Note: On Saturdays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
Peter had been there the day Jesus raised the synagogue leader’s dead daughter, taking her hand and saying, “Talitha koum!” (Little girl, I say to you, get up!”)
He had had his own doubts at times before the Resurrection, doubts about himself. But after that post-Resurrection day when Jesus asked him to feed the Lord’s sheep, there was no stopping Peter.
It is not lost on us as Christians, the beautiful parallels of Peter’s own miracle in today’s Gospel. After praying, he said, “Tabitha, rise up.” And the disciple did. Peter didn’t stop and wonder about how to do this, about his own powers. In prayer, he made himself a tool of the Lord.
We have our doubts as well, days we wonder why and how God loves us and what precisely our charism is and how to live it. Our abilities seem small. And yet, with prayer and faith, we too have the opportunity to raise people from spiritual, emotional, or mental death. We have the power Jesus conferred on us to go forth and make disciples of all nations, with a compassionate word, a listening ear, a kind action. With the Lord’s help, we too can restore people to life.
