Tabitha was alive and well and living in Joppa, where Peter stayed a while with a certain Simon, the tanner. Truth be told, I have never actually been a part of bringing someone physically dead back to life, but I know that it is done everyday in hospitals. Nutritionists have that kind of power. Yesterday at an Arizona Interfaith conference I heard Deborah Yellowjohn, a Native American, speak about the life expectancy of her people. By sharing that powerful information, more and more Native Americans are alive and well and living longer.
Politicians can have that kind of power.
One of our disciple lay leaders was honored at his memorial service last week where 900 people gathered at First Christian to remember Andy Nichols. Denny Williams, our regional minister and former pastor of this congregation, remarked that story after story was told about the way that Andy's legislation impacted the lives of not hundreds but thousands of people around this state. Teenagers have that kind of power, too. We have just acknowledged the two-year anniversary of the tragedy at Columbine. Many of the kids who were there on that fateful day will be graduating in a couple of weeks.