Lisa Thornton continues our reflection of the roles each of us uniquely play, both individually as well as collectively, in the kin-dom work that our community has set out to do. What are our gifts? How can we shepherd, lead, and support? We are a vine with many branches — each with value regardless of it’s fruit. We all have value in the work of making the world just a little more right. And hopefully, our small efforts at righting the world add up and bring us closer to the kin-dom of God described and displayed to us by Jesus. The story of Tabitha in Acts 9 is one such story — the only female disciple given a name. We know that she devoted her life to caring for others. She had very likely heard of the ways that Jesus modeled similar care.

In the first century, women without men lived in a constant state of vulnerability. Widows had no rights, leaving them with very few options to protect themselves and live safely. In Luke, Jesus raises the dead only son of a widow out of compassion for the precarious situation she would be in as a result of a broken system.

And here too, Peter imitates the example of Jesus, in raising Tabitha from the dead. They each found a way to step into the calling of disciples and to follow him. “…be transformed by the renewing of you minds, so that you can figure out what God’s will is — what is good, pleasing and mature.” — Romans 12:2.

Romans 12 reminds us that we are a body with parts serving different functions. How might we together serve our community? Just like the widows in the first century, our communities are filled with people who are not protected by the system in which they live.

Hear more, including about our FAST Team: