Texts: Acts 9:32-43 John 10:22-30

Ann Ferrell Lewis First Presbyterian Church April 29, 2007

Waking to the Shepherd's Voice

Woody Allen has that famous line, "I'm not afraid of death. Ijust don't want to be there when it happens." So you can imagine how a 95 year old Florida woman, Mabel T oevs, felt when she received a sympathy note addressed to her estate from her prescription company, saying, "Medicare has reported to us the death of Mabel Toevs. Please accept our condolences." After receiving the letter, Mabel went directly to the Social Security Office. She thought that her presence would be convincing evidence that an error was made. But bureaucratic errors take more than evidence to correct, mountains of forms must be completed, phone calls made, faxes sent. An heroic clerk spent many hours with Mabel trying to correct the situation, working late in the evening until they were both forced to leave by security guards and the janitor. After all that, Mabel is still legally dead. Proving you're not dead, it turns out, is harder than you might think.I Of course, if Mabel had actually died, and later been raised up, she would probably have had to face the same kind of bureaucratic nightmare. Thank goodness they didn't have the Social Security Administration in Bible times.

Can you imagine the kind of red tape the woman Peter raised from the dead would have had to go through? But, they didn't have the Social Security Administration back then. Actually, as the story unfolds, it seems that the woman who died was providing some social security for the poor of her community. The widows who were mourning her death relied upon her charity as much as widows in our time count on their Social Security checks. Dorcas, the woman who had died, had a kind and gracious spirit. She was a disciple, one of the devoted followers of Christ, and her faith was expressed in her charity to those who were less fortunate. Dorcas had a talent. She could sew. Dresses and robes made of beautiful fabric, flawless seams, and exquisite detail. She invested herself in the work of her hands to create beautiful garments. I imagine that some of the widows may have been blessed to wear some of the well-crafted garments Dorcas made. When

I Robert Perez, "Woman, 95, Sets Out to Prove She's Not Dead," The Seattle Times, Friday, Apri127, 2007, p. A8.

Dorcas died, many in the community felt the loss, and you can imagine the wailing and the tears that accompanied her death.

It is unclear from the story exactly why they called Peter to come.

But Dorccas' friends were aware that Peter was not too far away - and that the power of Christ was at work in him. Perhaps they had heard how because of Peter, a paralyzed man now walked. Perhaps they hoped that Peter would somehow be able to reverse the curse of death for Dorcas. Perhaps they simply wanted this man of faith to be with them in their grief. They didn't tell Peter why they wanted him - but only asked him to please come - right away.

When Peter arrived he found the women weeping beside Tabitha's bed, and they told him all about the woman who had been so kind and charitable toward them. Peter saw how dearly Tabitha was loved, how sad all her friends were - and then he did the only thing he could think of to do he prayed. Shooing all the others out of the room, Peter was alone with the lifeless body of Tabitha, and Peter fell to his knees in prayer. We don't know what he prayed - but I imagine it was a prayer of total submission to God - a prayer seeking direction - a prayer for wisdom - a prayer for power - a prayer to discern the will of God. And when Peter knew what he was to do, he did it - but it wasn't Peter doing it - it was the Spirit of Christ alive in him. Andjust as Jesus had raised Jairus' daughter, just as Jesus had made Lazarus to walk right out of his tomb, it was Jesus alive in Peter that commanded Tabitha to get up. And her eyes awakened to the call of her master, and she got up. You can imagine the rejoicing that went on in that home that evening. The one who had had slipped out of their grasp was now among them. The dead brought back to life! The news hit the streets like wild fIre - and because of it - many people came to believe in the Lord.

Two times in this morning's text do we read that "many people came to believe in the Lord" - [lIst after Peter raises the paralyzed man, then after he raises Tabitha. It's a brief notation - but it is packed with power. Because it makes it clear that when these amazing events took place, Peter did not take any credit, he did not seize an opportunity to bask in the celebrity of the moment - but instead, he pointed beyond himself to the One by whose name he did these things. As a result, people were not drawn to Peter - they were drawn to the Lord.

In reality the power of Christ at work in Peter not only raised a paralyzed man from his bed - it not only restored life to a dead woman who was already a devoted disciple ... but it raised up faith in the many who heard tell of what had happened. It was a new awakening - the multitudes who had been blind to the power of Jesus while he was living among them, now were beginning to see. Those who had been deaf to those who called Jesus "Messiah," now were beginning to hear and believe. Like Tabitha, they were being raised up, from their slumbering spirits. Like lost sheep, they awakened to the sound of their master's voice.

And so that brief notation that says "many people came to believe in the Lord" might just be the whole point of the story. For the Spirit of Christ was on the move. Long ago, when Jesus first sent out the disciples, the gospel of Matthew records Jesus as giving them this command: "Go to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news. 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons." If I were one of those disciples, I probably would have thought, "You want me to do WHAT???" But Jesus empowered his disciples to do the same kind of things that he was able to do - and they were amazed at what they were able to do in his name - these were signs to the people that the Messiah was in their midst ... the kingdom of heaven drawing near. And those who had eyes to see and those who had ears to hear came to believe in him.

When Jesus was alive, he was once prodded by the skeptical Jews in the temple to come right out and say that he was the Messiah. Jesus responded, "I have told you - but you do not believe. All that I do in my Father's name let's yoU: know who I am - but still you do not believe because you do are not my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give them etemallife, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand." (John 10: 24-28)

There are many in the crowd who wander through life aimlessly, looking for something they can place their trust in, looking for fulfillment, for hope, for joy - but they end up looking in all the wrong places. Perhaps at some point in your own life, you've found yourself walking around as if you were half-dead - not sure of what to believe in. But then you discovered Christ - and you woke up. Perhaps at some point in your life you were so overwhelmed with the grief that comes from the loss of a loved one or the loss of ajob that YOUT spiritual life became comatose. But then one day you were startled :trom your slumber by an overwhelming awareness

that God was present in your life, loving you, caring for you, and your grief gave way to gratitude. Perhaps at some point in your life you have been confused and uncertain, but then you heard the voice of Christ the Good Shepherd calling, and now you understand the words to "Amazing Grace" like never before: "I once was lost, but now am found." In the words of my husband, Charlie, "I don't know what you call it when lives are changed like that - but I call it resurrection!"

This week's news brought a story that captured my attention -in part because it is a story of resurrection, complete redemption from a dead end life that was transformed by the power of Christ. It's the story of Lydia Chambers, who grew up in a decent middle class family in New York, went to college for a year, then ended up moving to Seattle in the late 70's to work as a buyer for Nordstrom. Here in Seattle, Lydia began to use drugs, and quickly became addicted to heroin and cocaine. She met a smooth talking man who turned out to be a pimp looking for vulnerable women. Lydia fell under his influence and became immersed into a life of drugs and prostitution, always living in fear of the violence of her brutal boss. One day, back in 1981, the pimp persuaded Lydia and another woman to rob a bank in Renton - but while they were in the bank - he abandoned them. The police found Lydia curled up in a fetal position under a bush. In court Lydia pleaded guilty, but the pimp persuaded her to flee with him to California, before she was sentenced in court. In California, the two were married, but the pimp was always a pimp and he continued to expect his wife to work as a prostitute and he beat her if she didn't. In desperation, Lydia called some friends in Seattle who sent her a bus ticket to go back to New York to see her mother. The addictions hung on, and Lydia found herself increasingly at odds with her mother. After a particularly emotional fight over Lydia's drinking, Lydia went to her bedroom to cry, and in her drunken state, she blacked out. When she awoke she found a note her mother had left on the bed. It simply said, "I'm disappointed in you."

Those words struck so deep a chord within her, that it was as if God had spoken directly to her. Lydia was startled from her stupor. Looking in the mirror at the corpse of a woman she had become, Lydia cried out, "God help me." In the coming days and years, Lydia experienced such a transformation that it is nothing short of a miracle. She began rising before dawn each day, so that she could begin each morning with daily worship at her church, at 6 AM. She began to live a life of sobriety, decided to avoid dating, and enrolled in Bethel Bible Institute, where she completed a degree

in theology. While she was there, she met a Wall Street banker, who was attracted to the humble, but hesitant woman he met, and slowly, and cautiously they began a long courtship. They were married in 1990.

Since then, Lydia has blossomed into a confident business owner, and a pillar of her community in Fayetteville, North Carolina. She counsels young people, helps cancer patients, and together with her husband has started a church. She never hid her past from her husband or her friends, .and at one point she had called the King County Sheriff s Office to inquire if they might be l.ooking for a missing criminal like her. When they said,

"No," she was relieved. But in the last year, she was located in a search for fugitives, and police came to her business to arrest her. Lydia knew why they were there, and she graciously introduced herself to the police, bracing herself for whatever consequences she must face. But those who have met the transformed Lydia have been so impressed by what a remarkable woman she has become that they marvel at what has happened. King County Prosecutor, Norm Maleng said, "Lydia managed to do on her own what we all hope a prison sentence can do, but in reality know it usually doesn't." Maleng recommended that Lydia be placed on probation and be given community service. Regarding his recommendation for a light sentence, Maleng said, "Our'sentencing laws are not just a series of boxes ... We can't exclude concepts such as mercy, redemption, the healing power of love.

And this sentence is within the law." When Lydia stood before the court this Friday, she bore witness to her Christian faith when she spoke, "This morning I stand at the gates of justice. I sinned against God, the people I put in harm's way, the community. I will live with that forever. I ask this court for forgiveness. And because he too was awake to the shepherd's voice, that is exactly what the judge did - honoring the redemption that has taken place by giving her a sentence that can be served outside of prison. 2

Most of us do not have a life story like Lydia's, but we celebrate how the Spirit of Christ has transformed her. We can also give thanks for those who were attentive to God's Spirit enough to do the right thing to lead the lost sheep back home: her friends in Seattle who gave her a bus ticket, her mother who left a heartbroken note on her bed, the people of her church who helped her to become strong in her faith, and the many people who crossed her path who helped to shape her life into the grace-filled person she has

2 Natalie Singer, "Fugitive Robber, Model Citizen: Now She Faces Judgment Day," The Seattle Times, Fri., April 27, 2007, p. Al and "Reformed Robber Lauded, Given a Light Sentence," Sat. April 28, 2007 p. B 1.

become. Because others were awake to the voice of the shepherd, they were able to help bring one more lamb home. And I am convinced that if we listen for the shepherd's voice, we can also participate in the work of Christ, transforming our world, one person at a time.

Let us pray:

Lord, help us to be attentive to your voice, so that wherever you lead, we may follow. Empower us with your Spirit, so that in our interactions with others, we may participate in your transforming, redeeming work in our midst. Let us trust in your presence to take our humble lives and use them for your will as we walk beside you, ever listening to your calL Amen.