Acts 9:31-42
Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
Now as Peter went here and there among all the believers, he came down also to the saints living in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, for he was paralyzed. Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!” And immediately he got up. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
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. At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. Since 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.” So 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.
Peter 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. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Building a Church
Our Church at peace…being built up…with the Spirit’s consolation…growing in numbers…with healing happening throughout the land…Is that our Church today? As I pause and imagine what that must have felt like, I am challenged to look at the role I play (or don’t play) in building up our Church today.
How am I a builder of such a Church? How am I a healer to people and to our world? How do I help people come to believe in the Lord? How do I give people my hand and raise them up?
Though I try, I fall short in all these areas.
However, when we can imagine a Church like this, we can build it. How might Jesus respond when we open our hearts and set aside our image of what we think Church should be? How does this challenge us – challenge me – to act and live differently today?
—Sue Robb is the Pastoral Associate for Justice & Life at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Kansas City, Missouri.
Prayer
Jesus, help me open my heart and set aside my image of what the Church should or shouldn’t be. Give me the zeal of the apostles so I may be a builder of a Church that is at peace, a Church where all feel the Spirit’s consolation, a Church that is growing and healing the brokenness of our world. Heal and fill me so I may do the same for others. Amen.
—Sue Robb