Eastertide

May 7, 2019

Scripture Reading: Acts 9:36-43

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. At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. 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.’ 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. 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. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.

From the age of five until I went to college, I attended a small church in a small town near our farm. Our ministers were either seminary students or professors from a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Seminary located about fifty miles away. It was a part time job when the pastor came and spent all day Sunday with evening and morning services and returned during the week as needed for funerals and sick calls. Each year the church requested volunteer families to feed our part time minister dinner and supper (We are talking rural America where the big meal of the day is at noon) and families signed up as many times as needed to make sure he pastor was fed each Sunday and had a place to rest or study for a while in the afternoon. My memory is that my family fed the pastor three or four times a year some of those filling in for someone who could not meet the obligation on the date for which they had originally volunteered. We teased our mother about doing spring or fall cleaning just before the preacher was scheduled to visit in our home.

I share this with you to tell you that those Simon, the tanner folks serve an important purpose. Pastors need support just like all the rest of us. Just like Elijah did when God sent ravens to feed him. Pastors must be blessed with the patience of Job every Sunday as their congregants line up to tell them their personal problems and their problems with the church. Being able to withdraw unto Bethany (Matthew 21:17) on occasion is a true blessing.

Prayer: Lord, help us see and meet the need to minister to ministers. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.