God Accompanies Us with Faithfulness
Pentecost + 18 – October 13, 2018
– Unknown
Naomi was a strong woman/ suffered terrible loss
• One loss piled upon another – doesn’t really matter how strong you are. How much can 1 person take?
• Not the only one we know of – I could tell you the stories of several women who’ve faced tragedy upon tragedy, like Ruth
• All of them carrying on, moving into the future, putting one foot in front of the other
• Like Naomi, in this book of Ruth
o Who suffers the loss of her homeland and her people in Bethlehem, as she and husband and sons leave due to the famine and economic/food insecurity, going to where there is food
o (in Moab of all places – long history there; distant relatives through Lot (Abraham’s nephew) – but viewed with distrust and suspicion, not supposed to be in relationship with that people- and yet desperate times call for desperate measures)
o and her boys find Moabite wives, and things move along
o until husband and then 2 boys die, leaving her alone, an immigrant in a foreign land, with no sense of hope for the future, no clear direction, no promise to hold on to
o No husband, no children, alone in the world with just her 2 daughters in law
o And feeling that the hand of the Lord has turned against her, she turns back toward Bethlehem, where her people are, perhaps the chance that that will care for her
o And on the way, reminding her DIL of all that she and they have lost, encouraging them to turn back, to return to their families rather than remain with her, b/c she has nothing to offer them, no guarantee of a brighter future
o (changes name to Mara/”bitter” from Naomi/”pleasant” b/c God has dealt bitterly with her and she feels that will never change)
The struggle of deep losses and tragedy
• You too know people, like I know people, who have experienced loss after loss
o Losing a spouse or a child
o Debilitating diseases
o Unemployment/financial insecurity
o Divorce
o Loss of a sense of place or belonging
• Feeling adrift, not anchored to the past or future
• Hopeless, desolate, distressed, depressed
• Abandoned by God, feeling that if God hasn’t exactly caused these things to happen or turned God’s hand against you, certainly feeling like God has left you on your own, wondering why these things have happened, why God lets them happen, wondering when the tide will turn
• Turning desperately toward home, without any real hope of change
God accompanies Naomi in Ruth
• God doesn’t play a starring role in this book; more of a behind the scenes player (not like Moses with the burning bush or Jacob wrestling God or any of the other stories we’ve been hearing this fall where God makes a concrete appearance)
• But that doesn’t mean that God isn’t active in this tale of Naomi
o Because God shows up in the person of Ruth
o Who as a daughter in law who doesn’t really owe Naomi anything
o And yet stands as an example of God’s chesed – steadfast love, devotion, faithfulness, love in action
• We hear this declaration of commitment from Ruth in the end of this passage:
o 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. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!
o Suggested as a reading at weddings b/c it expresses this deep commitment to share another’s life that seems worthy of people starting married life together – with all of the hopes and dreams of the future before them
o And yet what’s amazing about this declaration from Ruth is the setting/context
Not the beginning of a bright, hopeful future
But smack dab in the middle of all of the mess and muck of life – in the aftermath of the trauma of losing their hubands/sons, as they journey into a land that is not Ruth’s home – Ruth decides to commit to Naomi
o Doesn’t try to comfort Naomi with platitudes or explanations of what has happened and why
But rather promises to walk with her into this uncertain future, the great unknown, to stay with her and be a companion to her, come what may
• Ruth is God in the flesh for Naomi – an unexpected source, but reminding of God’s love and faithfulness, even when Naomi cannot quite see it for herself
God accompanies us in faithfulness – often through the love and commitment of others
• Often how God works – not smack dab out in the open in ways that are so obvious to us
• But in and through the love and care and commitment of the people around us
o The ones who show up at our doorstep with meals
o Or who take us to medical appointments
o Or who take care of the kids so we can deal with the emergencies of life
o The ones who pick up the phone to call after the immediate tragedy of death and loss has past – helping us to know that we have not been forgotten
• These are gifts of God in our lives, reminding us that we do not journey alone, no matter how rocky the road may be
• And ultimately, God accompanies us in and though tragedy and loss and hopelessness, with chesed, steadfast love and faithfulness, reminding us that we are never alone, even in the darkest of hours, carrying us through back to solid ground
• See this most clearly on the cross, with Jesus who came to live our life and fully experience the hurts and grown and struggle is life, and rises again to call us into be life
• And then knowing we are not alone, God sends us to be Ruths in the world, walking with though who are lost and hurting, sharing and living God’s undying love for each and everyone one of us
• So, here’s to the Ruths of the world! May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them up to walk with a hurting world. ♥️
• Amen.
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