Sermon: Ruth

June 16, 2019

(Intro to Summer reading: Ruth, Esther, Daniel)

This summer we are reading 3 books from Hebrew scripture: Ruth, Esther, and Daniel. 

These stories have several aspects in common: 

Israelite people living as foreigners, holding fast to their faith in God;

that strong faith has a powerful impact on others, even to the point of saving lives

In the Hebrew Bible, these are considered “writings”;

in Christian categories, Ruth and Esther are historical,

Daniel is a major prophet

God is not a major character in any of these books,

but the stories they tell remind us of God’s faithfulness

no matter where one finds oneself, and no matter why one is there; 

that is, God is not stuck in a temple in Jerusalem

nor bound by the borders of Israel.

When God’s people are scattered by enemies

or they emigrate because of famine, God is with them.

Ruth’s, Esther’s, and Daniel’s trust in this covenant promise

            shapes the world around them.

==First: Ruth

Ruth is a short story, only a few pages long in your Bible.

Ruth appears between the books of Judges and Samuel,

and is written as kind of a hinge between them.

Because it takes a lot of grit to read the book of Judges,

let me tell you just a little about it.

Once the Israelites had settled into Canaan, the promised land

(as described in Joshua), leaders were appointed

to establish a rule for living there and to keep the people faithful

to the covenant God had given to them on Mt. Sinai.

When they strayed, which was often,

their enemies were given victory over them.

They repented, God heard them, a new judge was appointed as ruler,

and the cycle began again.

Some of the judges you may know by name are Samson, Gideon, and Deborah.

Their stories are bloody, violent, and disgraceful, which is partly why

the people would eventually clamor for a king to rule them.

Ruth is set at the same time period and in the same place

as the book of Judges, 1200-1000 bce.

But Ruth is a sharp contrast to Judges,

describing an entirely different way of life.

There are few characters in Ruth—3 main characters and a few others. 

But the interactions of everyone in the story are characterized by 

commitment, generosity, loving-kindness, acceptance and grace. 

There are only 3 deaths in the story, and they are due to famine,

not to violence.  

The law of the Lord is upheld to give life, not to take it away.

The story is structured around three powerful guiding principles

which move the story from emptiness to fullness:

kindness; commitment; and blessing.

/hesed/ or “lovingkindness” is a central tenet of the attitude

faithful people are to have about others in the world around them, 

and how God regards humans as well.

It shows up 248 times in the Hebrew Bible, 

translated as mercy, kindness, steadfast love, or lovingkindness.

All the main characters in Ruth do this for one another,

going beyond normal expectations for hospitality,

for strangers or family members.

In Ruth this “above and beyond” posture drives the whole story.

Ruth’s extravagance comes in her commitment to Naomi.

In her beautiful vow, “where you go, I will go,

where you live, I will live,

your people will be my people,

your God will be my God”—

Ruth leaves her homeland, her family, and her identity,

binding herself to Naomi and all that Naomi is:

an Israelite widow from Bethlehem who worships the God of Israel. 

She seals her commitment by being willing to do

whatever Naomi tells her, even when it is perilous

(only certain women would be found alone with a man

on the threshing floor over night!),

not for her own sake but to preserve the family name

of her dead husband and father-in-law.

Because of her extravagant commitment, she is blessed

with a husband, a child, a home, an identity, a God, life,

and remembrance—she is an ancestor of Jesus.

Boaz is an exceptional character who knows Torah

and lives accordingly, allowing the poor of the community, including Ruth, 

to glean grain from the fields.

When he learns more about her,

that she is the Moabite woman who has accompanied Naomi

back home, he does not shun her for being a foreigner,

but offers her additional food and his protection.

He asks her name, giving her an identity in the community;

and in the threshing floor scene protects her reputation

by agreeing to marry her and sending her home without shame

and loaded down with food.

Naomi fluctuates between joy and bitterness,

but even she sees God’s hand in both

the curse of the deaths of her men

and in the gift of a daughter in Ruth,

as well as the good fortune of discovering Boaz.

She goes out of her way to make sure Boaz gets Ruth in the end,

for the good of her family name.

Throughout the story, 8 times in 4 chapters,

people are pronouncing blessing on one another:

for a good life, for a good outcome to the plan, for children,

as a reward for their kindness to one another.

Blessing, commitment, and extravagant kindness

flow through this story,

because the characters embody these godly attributes

       and God is thereby present among them,

and they know they are doing that-- living as God for one another.

Ruth is a bit like a Sunday school story on how to be faithful.

It shows us that when the going gets tough, the tough become KIND. 

They show extreme commitment to their homeland;

to one another even across cultural boundaries;

 to their faith in going beyond expectations & requirements of law. 

In their interactions the covenant is renewed:

we see God making and keeping promises

through the loyalty of Ruth, the Moabite woman.

We see that God’s law is set up to make the community stronger

through the way we care for one another,

especially widows, orphans, and immigrants.

We see that we are stronger when we come together

in times of scarcity or trouble,

binding ourselves to God and to one another,

rather than competing for limited resources.

We see God’s blessing, and name it and proclaim it.

We see that there is room in God’s covenant for all people,

even the ones we thought were enemies.

God’s love is bigger than our suspicions, our fears, our borders,

our traditions,

and is seen when we live together as Ruth did:

with kindness, commitment, and blessing for all. Amen.