My great grandma had lost most of her eyesight by the time I was old enough to appreciate spending time with her. When I was in middle school, I walked to Granny’s house after school, and I would sit with her in her living room while we watched television together. Even though she could not see much of what she was doing, she always had a crochet blanket in progress. As she rocked in her rocking chair, she would move her crochet hook rhythmically through the yarn and blanket as she created a work of art almost entirely by feel. 

Granny’s blankets were almost always made in a chevron pattern, mostly because she had that pattern memorized. Occasionally she made things with popcorn stitches, and sometimes she trimmed her blankets with fringe, but she almost always had crochet work in her lap when I would come to her house to visit. 

I first learned to make a crochet chain from my great grandma. She showed me how to hold the crochet hook, how to wrap the yarn carefully around my fingers, and how to make loop after loop as I made long crochet chains. I didn’t learn to make the second row of a project until I went away to college, but I first learned to crochet from my Granny.

Even though my Granny’s been gone a long time, her crochet work is still around. When I visit my parents, I wrap myself up in one of her chevron blankets and I remember the sound of her rocking chair and the ticking sound of her cuckoo clock. Once, when I crocheted a chevron blanket of my own, my aunt remarked, “Oh, April, you are just like Granny!” When I think of my Granny’s blankets, I think about how her love is still with us. I think about the prayers and love she put into every stitch. I think about the way her faithfulness and care for her family continues to this day.

In our story from the book of Acts for this morning, we meet an incredible woman–Tabitha. Interestingly, Tabitha is dead for most of the story. She never speaks. But we can see from the actions and reactions of those around her that Tabitha’s life created a “ripple effect of faithfulness,” as Elder Regina Brannock put it.

Let’s back up a little bit and get some historical context. Verse 36 says, “Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas.” There’s a lot packed into that one sentence. Tabitha was a disciple of Jesus. She lived in the city of Joppa. And Luke thought she was an important enough person that he gives her name, and then translates her name into Greek for the people who would be reading the book of Acts. These clues let us know that Tabitha was an important person in the early church. 

Tabitha lived and served in the city of Joppa. Joppa was a city with a history. Remember when God called Jonah to preach a message of repentance to the people in Nineveh? Instead of listening to God’s call, Jonah fled to Joppa, where he hopped a ship headed for Tarshish. The Old Testament mentions Joppa when talking about the portion of land given to the tribe of Dan. Somehow the territory was “lost to them,” as it says in Joshua 19:47. Joppa’s place on the coast made it a hub of travel and for imports. It is likely through the city of Joppa that lumber was received for the building of Solomon’s temple. Joppa was a place where things happened.

The rest of verse 36 tells us this about Tabitha: “She was devoted to good works and acts of charity.” A more literal translation of this sentence would read, “She was full of good works and charity that she did continuously.” Tabitha was a person who was always doing good. She overflowed with good works and acts of love, and when she died, the whole community noticed her absence.

As Tabitha’s community grieved, they took steps to prepare her for burial. And then, they did something remarkable. They sent two men to the city of Lydda to get Peter. I don’t think they expected Peter to perform a miracle when he arrived, but maybe they did. I think the two men went to find Peter because Tabitha was that important a part of the early church. These two men went to Peter as witnesses that Tabitha had died, and they urged him to come and be present with them. They said to Peter, “Please come to us without delay.” And Peter went.

When Peter arrived, he went upstairs with the mourners. They showed him the beautiful clothing Tabitha had made for them. He bore witness to their grief with them. After this, he put the mourners outside, and he raised Tabitha back to life. So often, we focus on the miracle of resurrection in this story, and understandably so! What a miraculous thing it was! But, what stands out for me the most in this passage today is twofold. First, Tabitha’s life of faithfulness rippled out far beyond herself. And second, we need to bear witness with each other, both to our griefs and to our blessings.

Tabitha’s life of faithfulness rippled out far beyond herself. Have you ever skipped a stone across a lake? There’s the initial impact of the stone on the surface of the water, but then those ripples widen and spread in all directions. I am reminded of Margaret Hubl from Kearney, Nebraska. Here’s how an article about Margaret from the Today Show put it: 

“Margaret Hubl passed away last July in Nebraska at the age of 89, but it’s safe to say her legacy will continue to live on. You see, Hubl was a quilter. While some people make quilts as an afternoon pastime, she made them to communicate her love for her family.

This was very clear at her funeral, when her children and grandchildren decided to drape all of the quilts that she had made over the backs of the pews.

‘Never did I imagine how many there were,’ Hubl’s granddaughter, Christina Tollman, told TODAY. ‘We covered almost every single pew in that church. I never knew how many she actually made.’

And while the quilts are special, the meaning behind them really takes the cake.

Hubl spent her life caring for her family. She had three children of her own, and then took in her sister-in-law’s twins after a tragic accident. Hubl and her husband, Henry, raised all five children in a small three-bedroom home on their farm.

Hubl initially started sewing in order to make clothes for her children, but as they grew up and had kids of their own, she had to make those kids something as well.

That’s where the quilts come in. She started making them for each grandchild as they graduated from high school.

‘She wanted us to have something to wrap up and keep warm in when we went away to school,’ said Tollman.”

What started out as a move of necessity–clothing five children—became the way Margaret loved the people around her. When Margaret passed away, her family looked at all of the quilts she had made and thought, “Look at how well she loved us.”

Tabitha loved her people in Joppa well. As they grieved her loss, they looked around at everything she had done for them, and they knew how blessed they had been to have her with them. I love the way Regina Brannock put it: “In Tabitha’s story, we see the ripple effect of a life lived with faithfulness. Even though Tabitha’s role is not tremendously active in the story (she is ill or dead for most of it), the way her community mourned her loss demonstrates the impact her life had on those around her. Tabitha used her gifts to bless those who encountered her. We are called to bless others with the gifts we have been given, too.” 

Last week, we heard Rev. Joseph Moore talk about legacy, and about the way people bless us both in their life and after they are gone. As I think both about his message and about the life of Tabitha, I wonder: who in your life has blessed you like this? Whose ripples are you caught up in? Whose faithfulness and love has an impact on you–whether that person is still living or has passed on? Today, I hope you’ll take a moment and celebrate that person. Thank them, if you can. And if they are not here to thank, remember them. And ask yourself how God might be calling you to bless others in the same kind of way. You may not be a quilter—or maybe you are—but I am certain God has given you a gift that is a blessing to others. 

The story of Tabitha encourages us to acknowledge the way the faithfulness of others has caught us up in the ripple effect. The way they loved us and helped us and encouraged us changed us in a way that will last. Her story also reminds us that our actions can have a wider impact as well. The things we do, even when they seem like small things, have the power to transform the world around us. One action at a time.

Tabitha’s faithfulness rippled far beyond her own life, and encourages us to be faithful in the small stuff in our lives. Her story also reminds us of the importance of bearing witness with each other—to our griefs, and to our blessings.

In an interview about all the losses we’ve experienced because of COVID, grief expert David Kessler said something profound. He said, “Each person’s grief is unique as their fingerprint. But what everyone has in common is that no matter how they grieve, they share a need for their grief to be witnessed.” Isn’t that powerful? I think this is why the church at Joppa sent for Peter. I don’t think they expected resurrection, but they wanted him to witness to their grief. Tabitha had blessed them, and they weren’t sure how to go forward in her absence. When we are hurting, we need each other to bear witness to what we are going through. And when we have been blessed, we need each other to bear witness to that, too.

“You remind me of your Granny.”
“You are kind just like your mom.”
“When you smile, I see your father’s smile.”
“The way you love others reminds me of Jesus.”

Tabitha’s life of simple faithfulness urges us to give thanks for those who have blessed us with their faithfulness. Her story encourages us to bear witness with each other, both to our pains and to our blessings. I recently came across a sermon I preached on Tabitha years ago, and this part still felt true today: “Each one of us is called to be a Tabitha, to pick up where she left off in continuously seeking to do good works and acts of charity. They don’t need to be big things–in fact, maybe it is better if they are small. But, a mountain of small things is still a mountain! And, oh how that mountain would change the landscape of our world!”

Today, and in the days to come, let’s take a moment to consider the Tabithas in our lives, in our church, and in our community. Thank them, if you can. And, if that person is no longer with us, perhaps consider continuing on in their footsteps with acts of faithfulness and love as you carry out their influence in this world. After all, that’s really the call placed on all of us–to continue the work and love of Jesus in this world. Perhaps we will become, as James Matichuk put it in a poem on Tabitha a geyser of kindness.

May God help us bear witness to both our griefs and our blessings and give us the courage to continue in lives of simple faithfulness and love, to the glory of Jesus–our reason for all that we do. Amen!