“Navigating Love”
Ruth 1:1-6, 8-11a, 15-19
John 14:15-21
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes (Judges 17:6, 21:25). We heard this refrain last summer for it is the theme song of the Book of Judges that describes the loose tribal confederations of Israel from 1250 to 1000 BC. It documents a dark era in the history of Israel when time after time judges arose to rescue a faithless people from their enemies and their idolatry and restore their relationship with Yahweh.
It is hard to imagine that Ruth’s story would find its home nestled between the Book of Judges and First Samuel and yet it is for us the bridge between the tribes of the Israel and the rise of the monarchy. This beautiful novella: four chapters and just eighty nine verses in length have become known as the greatest love story in the bible. Goethe called it “the loveliest complete work on a small scale.”
Within a context of death and devastation two of the most unlikely heroines of all times tread across geographic boundaries and step gingerly through centuries old ethnic and social barriers, not in their own strength or that of a militia, but on the wings of something heretofore used only in reference to Yahweh: chesed.
The Hebrew word means love, mercy, loyalty and faithfulness and was reserved for the covenant relationship between God and his people. It means loving kindness that is beyond the pale. Here is what it sounds like:
Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people and your God my God.
Where you die I will die-there I will be buried (Ruth 1:16b-17a).
To appreciate Ruth’s words we need to step into a pastoral setting in Moab – the area east of the Dead Sea between Ammon and Edom where a tribe, most famous for denying the Israelites safe passage on their way to the Promised Land, resided. Ruth was a Moabite who married into the alien family from Judah that famine pushed across the boundary between Israel and Moab. The narrator describes Naomi’s situation but the rest of the story is told almost entirely in dialogue between Naomi, her kinsman named Boaz and Ruth.
The situation is perilous: famine and widowhood. As Naomi returns to Bethlehem 5 miles south of Jerusalem she faces an uncertain future. Ancients believed that premature death was God’s judgment for sin and the reproach of the community was usually reserved for the widow.
While Mosaic Law allowed widowed daughters of priests to return home others had to depend upon their in-laws and the hope for marriage to an unmarried brother-in-law. With no inheritance rights or recourse widows were among the most vulnerable in the patriarchal society. That is why from Genesis to Deuteronomy to the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zechariah God commanded Israel to care for the widow.
Before he died, Moses instructed Joshua that upon entering Canaan, the Levites must call out commands and the people must agree by shouting Amen so be it.
Chief among them: Cursed be anyone who deprives the alien, the orphan, and the widow of justice (Deuteronomy 27:19). Amen, so be it yet in reality, the plight of a widow remained precarious.
The story of Ruth is a story of a pledge made is spite of harsh realities; a promise calculated in the depths of the heart not the calculus of the mind. When we consider that Ruth will be an alien upon arrival in Bethlehem the promise seems absurd. In fact she brought nothing to the promise and would likely become a burden to Naomi. Notice that Naomi does not really express much appreciation for her promise – she does not encourage her to follow.
Yet despite the stir when they arrived in Bethlehem Naomi proves resourceful. She knew the law: when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien (Leviticus 23:22). Boaz, Naomi’ kinsman has a field and there they glean the harvest: hunger is satisfied.
Naomi sets up a romantic encounter for Ruth with Boaz who is working by night on the threshing room floor to cast grain into the wind so it will separate wheat from chaff. Boaz falls in love with Ruth: heart is knit back together. After they marry, Ruth bears a son. They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David. How surprising that the greatest of kings is a descendant of a Moabite woman.
Scholars are divided as to exactly when the story was composed: some think around 950 during the reign of King David as a means to establish his lineage. Others see it more politically as a fifth century argument against the prophets Ezra and Nehemiah who demanded those returning from exile in Babylon divorce their foreign born wives.
Whatever it original date of composition and purpose the story transcends time. It is meaningful for us today for we still wrestle with geographic, ethnic, religious and gender boundaries. The story offers us three things to think about this week.
First: for all our considerable progress since 1250 BC we fear the vulnerability that accompanies death. Consider George and Ed. They had had been friends since college. Now widowed and in their 90’s they remained close so when George fell gravely ill Ed visited him.
As they reminisced Ed said, “Listen, when you die, do me a favor. I want to know if there's baseball in heaven." George gave his word – and soon thereafter passed away. Weeks later Ed dreamt that he heard George’s voice. He awoke and sat bolt upright in bed as he listened: "I've got some good news and some bad news my friend. The good news is that there's baseball in heaven." Ed said, “Wonderful what could possibly be bad about that?” George said, "You're pitching on Wednesday." Maybe it is a blessing to wonder about, but not know, all that awaits us.
I don’t think we want to know what is going to happen as much as we want to know if there will be a Ruth in our life or the life of those we leave behind. The question is will we ever be able to be a Ruth to someone?
The second thing to consider is that aliens and widows have favored nation status with God – what about with us? Most of us are here because our ancestors were willing to leave their country of origin to come here as aliens, or refugees or migrants. How do we treat the alien in our midst?
Third, Ruth’s words, where you go, I will go…your people shall be my people and your God my God anchor the story but God’s commandments are the axis upon which it turns. Ruth, Naomi and Boaz all ultimately show us the power of love tethered to God’s Law.
Without the command to reserve part of every field for widows and orphans and aliens to glean and without the law that allows kinsman to redeem land on behalf of widows Naomi and Ruth would have perished.
Worldly wisdom may be “lead, follow or get out of the way” but Ruth offers us an alternative: chesed. And this love was made visible in Jesus who has promised to be with us if we love him and keep his commandments.
As we gather at table today we remember his command to love one another and his promise to send us an advocate - the Spirit of Truth: an indomitable spirit that inspires love beyond the pale and new life in Christ.
The table is set, God’s people gather around the world today to celebrate a love that conquered death and can help us navigate the seasons of our life and that of our nation with grace, mercy ad loving kindness. Amen.
Hope United Church
Rev. Elizabeth Kuehl
October 4, 2015
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