Acts 9:36-43: a reflection

36Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which when translated means Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and acts of mercy which she did. 37In those days, she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38As Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. 39Peter got up and went with them. When he had come, they brought him into the upper room. All the widows stood by him weeping, and showing the tunics and other garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40Peter sent them all out, and knelt down and prayed. Turning to the body, he said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41He gave her his hand and raised her up. Calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42This became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43He stayed many days in Joppa with a tanner named Simon.

In Joppa there lived a disciple named Tabitha, whom Luke describes simply and beautifully: she was full of good works and acts of mercy. When she fell sick and died, the grief was immediate and personal. The widows she had cared for gathered around, weeping and holding up the tunics and garments she had made for them. Her life had not been marked by grand achievements but by countless small, practical kindnesses, and those she had loved felt her loss deeply.

Peter is sent for, and after putting everyone out and kneeling to pray, he says simply, Tabitha, get up. She opens her eyes and sits up, and Peter presents her alive to the mourning widows. It is a display of resurrection power, a foretaste of the life Christ gives, and it leads many in Joppa to believe. But notice that the miracle came to a woman whose life was already full of quiet mercy. God honored a life spent in humble acts of love.

Two things to take from this. First, a life of quiet good works and mercy is precious to God and deeply felt by those it touches. You do not need a grand platform; the tunics Dorcas sewed for widows were her lasting legacy, and God noticed. Give yourself to the small, practical kindnesses that make a difference in real lives. Second, take heart in the resurrection power displayed here, a sign that death does not have the last word for those who belong to Christ. Live a life of mercy, and hope in the God who raises the dead.

Lord, Dorcas was full of good works and acts of mercy, and the widows wept over the garments she had made. Give me that kind of life, spent in humble, practical kindness that touches real lives. And thank you for the resurrection power you displayed in her, a sign that death is not the end for your people. Make me merciful, and fill me with the hope of resurrection. Amen.