"Why the Church is like the Energizer Bunny" - Acts 9:36-43 - May 2, 2004

A few years ago there was an ad on television promoting long-life batteries. The creative ad included a pink rabbit who played a drum. He would march across the screen beating his drum. Meanwhile a voice said, "Energizer, it just keeps going and going and going."

The ad was very popular and the people understood what you meant when you talked about the "Energizer Bunny." For me, the Church is like the Energizer Bunny. The Church also keeps going and going and going.

Here we have a resurrection story that happened after the resurrection of Jesus. The story takes place in Joppa, a rather famous port city on the Sea of Galilee. It was known for its piracy and commerce. In Joppa there was a small, Christian community which was founded by Philip. Among the believers there was a woman whose name was Tabitha, a widow. She was a business woman who was known for her sewing and was recognized for her "devotion to good works and charity." In other words she was popular but also benevolent.

Tabitha dies and her circle of friends summoned Peter for help. Apparently Peter Knew who Tabitha was since she was also a disciple. When Peter arrives on the scene he tells everyone to leave the room where she lay. We cannot be sure why Peter was asked to come. Perhaps they wanted him there for comfort and assurance. I don’t believe anyone had a clue that Peter had the power to bring her back to life.

What happens next is beyond belief. Peter tells Tabitha "to get up." Tabitha opens her eyes, sees Peter and sets up. Peter then gave her his hand to help her. He then called the other widows into the room to see what had happened.

I believe that this story is one of the most important stories for the Church. First, its a story of resurrection that takes place after the resurrection of Jesus. It is symbolic of the fact that the power of resurrection continues for believers who follow after Jesus. Resurrection keeps going and going and going!

Secondly, it is Peter, a follower of Jesus, who becomes God’s agent of healing and power to restore Tabitha back to life. This indicates that Jesus’ disciples have the same power that Jesus had. Like the healing stories and miracles that Jesus performed, this miracle happens because of the presence of Peter. Consequently, many people believed because of what happened. In other words, miracles did not cease with the Easter event. They keep going and going and going.

Third, it is also an example of a small, community of believers who were faithful and dedicated. When Peter arrived the widows showed him some of the garments that Tabitha had made. The sewing circle rallied around their mentor, Tabitha. They needed Peter because they were grieving over the loss of their close friend. And, displaying the garments was symbolic of Tabitha’s commitment to helping others. If anyone was deserving of a visit from Peter, it was Tabitha.

The sewing circle would make more of a difference in society than they had ever imagined. These dedicated, faithful women were only asking for comfort. They had no idea that Peter would take their faith to a much higher level. Because of their faith, Tabitha’s faith and the faith of Peter, Tabitha comes back to life. This is another example of how God works in the midst of the faithful.

Wherever there is faith God continues to be present and God’s love prevails. Once again, death does not have the last word. Once again, the love of God lives on. Like the Energizer Bunny, it keeps going and going and going.

In 1965, Jonathan Daniels was a 26-year-old-seminary student. Like many other clergy, religious and dedicated laymen and women, Daniels joined Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s campaign against oppression in the South. He marched side-by-side with black men, women and children, including Ruby Sayles, a 16-year-old volunteer in the civil rights struggle that raged across the South that summer. On a hot August day in 1965, Ruby Sayles was coming out of a country store when she found herself staring down the barrel of a segregationist's shotgun. Jonathan Daniels yanked Ruby to the ground just as the shooter fired. The seminarian took the blast in his chest, dying instantly for Ruby and the cause they shared.

Thirty-four years late, Ruby Sayles is continuing the work that Jonathan Daniels began. This year, Ruby is scheduled to complete her studies at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts--the same seminary where Daniels was a student--for ordination as an Episcopal priest. Ruby Sayles reflects on her journey: "In some ways, it is coming full circle. Jonathan never got a chance to become a priest, but hopefully I will be able to complete the process. And I'm sure that would mean a lot to him, as much as it means to me. Jonathan's sacrifice has always driven me and given me the courage to keep pressing on.... Truth, crushed to the ground, will rise up again." (from Feed my lambs…my sheep by Jerry Fuller, O.M.I.)

No one knows why Tabitha died. Her resurrection, however provided yet another living witness of the power of God and the continued ministry of the Church of Jesus Christ. Just as the story of Easter gives the faithful hope for the future the story of Tabitha gives us hope also. God continued to intervene in the life of the faithful in Jopppa and God will continue to intervene in the lives of the faithful here.

None of us are physically dead, yet all of us suffer from some death that makes us hopeless, apathetic, bitter or living in despair. Some find themselves in a funk, unwilling to care. Others are overwhelmed by the burdens of life wondering if they can go on. Still others are filled with fear, worried about what will happen next.

The resurrection of Tabitha gives us hope. The faith of her circle of friends reminds us of the need to work, pray and fellowship together. Tabitha’s devotion to charity and good works reminds us of the mission to which we have been called. The faith of Peter demonstrates the intervening presence of God to act among us. Faith in God can resurrect us from those areas in our life where we have lost our energy. God’s love, the living Christ, and the Spirit of God keep going and going and going.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio