Sunday Focus
Welcome to this weeks Sunday Focus, we pray you will be blessed.
Hymn - All My Hope on God is founded
Song - The Lord's My Shepherd - Townend
God of creation, we give You thanks for the gift of life.
We may be created from the dust of the earth,
but You welcome us into a life of spiritual abundance,
as we commit ourselves to journey with Jesus.
You have designed us to be with one another,
and we express our appreciation for this community of Your people,
journeying through life together and embraced by Your divine presence.
We give thanks for our wider friendships and for our families
and the many bonds of care that connect us all.
May we never forget our indebtedness to those who give us nurture and support.
Lord in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer
Amen.
Song - Beautiful Lord Wonderful Saviour
Reading
Acts 9:36-43
Peter in Lydda and Joppa
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. 37At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. 38Since 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.’ 39So 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. 40Peter 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. 41He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. 42This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.
The book of Acts is the second volume of an account of the beginnings of the Church's story, the first volume being the gospel of Luke. They are both addressed to the same individual (Theophilus, Luke 1:1-4, Acts 1:1) of whom nothing more is known. While Acts is sometimes thought of as a history of the earliest churches and the spread of Christian faith from Jerusalem to Rome, it is obvious that it is not history in the way a 21st century person might write it. It is rather a series of snapshots of different times and places, showing how and why trusting in Jesus was so widely welcomed in the many cultures of the Roman empire. Insights into how the Gospel made sense to Jewish communities stand alongside completely different accounts of how it connected with the aspirations of devotees to the traditional Greek deities.
Then we come to this homely story in which the hero is just an ordinary woman who was "devoted to good works and acts of charity" (v36). We know nothing at all about Tabitha (Dorcas), other than her name and the fact that she was handy with the ancient equivalent of the sewing machine, and that her friends thought they'd lost her.
The main emphasis of the story is on her indispensability to the mission of the church, in particular to "widows" (v39). Widowhood was a problematic category in the ancient world, as it still is in many places today. It meant a loss of identity and purpose, becoming a ‘non-person' whose option was to hope another man would come along and marry you (unlikely), or you would end your days on the streets with no friends and no support networks.
This is except for the likes of Tabitha, who loved Jesus and knew how to make and mend clothes and recognised the missional opportunity that those skills gave her.
The story makes no mention of her age or whether she herself was a widow, but it does make clear that while she was doing her sewing, she gathered around her a group of those who were widows, and it's a safe assumption that as well as talking about fabric and stitches, she also spoke about Jesus.
It is a striking example of how an ordinary person connecting with other ordinary people can do extraordinary things in mission. And it's a tribute to Peter that though he had never met her, or her circle of widows, he recognised that she was doing what he could never do and responded to the request of her friends to support them in their time of need. The story of Tabitha and her friends is one that speaks so eloquently into our context today, as we struggle to discover what mission might look like in our own situation.
Taken from C of S Worship
Song - Men of Faith
Spirit divine, You never leave or forsake us,
and though we are mortal, we live in the present hope of eternal life with You.
Inspire us to live faithful lives, so that by being with You,
we can be filled with a transcendent love, peace and hope that we can carry out into the world.
Enliven our attention, energise our spirits,
fill us with Your abundance and guide our steps, as we walk confidently on the path You have set before us.
We turn to You in the faith-filled hope of reconciliation and resurrection.
May we know You more clearly, love You more dearly, and follow You more nearly,
as You call us from darkness to light, from despair to hope, and from fear to love.
Lord in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
Hymn - Facing a task unfinished
May Christ the Good Shepherd,
who laid down His life for the sheep,
draw you and all who hear His voice to be one within the fold;
and the blessing of God Almighty –
Creator, Redeemer, and life-giving Spirit –
be with you now and forever.
Amen