I hate weeks like this. A couple months ago, as we were beginning to
speak about Stewardship in the Vestry, I was challenged by a couple members
about my lack of sermons on Stewardship.
Their concern was certainly legitimate.
During the search process, some on the Vestry and Search Committee had
been excited that my own sense of my call had coalesced around a stewardship
sermon I gave as a much younger layman in charge of my sending parish’s
Stewardship campaign. Not
unsurprisingly, eyes lit up at that story.
You mean you are not afraid to
talk about money? You mean you pay
attention to secular concerns? I had
not preached specifically on money since my arrival at Advent. Understandably, this had some of us a bit
concerned. But I started going through
the lectionary with Gregg. We had not
had many “money” opportunities. To be
sure, I had preached on stewardship in other areas of our life, but I had not
hit the wallet or checkbook. That got us
looking forward. Somewhat surprising to
us both, there was no real reading on money until the Widow’s Mite. But, it was in November and stewardship would
be ramped up by then and it would work.
For two months or so, I was pretty certain
what I wanted to preach on today. Then
the week hit. Try as I might, I could
not bring myself to preach on the widow’s mite today. Believe me, I tried hard. But for some reason I felt the knowing urge
to go elsewhere today. That being said,
at least in naming the sermon I am not preaching, maybe you will hear an old
one in your minds and mull it over more in your prayer life this week. Or maybe, if you prefer, ask a friend what
his or her preacher said about the widow’s mite and giving to the church this
week.
Instead, I was drawn to Ruth. Like Job, Ruth is one of those books that we
ignore to our own detriment. Heck, it is
a book that ought to appeal to those of us who love Outlander, Game of Thrones,
a love story, a bit of suspense, a bit of tragedy, and an incredible
ending. For those who have forgotten the
story, Naomi and Elimelech are suffering from a drought in the beginning of the
book. Faithful Jews, they are tending
the land promised to them since the time of Abraham. Those who farm often live on the edge. I know the joke is that there are few
atheists in foxholes, but there are fewer even in farming. Farmers can do everything right, everything
from plowing to adjusting the pH of their soil to selecting their crops, but if
the rains do not come in a timely fashion, or if the scorching heat and
freezing cold occur at just the wrong moment, all their hard work can be
undone. Many pray to God for the
weather, because they recognize He sets the patterns in place.
Naomi and Elimelech are so on the edge of
starvation that they eventually abandon their inheritance. I have explained to you several times that
living in the Promised Land was much like us sharing the Sacrament. It was that outward symbol of God’s grace and
promises. Imagine choosing to give up
the Sacrament. Maybe it is not so hard
for us today either. Many of us know
people who cannot find time to attend church, who’d rather be golfing or
sleeping than giving thanks to God for what He has done in their lives. Perhaps some of us have been in that mood as
well. In any event, Naomi and Elimelech
hear that life is better in Moab. Moab
of all places! What in the heck is going
on with God? He is causing rain among
one of the enemies of His people but is withholding it from His people? Is He asleep at the wheel? Has He forgotten His instructions? No, of course not. This is the time of the Judges. People are doing as they see fit rather than
listening to God.
Naomi and Elimelech head to Moab and begin
scratching out a living with their boys.
Eventually, the time comes for the parents to find brides for their
sons. Faithful Jews would look from
among the Jews, right? That’s what God
commanded. Naomi and Elimelech,
unfortunately, look locally. They choose
two Moabite women as brides for their sons.
Not unsurprisingly, the story goes
downhill from there. Elimelech and the
two sons die. We, as students of God’s
instructions, know that this is clearly His judgment on the family for
forgetting God and His commands. They
left the land, they went to Moab of all places.
They chose Moabite women as wives for their sons. Maybe they should have flipped God off as
they went about their life. Clearly,
this book is about judgement. The
patriarch sins and God exercises vengeance against him and his sons, just as He
always promised He would.
As the story continues, Naomi and her two
daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, are in tough shape. Naomi hears that things have improved back in
Israel—God has opened up the heavens again.
So she determines to head home.
Before leaving, the seemingly accursed mother-in-law frees her
daughters-in-law from her. She tells
both that they are young and able to find new husbands. Were she even of a mind to try a Levirate
marriage, they would be well past child-bear age once she produced another son
for them to marry. Not surprisingly,
Orpah heads back to her family, though after an emotional parting. Clearly she loved Naomi. But, she accepts Naomi’s wisdom and heads
back into Moabite society.
Ruth, on the other hand, refuses to leave
Naomi. Naomi’s God has become her God,
and she will forsake neither. Though
Naomi tries to dissuade her, Ruth is determined. So the two widows set out for Israel.
Eventually, they arrive back in the area
of Naomi’s family. There they meet a
kinsman of Naomi named Boaz. Boaz, we
are told, is a righteous man. In fact,
when he sees Ruth gleaning the field, he instructs his workers to give her
something to drink and assist her, because of her faithfulness to Naomi. He tells the men not to hassle her. He even instructs her not to go to anyone
else’s field. I need not remind you all
of the vulnerabilities faced by women in the ANE. Imagine being a young, beautiful, immigrant
woman in that day and age. I don’t have
to because I have met lots of Ruth’s.
The more things change the more they stay the same. Yes, faithful Jews were supposed to let the
poor and foreigners glean the fields.
Yes, the faithful Jews were expected to be gracious hosts and to
remember above all else that the Lord their God loved the widow and the
orphan. Of course, faithful Jews were
supposed to keep the Land their Lord had given them. Faithful Jews were not supposed to marry
Moabite women. Boaz stands out because
he lives his daily life in testimony to his Lord. He does his best to do as God instructs.
As a curious side note, Boaz even explains
to Ruth the source of his seeming generosity.
He has heard how she gleans for Naomi, how she left her home and land
and travelled to Israel in faithful service to his kinswoman. And for her faithfulness he offers a prayer
of blessing. He prays that God will
bless her and reward her both for her service and for seeking refuge under His
wings.
This is where our story picks up today in
our readings. Naomi asks her daughter-in-law
to trust her, but that she needs to get her some security. Naomi instructs Ruth to bathe, anoint
herself, and dress and then sneak into the threshing floor after the men have
fallen asleep for the night. She tells
Ruth to observe where he sleeps. Once he
is asleep, she is to uncover his feet and do as he says.
I said that the story is like Game of
Thrones or Outlander. It is more so like
the latter, but it has some good sexual innuendo in it. The Hebrew word for feet is also the Hebrew
word for another part of the male body.
I see you get the danger of the passage now. Naomi may well be pimping her daughter out
for their mutual security. Such was the
likely outcome of widows.
We already know, though, that Boaz is a
righteous guy. We have been told that,
and his actions have backed up what has been described to us. He has told the men not to harass Ruth. He has told them to share their water with
her. Heck, he has even given her as much
as five gallons worth of grain for gleaning!
Nevertheless, hearing this story for the first time, we should probably
hold our breath. What will he do? When Boaz wakens and finds Ruth at his
“feet,” he blesses her for what she has done.
On the righteous hand, she has loved Naomi enough to have offered
herself to Boaz so that he might redeem Naomi and her family by giving her a
son. On the other hand, she has trusted
Naomi even to the point of prostituting herself to care for her
mother-in-law. She has defied common
sense and normal relationships. She has
come to truly care for the mother of her husband, the lady who instructed her
in the love and grace of the Lord.
Boaz does not seem to think himself to be
quite the catch. He is neither young nor
rich nor hunky. Ruth, in his mind,
should have been chasing after young men, wealthier men, or more handsome
men. She has chosen instead to trust the
advice of her mother-in-law. But a
problem remains. There is a kinsman who
is closer to Naomi than Boaz. Before
Boaz can redeem his kinswoman, this closer relative needs to give up the right
in front of the elders at the gates.
Boaz may be righteous, but he is nobody’s
fool. He seeks out the kinsman and asks
if he has heard that Naomi is back and that her sons are dead. The implication is, of course, that the old
woman needs someone to care for her and to try and father a child on her for
poor Elimelech. The kinsman wants
nothing to do with the cursed hag mentioned by Boaz. So Boaz offers to redeem his kinswoman in
this guy’s stead, as well as the Moabite hanger-on. For different reasons, both are excited to do
this in front of the elders at the gate.
The closer kinsman wants freed of his responsibilities to Naomi. Boaz wants to marry the faithful beautiful
daughter-in-law of Naomi.
Plots, intrigue, some comedy, a little
sex—the story seems right out of prime time network television, does it
not? In the most amazing way, God
answers Boaz’ prayer. Never in a million
years did he think himself anyone’s answered prayer; yet God used him to redeem
the family of Naomi and Elimelech. Both
lived happily ever after, it seems, yet we are given an amazing footnote. Boaz did indeed know his wife and she
conceived a son. His name was Obed, the
father of Jesse, the father of David.
For her faithfulness, this Moabite widow
is not only grafted into the vine of Israel, but she becomes one of the
matriarchs of the Holy Family. Yes, the
town to which Ruth and Naomi returned was Bethlehem. Yes, Ruth is the grandmother of David, the
king of Israel. More amazingly to a
foreign widow and to us, she now stands in the lineage of Jesus of Nazareth,
the Son of David.
The story is a beautiful story and full of
twists and turns and humor and sadness.
On the surface, it is about the kinsman redeemer of Israel, the
Go’el. None of Israel was to be
dispossessed of their land. To be dispossessed
from the land was equated with being cut off from the promises of God. Whenever tragedy befell families, God
expected kinsmen to alleviate the suffering and eventually produce an heir, if
possible, for the ones dispossessed. It
is a simple and complex rule and was followed by the righteous and ignored by
those who did as they saw fit.
Family dynamics are . . . .interesting,
are they not? Most families, it seems to
me, excel in putting the fun into dysfunction.
But what we call dysfunction, God calls normal. Every family has its difficulties. Sometimes it is a black sheep; sometimes it
is someone who besmirches the name of the family by their actions. We like to think such black sheep are distant
cousins or weird aunts and uncles. But,
with the holidays on the horizon, let’s be real. Some are far more closer to our immediate
families than distant cousins or odd aunts or goofy uncles. Some are brothers, some are sisters, and some
are seen by us in our mirrors.
At the deeper level, though, the story of
Ruth speaks to all our need for a Go’el, a kinsman redeemer. We all need someone who will rescue our
families from whatever systemic sin we find ourselves rooted. The story of Ruth speaks to that frailty,
that weakness we all share with the One who came down from heaven and called
Himself the Son of Man. At the deeper
level, Jesus took on that title and uses this story to remind each and every
one of us that He is our brother who has redeemed us. When we should have been cut off, when we
should have been abandoned, He stepped in and adopted us into that same family
that now counts among its matriarchs and patriarchs Ruth and Boaz. When we were the drunken uncle, when we were
the crazy aunt that could not stop pinching cheeks, when we were the black
sheep who hung out with the wrong crowd, introduced substances to our bodies
that had no business being there, or sought comfort in the arms of one after
another, He stepped in and reminded us that we were loved, that we were invited
into this amazing holy family, that we could be white sheep, while retaining
some of the unique characteristics that made us us. And the relationship He offers us is not one
of tolerance, not one of “I only have to deal with you on special occasions like
holidays,” but rather one of love! How
do we know this? Because He died for us,
knowing all our faults, long before we ever came to know and understand
Him. He died for us even when we were
fighting against Him!
And what does He ask of us? Everything and nothing. In one sense, becoming a disciple of Jesus of
Nazareth is as simple as asking Him to come into our hearts and to rule our
lives. When we sin against God or neighbors,
we repent and try again. He has already
born the true cost of our forgiveness on the Cross. On the other hand, though, becoming a
disciple of Jesus, becoming a follower of the Lord, is the most difficult thing
you and I will ever do. Accepting that
relationship means that we become His hands and feet and voice in the world, a
world which wants nothing to do with Him or us.
Accepting that relationship means that we begin to live as if we believe
the things He taught are true. Boaz had
every reason not to want to father a grandson for Naomi. As a faithful man, he no doubt felt some
twinge of guilt about marrying a Moabite woman as go’el. Yet, he also had the witness of Ruth’s
service to Naomi before him. He knew she
was different that her sister. He knew
she placed her trust in her mother-in-law and, far more importantly, in her God
of Israel. Knowing he was no looker and
no longer young, Boaz likely understood there would be whispers and laughter at
the man being taken advantage of by the Moabitess. But he was determined to follow God and serve
him in all that he did. How he treated
the poor and aliens before Ruth entered the picture is clear enough to us. And God blessed his faithfulness in ways this
humble, faithful man could never have expected.
That same relationship is offered by our
Lord to each one of us. Our Lord stands
ready to redeem each one of us, not as a slave, not as a servant, but as a
friend, a brother, and a sister. Our
Lord stands ready to serve us even as He asks us to serve Him. Brothers and sisters, each of us has
incredible misery in our lives. Were we
honest and truthful with each other, we would all know, way down deep inside, that
we are in a real way unlovable. Still,
He loved us and died for us and offers to redeem us. All those secrets He knows, and still He
suffered to redeem us!
His
love for us will not make the hurt magically go away. Our decision to follow Him will in no way end
all our suffering in this world. But our
decision to follow Him, just like Boaz’, will have incredible opportunity for
redemption in our lives. He will give
meaning to the senseless in our lives.
He will give value to the valuelessness of our lives. He will sanctify and redeem that which the
world claims is not. And for our
faithfulness, for our willingness to pick up a cross and follow Him, He will
give us rewards even greater than Boaz received, for all eternity. That’s what it means to be THE GO’EL.
Peace,
Brian†
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