"Rippling Outward"
- Dr. Todd R. Wright
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 8 hours ago
Do you know anybody like Tabitha? People described as “devoted to good works and acts of charity”? People welcome in many parts of society? People who are dusty followers of Christ?
Acts 9:36-43
May 11, 2025
Dr. Todd R. Wright
For the past couple weeks we’ve looked at two of the most famous men in the New Testament: Peter and Paul. This week Luke shifts his focus.
Think with me for a moment about the most famous women in the gospels and Acts.
Mary the mother of Jesus certainly tops the list, probably followed by Mary Magdalene and Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha. After that, the order of the famous becomes more jumbled.
For the fun of it, jot down three more names from the gospels or the book of Acts. (I’ll wait.)
So who did you come up with? (Raise your hand if I mention someone on your list.)
Maybe the woman at the well or the woman caught in adultery; the woman with the issue of blood or the Syrophoenician woman who asked Jesus to heal her daughter, as if it was crumbs.
Maybe you thought of old Anna; or Elizabeth, John the Baptist’s mom; or Salome who danced for his head.
Maybe you thought of Lydia the dyer of purple cloth, or Priscilla who Paul called a fellow worker in Christ, or the women in Corinth that Paul tells to be silent.
So many! But Luke, wants us to make sure we have Tabitha on our list.
It begs the question, why her?
What makes her special? Why did they send for Peter? What makes him rush to come?
Luke gives us some clues:
You probably picked up on his description of her – “she was devoted to good works and acts of charity.” That’s praiseworthy! Still, she can’t have been the only one in all of Joppa.
Did you notice that before that he mentions that she was called by both the Hebrew and Greek versions of her name? As if she straddled two communities, as if she couldn’t be limited to one box; as if she cared for people outside her own group and was loved by them in response!
No wonder they called Peter to come – they were grieving; they needed some pastoral care; they wanted her deeds recognized; perhaps they even hoped he could do something miraculous. As Elijah and Elisha had done. As Jesus had done.
But the most striking thing Luke tells us is that she is a disciple.
That doesn’t sound striking to modern ears. We have lots of female leaders. We’ve had female elders in this church starting with Polly Dodson! We’ve had Amy serving in our midst as a Minister of Word and Sacrament for over 20 years! The list of current session members shows 10 of the 13 are women!
But Tabitha is the first and only woman described as a disciple in the whole New Testament! Luke mentions this amazing thing matter-of-factly, as if there is no distinction between male and female followers of Christ, as if faith blossoms regardless of gender, as if she was every bit the apprentice of the Savior as Peter or any of the men. But she is the only woman called “disciple”.
That begs another question. What is a disciple?
We know the standard answer: a disciple is one of the 12 men that Jesus called to be his followers, starting with the fishermen Simon and Andrew, James and John.
But, of course, the gospels remind us that many others followed Jesus throughout Galilee and to Jerusalem. Many others supported his ministry financially. Many others spread the gospel in their own communities after hearing him preach or heal or teach, like ripples spreading outward!
Harper’s Bible Dictionary offers that “disciple” is the translation of the Greek for learner, an apprentice attached to a teacher whose allegiance is to the instructions and commitments of the teacher … closely paralleling the rabbinic custom.
Rob Bell shares how rabbis chose their disciples in his book Velvet Elvis:
“The goal of a disciple wasn’t just to know what the rabbi knew, but to be just like the rabbi … So when [a] student came to the rabbi and said, ‘I want to follow you.’ the rabbi wanted to know Can this student do what I do? Can this kid be like me? Does this kid have what it takes? … If the rabbi believed that [a] kid did have what it takes, he would say, ‘Come follow me.’ The student would leave his father and mother, leave his synagogue, leave his village and his friends, and devote his life to learning how to do what his rabbi did. He would follow the rabbi everywhere.”[2]
Bell continues, “One of the earliest sages of the Mishnah, Yose ben Yoezer, said to disciples, ‘Cover yourself with the dust of your rabbi’s feet.’” In other words, follow them from town to town, try to keep up, lean in to listen as they teach and tell stories … and by the end of the day the dust they have kicked up as they walk will be all over you.
So with that one little word – disciple – Luke is telling us that Tabitha had Jesus’ dust all over her. She may (or may not) have walked Galilee with him, like the 12 did; or followed him to Jerusalem; or stood by him as he suffered on the cross, but she was covered in his dust!
You could see it in the way she did what Jesus did – caring for the poor and vulnerable, widows and those on the margins, those with no power and no voice. She stooped to their level when she could have remained above it all. She shared generously without counting the cost. She transformed people’s lives. Just like Jesus.
That’s why Luke calls her a disciple.
Do you know anybody like Tabitha? People described as “devoted to good works and acts of charity”? People welcome in many parts of society? People who are dusty followers of Christ?
I glanced through the obituaries the other day.
Linda Lee Cooper was remembered as “a skilled nurse and counselor, a compassionate friend, generous benefactor and spiritual role model to many.”[3] She worked in a pediatric unit here in Charleston, transitioned into psychiatric nursing, and later trained incarcerated individuals to be hospice volunteers for their fellow inmates at end of life. She sounds like a dusty disciple!
Mary Margaret “Mickey” Beard was recalled for her service with the Department of Mental Health, the WV State Tax Department, and with Malden United Methodist church as their treasurer and as a Sunday school teacher. She mentored young people and took part in a clothing program.[4] She was a disciple like Tabitha!
And finally, Donna Portz was described as “always the most positive, cheerful and outgoing person in the room. She excelled at making everyone feel cared for and welcomed. Donna loved being a substitute teacher, making jokes, telling stories, and embracing her career as a full-time mother.”[5] The obituary ends, “She will be deeply missed,” just as Tabitha was.
Such people are all around us. And maybe that is why Luke holds up Tabitha as an example – not because she was extraordinary, but because people needed to be reminded that they could be disciples too.
What that discipleship looks like will vary depending on a person’s gifts and the needs of the community, but it will always reflect what it means to follow Jesus, to do what he did.
May you be such a disciple! Amen
[1] “The Quiet Strength of Tabitha” by Cody F. Miller
[2] Here and following from pages129-130