rise

 

Lectionary texts set for today: Acts 9.36-43 and John 10.22-30.

The Gospel passage set for today opens with John informing us that this account took place in winter. This might feel like an incidental detail, but there are no incidental details in his writing: every word is carefully chosen. The literal meaning of the word that means winter is tempest-driven. That makes sense, though in England these days the storm season lasts from October to October. But I think we can all relate to times in our lives when we are battered by storms.

In this context, Jesus says, to those who follow me, who apprentice their lives to me, I give that quality of life that triumphs over death, and they shall never be separated from that life which flows from God.

The fifty days between Easter and Pentecost are the Season of Resurrection or Season of Life, the annual practice of learning again what it means to live lives that participate in the life of the risen Lord Jesus.

In the reading from Acts, we meet Tabitha. Her life is an example of this. She has been battered by many storms. She is likely a widow and an internally displaced person, who has lost both her husband and her city, and made a new home in Joppa. Here she rises to serve others, mending the torn fabric of the world by making clothes (probably in a street-facing work room) and hosting the church in her upper room.

When Tabitha dies, her friends send for Peter. We read that he got up from where he was receiving hospitality and went to Tabitha; that he told her corpse to get up; and that when she responded, he helped her up. For all these risings, the author, Luke, uses the same word that is used to describe the resurrection or rising from the dead. These, then, are examples of participating in the life of the risen Jesus.

This morning, I was awake at quarter to two. I confess before the company of heaven and before you, my sisters and brothers, that I did not think: Alleluia, Christ is risen. Let me rise with him, kneel by my bed, and pray for the congregation. I did not. I lay there for several minutes wishing I was still asleep (this never works) then got up and walked down the corridor to have a wee, and went back to bed, to sleep fitfully. When I did get up, I washed and dressed and went downstairs. I sat at my desk, and slipped my clerical collar into my shirt, because sometimes I forget. A few minutes later, I remembered to slip my clerical collar in, fished one out of the desk drawer, and in attempting to insert it, discovered to my surprise that I had already done it. So, off to a good start today...

But every time that we rise can be a response to the voice of Jesus calling us to follow him. And every time we rise, we may bring life to others. I have never raised someone from physical death, but I have raised the dead, unknowingly at the time, and perhaps you have too. I have said just the right thing at just the right moment that has caused someone in deep despair, someone who was existing but not alive, to return to life. I know this only because more than one person has told me this, long after the event. Some of you might read this.

And I have been on the other side of that experience too: I have known deep despair and been called back to life by the words and actions of others, who, like Tabitha, mended a torn world through compassionate care. Some of you might read this.

Today, may you rise, made strong by the risen life of the risen Jesus.