Acts 9:36-43
36 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. 37 At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. 38 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.” 39 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. 40 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. 41 He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. 42 This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.
“,.. Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. …”
Who says Luke, the writer of Acts, doesn’t have sense of humor? This line gives evidence of the ability of those who wrote the Scriptures to add some wonderful and laughable lines.
Consider the situation: Tabitha, a.k.a. Dorcas, dies. We don’t know the illness nor the length of time she suffered. We do not that she died amidst people she knew, was washed and prepared for burial by those same familiar faces, and then laid upstairs in a room amidst those friends. When the apostle arrives, all those familiar faces are sent packing, replaced by Peter, someone completely unknown to Dorcas.
Suddenly, she is awakened from death only to find herself laying on a bed in an upstairs room apart from where she died, dressed in a different set of garments, face to face with a man she’d never seen nor met. It’s no wonder she sat up. Can you see the hilarity of the situation?
Sometimes, in our efforts to comprehend the meaning of a certain text, we miss its humorous side. We don’t see the subtleties of the author’s intent. For Luke, here in this story from Acts, we rightly focus on the miracle of healing. However, in doing so, let us not forget the intentional joy and playfulness of the author in telling the story.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the gift of humor and the ability to laugh. Help me to see in Your Word both the depth of meaning and the joy and playfulness often present. Amen.