Sunday 26October 2018                  Love, Romance and God                            MartinBaker

Introduction

Over theselast three weeks we have been looking at this wonderfully crafted and ancientlittle story of Ruth.

We haveheard that Naomi and her husband and sons left their home town of Bethlehem totravel to the foreign region of Moab. They became refugees and foreigners in aland where other god’s were worshipped and where the people of Moab were seen,in many ways, as enemies.

We can readin the Book of Nehemiah, for instance,  that ‘no Moabite should ever enter the assemblyof God, because they did not meet the Israelites with bread and water.

Naomi’s son’smarry Moabite women. Ruth and Orpah.

And this tooin a context where we read  the prophet Nehemiahsaying things like:  In those days also Isaw Jews who had married women of Moab…., and they could not speak the languageof Judah, but spoke the language of various peoples. 25 And I contendedwith them and cursed them and beat some of them and I made them take an oath inthe name of God, saying, ‘You shall not give your daughters to their sons, ortake their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

Some of the tensionsthat sit behind this story. I guess we all know something about the politicalmileage that can be made over the threat of strangers, foreigners and refuges,but where do those fears come from, and where is God in all this?

As the storyprogresses Naomi’s husband dies and then her two sons also die. And finally Naomidecides to return to her home town of Bethlehem, back to her old community. AndRuth her Moabite daughter in law insists on returning with Naomi. She sayswhere you go I will go your God will be my God.

Ruth and Naomireturn. Naomi as a grieving widow. Ruth as an outsider.  They have nothing and are entirely reliant onthe kindness and goodness of others.  

And thisloving kindness in Hebrew this word hesed which is the kind of word Jesus wouldhave used to talk about God’s love agape. It’s a love that flows through this story, and it’s a love we see culminating5 centuries later, in Jesus.  

So let’sremember again that in so many ways, the most extraordinary thing about this isthat it is an ordinary story, preserved over 25 centuries that is also a sacredstory. And the simple message for us is that in the midst of our regular lives,there is sacredness, there is the presence of God. There is in each act ofkindness a reason to give thanks to God. Every act of selflessness and love provide small proofs and assurance ofGod’s presence and providence. So, let’s join with those countless from villagesquares, city gates, synagogues, temples churches, and listen and hear anddiscern the good news that runs through this story.

Ruth 3:1-18

3:1 Naomiher mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, I need to seek some securityfor you, so that it may be well with you. 2 Now here is our kinsman Boaz, withwhose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight atthe threshing floor. 3 Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your bestclothes and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known tothe man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 When he lies down, observesthe place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and hewill tell you what to do." 5 She said to her, "All that you tell me Iwill do." 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as hermother-in-law had instructed her. 7 When Boaz had eaten and drunk, and he wasin a contented mood, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Thenshe came stealthily and uncovered his feet, and lay down. 8 At midnight the manwas startled, and turned over, and there, lying at his feet, was a woman! 9 Hesaid, "Who are you?" And she answered, "I am Ruth, your servant;spread your cloak over your servant, for you are next-of-kin." 10 He said,"May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter; this last instance of yourloyalty is better than the first; you have not gone after young men, whetherpoor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not be afraid, I will do for you allthat you ask, for all the assembly of my people know that you are a worthywoman. 12 But now, though it is true that I am a near kinsman, there is anotherkinsman more closely related than I. 13 Remain this night, and in the morning,if he will act as next-of-kin for you, good; let him do it. If he is notwilling to act as next-of-kin for you, then, as the Lord lives, I will act asnext-of-kin for you. Lie down until the morning." 14 So she lay at hisfeet until morning, but got up before one person could recognize another; forhe said, "It must not be known that the woman came to the threshingfloor." 15 Then he said, "Bring the cloak you are wearing and hold itout." So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley, and putit on her back; then he went into the city. 16 She came to her mother-in-law,who said, "How did things go with you, my daughter?" Then she toldher all that the man had done for her, 17 saying, "He gave me these sixmeasures of barley, for he said, 'Do not go back to your mother-in-lawempty-handed.'" 18 She replied, "Wait, my daughter, until you learnhow the matter turns out, for the man will not rest, but will settle the mattertoday."

Let us pray

I do notknow if you have had this experience, but a few weeks ago I had dinner with afriend who I had almost lost contact with for several years. He was someone whoI knew at high school and into the years that followed. And within just a fewminutes of sitting down together we were talking in a way as if those years oflost contact had almost not happened. Have you had that experience?  The renewal of friendship?

So, for amoment, think of a friend and think about how that person became a friend…

We take itfor granted perhaps, but all friends were once strangers to us.

I mightsound a little paranoid here, but have you ever gone into a room, entered thedoor, and it seems like the conversation in that room drops slightly as peopleturn to see who has come in, obviously do not know you and seem to be trying tofigure out where you fit in? It can be the most difficult moment when you feelyou have interrupted something, something you are not part of.

Connectingwith others, overcoming distance, no longer a stranger, those deep feelings andexperiences run right through our sacred story, deeply part of the Book of Ruthand sit right in the centre of Jesus message. The barriers that separate usfrom one another and from God.  Jesus’sministry to reconcile, to make new. 

A few weeksago I talked about the word love. And in Greek the language of our New Testament,there are a number of words that are used to describe love.

A love forfriends. A love for family. The love associated with physical attraction. Andthe divine love agape is about desiring the very best for another. The love Godhas for us and the love Jesus said should be a characteristic of all who wouldfollow him.

There isanother fascinating word, the word xenos, we get the word xenophobia from it.The fear of strangers.  But the wordxenos can mean foreigner, it can mean stranger and it can mean friend and itcan mean host.

It’s adynamic word.  Greek philosophers usedthis word to intentionally capture this dynamic. Think about a friend of yours.When did that person go from being a stranger to a friend? When does a foreignerbecome one of us? When does a stranger become a host?

In ancient societies,in our reading today into the teachings of Jesus this is a really important concept.

So a centraltheme that runs through this story today is about bridging this distance.

And if youdo not think that’s so importan,t think about these words that Jesus will speakon the day of Judgement:

“Come, youthat are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from thefoundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I wasthirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomedme, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care ofme, I was in prison and you visited me.” 37 Then the righteous will answerhim,   (and this is important for understandingthe story today)   “Lord, when was itthat we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something todrink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or nakedand gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison andvisited you?” 40 And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as youdid it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it tome.”

So inreading this story today, this sacred story, it is not just about the past orthe present, it captures something which sits at the heart of Jesus message aboutour eternal futures. About some qualities that are of eternal value andimportance.

The storythis morning. Ruth prepares for her date with Boaz.  It is an intimate, romantic encounter on thethreshing floor. We  can look at this storyand bring with us a whole set of views and values, -  is Boaz drunk, is Ruth prostituting herself insome way?  But the Hebrew language usedto describe both Ruth and Boaz’s characters is language that affirms theirintegrity, their good character, their values. Boaz is  esh gibor hayil and Ruthis an eshat hayil (a man of integrity, a woman of integrity) these are people planning, thinking, acting allwithin the knowledge and understanding of God’s providence and love and presence.

When Boaz wakesup in surprise to discover a woman lying beside him, it is she who tells himwhat to do: "I am Ruth, your servant; spread your cloak over your servant,for you are next-of-kin (goel)” (3:9). To “spread one’s cloak” over a woman isto marry her. Ruth, in other words, proposes to Boaz! And she calls him to fulfilhis duty as the goel. A goel is a close male relative who is obligated inIsraelite law to redeem his kin who have fallen onto hard times

Boazpromises that he will do all that Ruth asks. Her faithfulness to hermother-in-law is matched by Boaz’s own faithfulness. And, as remember her hesed,her loyalty, loving kindness and goodness,  these foreign widow actions,  mirrors God’s own faithful love, God’s hesed.Boaz says, “May you be blessed by the LORD; this last instance of your loyalty(hesed) is better than the first; you have not gone after young men, whetherpoor or rich” Ruth has chosen  Boaz andthey find new life in each other.

There aresimple things in this story, such basic things that we can lose sight of them.

First of allxenos.  How someone who was a stranger ora foreigner, can become a friend. Let’s give thanks first for our friends, buteven more importantly, the gift given, to become friends. God’s gift ofgoodness and hospitality that breaks down barriers and distances.

Let us bechallenged and think of 1 act this week of hospitality. What is one thing wecould do this week to make a stranger, feel in somehow welcomed.

And let uspray this morning for those who feel they have no friends. Let’s pray for thepeople Jesus was especially concern about. Let’s pray for those like Ruth whocomes to  a place with nothing, he feelvulnerable and afraid.

Two thousandyears ago, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, someone wrote a letter to a smallpersecuted group of Jews who had committed to follow Jesus.  It is called the letter to the Hebrews andyou can find it again in the New Testament.

Listen tothe connections being made here:

These people,in the midst of their own anxieties and fear, are told in chapter 13.

13 Keep onloving one another as brothers and sisters.  2 Do not forget to show hospitality tostrangers, for by so doing so some people have shown hospitality to angelswithout knowing it. 3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you weretogether with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselveswere suffering.

 5 Keep your lives free from the love of moneyand be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leaveyou;   never will I forsake you.”

AMEN