THE EXAMPLE OF DORCAS

Collect

O God, your Son Jesus is the good shepherd: grant that all who hear his voice may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Readings:

1st reading – Acts 9:36-43 36 

Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas, she was devoted to good works and acts of charity. 37 At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, ‘Please come to us without delay.’ 39 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. 40 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. 41 He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. 42 This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.

Psalm 23

2nd reading – Rev 7:9-17

9 After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. 10 They cried out in a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!’

11 And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, 12 singing, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might
be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.’

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?’ 14 I said to him, ‘Sir, you are the one that knows.’ Then he said to me, ‘These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. 16 They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; 17 for the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’

Gospel reading – John 10:22-30 22

At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ 25 Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; 26 but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.’

May I speak…

In our Gospel reading, Jesus says clearly that He is the Messiah, One with the Father, that “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me” and that “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me”.

So our job is to follow Jesus, the way sheep follow a good shepherd… I remember preaching on the characteristics of a Good Shepherd, leading His sheep, as described so beautifully from the sheep’s perspective in Psalm 23 – hearing the shepherd, obeying the shepherd, and of course we know the good shepherd goes to extreme lengths to find us if we stray… Surely, we can be sheep? Surely lots of us can get that right – being sheepish, hearing, trusting and following the good shepherd?  

In our reading from Revelation, we hear about the great multitude of sheep like us, too many to that count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne of God and before the Lamb, sheltered by God, where we shall hunger and thirst no more; where the Lamb at the centre of the throne is our good shepherd, guiding us to springs of the water of life, and wiping away every tear from our eyes…

Our reading from Acts describes a dramatic miracle that energized the early Church as a sister sheep called Dorcas (or Tabitha), who was raised to life again. But did this momentous event overshadow an important lesson we need to learn?

We are told Dorcas (or Tabitha), one of the disciples of the Lord, lay dying in the city of Joppa.

In spite of the diligent care of the other disciples and perhaps physicians, she died. Her body was prepared for burial and laid in an upper room of the house. From the few brief words we have of this account36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and giving of alms which she did. 37 And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. 38 And for as much as Lydda was near to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent to him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them. 39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive. 42 And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.

American King James Version×, the events surrounding her death appear to have happened quickly.

The believers in Joppa were saddened by this tragic turn of events. Having heard that the apostle Peter was in Lydda, a city close to Joppa, they sent for him to come to them. Perhaps they hoped he would attend to the funeral. Or perhaps they had heard of the healing he had performed at Lydda and hoped for another such miracle. Whatever their intentions, we read that Peter did come to Joppa. Then, in an amazing miracle, he was the instrument of God's raising of Dorcas from the dead.

This momentous event was early in the history of the Church, sometime shortly after Saul's conversion on the road to Damascus. This miracle, which had great impact on the people of the city of Joppa, “became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.”

This miracle was important to the early Church. We all know how Peter was transformed by the Holy Spirit from the denying coward to a person willing to boldly proclaim the gospel after encountering the resurrected Christ (surely as powerful a reason for believing in the resurrection as any), and here we read of another amazing occurrence - people could see Dorcas and speak with her after her return to life. She was a walking proclamation of the truth and power of God, and clearly fulfills what Jesus said about His sheep following Him in our gospel reading – our readings make it clear that this is not because Dorcas is an over –achiever sheep, or an especially holy sheep, but that it is all about God – all we have to do is allow God to lead us, like sheep allow the good shepherd to lead them.

Joan Osborn wrote about how the Bible account of Dorcas stands as a memorial to her and as testimony to the working of the Holy Spirit in the early Church, rather than focusing on her miraculous resurrection. After all, her resurrection back to physical life greatly strengthened the faith of many then has continued to help many to believe in Jesus Christ.

So, let’s now look at the example Dorcas sets in her daily life for us of a fellow sheep who hears the good shepherds voice and follows Him in her context, so as to hopefully inspire us to be more sheepish as Christians as we too follow Christ in our contexts.

Acts 9:36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and giving of alms which she did.

American King James Version×tells us something about Dorcas - she was a faithful disciple, “full of good works and charitable deeds” (an example of why women should not only be ordained, but should also be bishops Luke calls Dorcas a disciple – even in such a patriarchal society, her deeds were so widely known that God inspired Luke to include them in the book of Acts).

When Peter arrived at Dorcas's house, the widows of the church there surrounded him and began to show him the garments Dorcas had made for them. This tells us something about Dorcas as a Christian. She was one known for putting her beliefs into practice to help the people around her where she saw the need – widows, who were often left destitute. Acts doesn’t say Dorcas helped everyone, but that she gave of herself to help the widows in several ways in a focused ministry that bore much fruit. Consider how much time she must have spent helping the widows. Making clothes in the first century was extremely time-consuming. There were no sewing machines; a garment had to be cut and sewn by hand- if one could buy the material.

We are not given any details of how Dorcas made the many garments and tunics attributed to her. Is it possible she wove the material herself? Did she spin the threads or yarns? Whatever her starting point, Dorcas gave of her time to those for whom she made clothing. She understood what it meant to be a living sacrifice ( Romans 12:1I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

American King James Version×), giving something valuable and precious: her time.

What about her talent? Not everyone can sew. Few possess enough patience to become an accomplished seamstress. The widows who were showing Peter the things Dorcas had made seemed proud of them; they were probably beautifully made. She had to be talented, and she used her talent lavishly to serve others – it’s something we all love – someone who gives lavishly of themselves to serve others: it’s one of my favorite characteristics of God as Jesus clearly shows us, a good characteristic for us to emulate, as Jesus’ sheep...

We all have talents – even if we’re sheepish about it because to us, they seem so small – some can sing or play a musical instrument. Some are artistically endowed and can paint or draw. Some are gifted in what they can create with their hands, as Dorcas was with the clothing she made. But Dorcas apparently had another sheepish talent any of us can cultivate: the ability to pay attention to and listen to others who need to talk about their problems, to share their burdens, something we sheep have all seen and heard about our good shepherd.

Look more closely at Dorcas's example. It was the widows of the Church who came to Peter, showing him the things Dorcas had made. Widows require special consideration, and Dorcas recognized this, doing “charitable deeds.” We do not read that Dorcas sewed to support herself. Perhaps she made garments and gave them to whomever was in need.

Proverbs 31:20 She stretches out her hand to the poor; yes, she reaches forth her hands to the needy.

American King James Version×says that the virtuous woman “extends her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her hand to the needy.” Many are the times that a simple phone call, card or visit is just the attention a person may need.

The disciples who sent for Peter implored him to come; the widows were weeping when Peter arrived. The people of Joppa obviously loved Dorcas. She had loved them and served them through her kindness, concern and generosity.

One writer put it this way: “The works of Dorcas were recognized in the feeling which the Christian community experienced when Dorcas was gone. They remembered her self-consuming service, her compassion, her faithfulness, her charity. They knew that they had lost their dearest friend. The picture of these people gathered about her in her room weeping does not describe people who are sorry for the things and service they have lost but because they had lost one whom they love.” (Harold J. Ockenga, Women Who Made Bible History, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1962, pp. 224-225)

Dorcas gave time, talent and tender care to others. Because of this she is immortalized as someone “full of good works.” The apostle James would later write that good works are evidence of faith and that faith without such evidence is empty and worthless, of no benefit to anyone. Dorcas's faith was proven by her good works directed at helping others.

The world is a busy place. Life is complicated. It often seems to take all our energy just to get ourselves through the day. But we need to remember the example of Dorcas. We all hear our shepherd’s voice calling us to follow Him as we find many things we can do for others. Our good deeds need not be as complicated as making clothing; they can be as simple as telephoning an elderly shut-in or providing a few food items to the needy or to a local charity.

We live in different times and different physical circumstances. But people still need our time, talent and tender care in whatever form we can give it to them. Let's learn from the example of Dorcas; let us also be sheep who listen to our good Shepherd’s voice, who follow Him, as doers, in love, giving of God’s abundance! AMEN!

Rev Gavin Smith  2016