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From: Acts 9:31-42
The Growth of the Church
Peter Cures a Paralytic at Lydda
Peter Raises Tabitha to Life
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Commentary:
31. St. Luke breaks his narrative to give an overview of the steady progress of the Church as a whole and of the various communities that have grown up as a result of the Christians’ flight from Jerusalem (cf. Acts 2:40, 47; 4:4; 5:14; 6:1, 7; 11:21, 24; 16:5). He emphasizes the peace and consolation the Holy Spirit has brought them. This note of justified optimism and trust in God confirms that God is with His Church and that no human force can destroy it (cf. 5:39).
32. Acts now turns to recount St. Peter’s apostolic activity in Palestine. Lydda (cf. 9:32-35), Joppa (cf. 9:36-43) and Maritime
Caesarea (cf. 10:24-28; 12:19) were some of the cities in which the head of the Apostles preached the Good News.
“St. Luke goes on to speak about Peter and his visits to the faithful. He does not want to give the impression that fear is the reason for
Peter’s leaving Jerusalem, and so he first gives an account of the situation of the Church, after indicating, previously, that Peter had
stayed in Jerusalem during the persecution. [...] Peter acts like a general reviewing his troops to see that they are properly trained and
in good order, and to discover where his presence is most needed. We see him going in all directions and we find him in all parts. If he makes this present journey it is because he thinks that the faithful are in need of his teaching and encouragement” (Chrysostom, “Hom. On Acts”, 21).
The last report Acts gives of St. Peter deals with his intervention at the Council of Jerusalem (Chapter 15).
33-35. St. Peter takes the initiative; he does not wait for the paralyzed man to seek his help. We are told about the man being sick
for eight years, to show how difficult he was to cure—and yet through the power of Jesus Christ he is cured “immediately”. “Why did Peter not wait for the man to show his faith? Why did he not first ask him if he wanted to be cured? Surely because it was necessary to impress the people by means of this miracle” (Chrysostom, “Hom. on Acts, 21). However, the conversion of the people of Lydda and Sharon was also the result of Peter’s work: miracles are not designed to make life easier for the Apostles; their tireless preaching is by no means secondary or superfluous.
36-43. Joppa, (Jaffa, today virtually part of Tel Aviv) is mentioned in the writings of Tell-el-Amarna where it is called Iapu. Its people were converted to Judaism in the time of Simon Maccabeus (c. 140 B.C.).
The miracle of the raising of Tabitha by Peter is the first one of its kind reported in Acts. Here, as in the Gospel, miracles are performed to awaken faith in those who witness them with good dispositions and a readiness to believe. In this case the miracle is a kindness God shows Tabitha to reward her virtues, and an encouragement to the Christians of Joppa.
“In the Acts of the Apostles,” St. Cyprian writes, “it is clear that alms not only free us from spiritual death, but also from temporal
death. Tabitha, a woman who did many `good works and acts of charity,’ had taken ill and died: and Peter was sent for. No sooner had he arrived, with all the diligence of his apostolic charity, than he was surrounded by widows in tears..., praying for the dead woman more by gestures than by words. Peter believed that he could obtain what they were asking for so intensely and that Christ’s help would be available in answer to the prayers of the poor in whose persons He Himself had been clothed. [...] And so it was: He did come to Peter’s aid, to whom He had said in the Gospel that He would grant everything asked for in His name. For this reason He stops the course of death and the woman returns to life, and to the amazement of all she revives, restoring her risen body to the light of day. Such was the power of works of mercy, of good deeds” (”De Opere Et Eleemosynis”, 6).