leviticus 19:18.
Among the most famous passages which illustrate the intention of the group to practice mutual aid and assistance is this verse from Acts 4:32:
"Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul,
and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions,
but everything they owned was held in common."
Several other scriptures speak to the necessity of mutual aid.
These include:
Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. - Galatians 6:2
For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." - Galatians 5:14
You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." - James 2:8
I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you,
but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need,
so that their abundance may be for your need,
in order that there may be a fair balance.
As it is written,
"The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little."
- 2 Corinthians 8:13-15
In today's passage, we see that Dorcas gave much but probably died poor.
There is no mention of oils for anointing or other things that might indicate wealth.
Her real wealth lay in the high regard in which she was held by others.
And when Dorcas was healed she returned to her work,
not because she had to,
but because there was no way to stop her!
Dorcas played an important part in her church.
So, how do you think you will be viewed when it is your turn to be eulogized?
How would you like to be remembered?
How do we practice mutual aid among ourselves? Are we truly blest by the ties that bind us?
Are we ready to serve each other?
We are saved by our faith, and not by our works, but as James, tells us: faith without works is dead,
and to quote him directly,
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this:
to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world" (James 1:27).
Do you remember the song that says, "They'll know we are Christians by our love?"
(We are going to sing it again in a few minutes.)
I always thought ought to be our theme song.
Let's hope they know us by the mutual aid that we practice,
by the caring we display for each other,
by the words that we share
and the lives that we live.
And our living faith.
Amen.
The congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church heard this sermon during a worship service, April 28, 2013.
(This sermon is presented as a service for those who were not able to attend.
The minister makes no claim on the originality of this sermon;
but the conclusions drawn and the emphasis made belong only to him in an effort to communicate God's story as revealed to him.)
