A Servant's Heart

By Rev. Heidi L. Barham |  May 11, 2025

Click here to listen to the service 
 
Read Acts 9:36 – 43 (NIV)
 
As we traditionally do each year, we pause on this second Sunday in May to recognize and acknowledge the precious gift of mothers – those who are biological mothers as well as those who may have stood in the gap as mothers...
 
Today, we honor those who have walked the floors at night to calm crying newborns as well as those who have prayed throughout the night waiting for a child to return home safely...
 
Today, we celebrate those who have cried tears of joy along with those who have shed tears of sadness and sorrow.
 
Today, we take time to thank God for mothers – those who are still here with us and those who have found their eternal rest in the arms of the Lord...
 
those who have made countless sacrifices and helped shape us into the men and women we are today...
 
those who have led by their examples of faith, commitment and determination...
 
those who have paved the way, opened doors and created lasting legacies for us to follow.
 
Yes, today is the day that we do all of that and more…
 
And with that in mind, I want to invite our attention to our text for the morning as we think about the subject: A SERVANT’S HEART.
 
In our New Testament lesson, which comes from the Lectionary, we find the story of a woman named Tabitha... whose name is translated Dorcas in Greek.
 
And although we do not read about her having children in the text or even being married for that matter... what we do know, according to the text, is that Tabitha was always doing good and helping the poor... she was someone who truly exemplified what it means to have A SERVANT’S HEART. 
 
However, as we also read in the text, there came a time when Tabitha became ill and eventually died... and under normal circumstances, that would likely be where the story ended.
 
But as we keep reading... these are not exactly normal circumstances. 
 
The text tells us that the disciples had heard that Peter was nearby in a town called Lydda... and that they sent for him to come... which he did. 
 
And upon his arrival, Tabitha’s friends took Peter up to the room where her body was laid... and showed him the robes and other clothing that Tabitha had made... examples of some of the good work that she had done while she was alive... evidence that Tabitha had been a woman with A SERVANT’S HEART.
 
And that is when the text informs us that Peter sent the women from the room and did something pretty spectacular... he told Tabitha to get up. 
 
And what did Tabitha do? 
 
Well naturally, she got up because we all know you can’t keep a good woman down.  And by all accounts, Tabitha was a good woman... a woman who truly had A SERVANT’S HEART.
 
Now looking more closely at this text, we find that the author, Luke, made a point of also highlighting the widows who were there.
 
Verse 39 says, “All the widows stood around [Peter], crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.”
 
And verse 41 says that Peter “took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive.”
 
So, what was so important about the widows that Luke made a point of singling them out?
 
Well, one thing we know for sure is that they would have previously faced the loss of their husbands.   So, each of these women who were mourning the death of Tabitha (aka Dorcas) had already mourned the death of a spouse. 
 
Yet, in spite of that, they made it a point to showcase the things that Tabitha had done in her lifetime... making sure that the Apostle Peter knew what a good woman she had been... and that gives us a hint that perhaps each of these widows possessed A SERVANT’S HEART as well... because they were willing to set aside their own collective grief so they could honor their beloved friend.
 
The Scriptures go on to tell us that after Peter had sent them from the room and restored Tabitha to life... he called for the believers, especially the widows, to come back and he presented them with their dear friend who was alive.
 
But why “especially the widows”? 
 
Well, if I can use my imagination for just a moment, I might suggest that perhaps it was an acknowledgement of all these widows had done for their dear sister...
 
Demonstrating that like, Tabitha, each of them also had A SERVANT’S HEART... with everything from washing her body and placing her in that upstairs room to making sure Peter knew what an amazing woman she had been... doing their best for a woman they obviously cherished and admired.
 
Now, if you ask me, I think all of this also points to them having faith that there was more to come... after all, why call for Peter to come in the first place? 
 
It could be that they had heard about the miraculous healing of a man named, Aeneas, whose story we find recorded in the verses preceding our text for this morning.  I mean if Peter could heal a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years, surely, he could do something for Tabitha, right?
 
As we see, their faith truly was rewarded... because Tabitha got up.
 
And as we read at the end of our text, “This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.”
 
From something that started out as a tragic loss for the community... hope sprang forth and as a result many people came to believe in the Lord.
 
Now, as we bring this story forward and think about all of the chaos and confusion we have been witness to in the recent days, weeks and months... we can take this story about Tabitha and find a sense of comfort and hope knowing that God can and will bring something good out of our hardships as well... and as a result, many people will come to believe in the Lord.
 
Because in spite of circumstances that can easily lead to growing anger and frustration... when we deliberately look at everything with A SERVANT’S HEART... we can be intentional and turn our outrage into outreach by looking for ways to spread love and offer hope to others.
 
We have been blessed with an opportunity to show that we have A SERVANT HEART’S by giving of our time, talent and treasure to make this world a better place... sharing the love of Christ with the people we meet along the way.
 
And although today may be Mother’s Day, let me just say this... you don’t have to be a mother (or even a father for that matter) to have A SERVANT’S HEART and to be able to make a difference... you just have to have a heart filled with love and a desire to serve.
 
It was the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who said it this way in his sermon entitled, The Drum Major Instinct, as he talked about the idea of greatness as it related to Jesus’ call to serve. 
 
Dr. King said:

…everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.

So, I want to pause and ask that we honor one another for having A SERVANT’S HEART... for hearing and answering Christ’s command to love... the command to love God with every fiber of our being and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves...
 
And in this moment, as we reflect on just what it means to have A SERVANT’S HEART and follow the Lord’s command to love... we are reminded of Jesus’ words that we find recorded in the Gospels of Matthew (20:28) and Mark (10:45), “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
 
Jesus did not come here to be served like a traditional king who sits around on a throne with a staff of domestics fawning all over Him... fanning Him with palm leaves and feeding Him grapes from a silver platter... while other people do his bidding... that is not at all the kind of King that Jesus came to be nor is that the kind of King that we have been called to serve.
 
But, make no mistake, we have indeed been called to serve the Lord.  Jesus said it Himself as we find recorded in the Gospel of John, “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me” (John 12:26).
 
So, just what does it mean then for us to serve Jesus in light of His own declaration that He “did not come to be served but to serve”?  It means that we are called to follow Him... to be loving and serve others like He did...
 
with A SERVANT’S HEART.
 
As we find in 1 Peter 4:10, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
 
Simply put, we have been blessed to be a blessing, and we have been given A SERVANT’S HEART to serve.
 
And with that thought in mind, I want to invite us to stand now and join in singing our Hymn of Discipleship:  O Jesus, I Have Promised #612.
 

Back