"Positive Connections"

 

Acts 9:36-43

 

     During the early period of the church the widows were on the bottom rung of society.  It took a special kind of person to reach out to them.  Dorcas was that kind of person.  She is the only woman in scripture called a disciple.  When Dorcas was alive she made clothes for the widows.  She had let them know that someone cared about them.  Dorcas treated them like people of God.  When Dorcas died the widows were distraught.  The one person who made them feel like they mattered was gone.   

 

      When someone we know passes away we gather together and we share stories about them.  The widows got together and showed the tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made for them.  They all had a positive connection with her. In a real sense Dorcas was evidence to them of the resurrection of Jesus and Dorcas helped to raise them to new life.   

 

       She is a perfect example for the members of our confirmation class of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.  We can't save people but we can help raise people to new life. 

 

        That is the good news in the passage.  There is something later in the passage that caused me to struggle.  After Peter raised Dorcas from the dead we are told that Peter called the saints and the widows and he presented her alive.  Sounds innocent enough.  But keep in mind that in the early church all of the Christians were referred to as saints.  So why are the widows not included in the saints.  It was like saying it is okay to reach out to the widows but they can't be fully included in the family.  Today we might say I invite all the Waverly Roaders and Dan and Jean Clark to come and see.  We don't mind if the Clarks come to church here but they will always be outsiders.  They will never be a full part of the family. 

 

         While we were on the Confirmation Retreat I learned that some guys are buff and some are its.  Buff guys have muscles and a good tan and are easy to look at.  Its are just not up to par.  They are not the guys that you want to ask you to the prom.  I learned that since I am old and gray, I am an it.  At the retreat we talked a little bit about putting people into categories.  Whenever we do that we run the risk of hurting someone.  We create categories of insiders and outsiders. No one likes being out the outside. No one wants to be an it.  

 

         The church is one place where there should be no outsiders, no second class citizens, no its.  Everyone here is a child of God.  If I could rewrite scripture the Acts passage would not say saints and the widows.  It would say the saints understanding that the widows are part of the saints.  If I could make a permanent change in the way people look at other people today, there would be no people referred to as buff or its.   There would be God's people.  When someone walks by we would see them as a child of God.

 

       If I were to charge the members of the Confirmation Class today I would say remember Dorcas.  She was not a preacher, theologian or eloquent writer.  She didn't do anything brave nor did she make a major financial gift to the community.  She reached out to people no one else cared about.  She touched lives and she made converts by making tunics and shawls and afghans.  She is a wonderful demonstration that no matter who we are, we can have a positive influence on other people.  Through our words and deeds people can learn about the resurrection of Jesus and their lives can be resurrected.  The name Dorcas could just as easily be Jake or Quin or Zack or Christine or Alyson or India or Molly or Parker or Elizabeth or Caroline.  Remember Dorcas and go and do likewise. 

 

       One of the best compliments someone could say about Waverly Road is that there is not one buff person there, there is not one it here.  Waverly Road is a church full of people like Dorcas.   If I were looking for a church that is the kind of church I would want to be a part of.