I am getting back into the swing of things after taking last week off to help my parents while my mom was in the hospital. Today was basically spent clearing the piles off of my desk that were making me feel crazed and chaotic. So now that that’s done I feel like I can breathe a little better (of course the amazing breeze coming in through my open window today helps too). We’ve had a terrible run of sicknesses in our house and I feel too much like I’ve been simply “getting by” during this Lenten season. I’m hoping to regain my sense of shalom this week, or my sense of spiritual well-being and balance, so I can enjoy the beauty and the hope that this Lenten season can bring.
We celebrated the gifts of women this past Sunday. So I left the lectionary behind to tell the story of Naomi.
“Naomi’s Story”
Ruth 1:1-18
Rev. Dr. Teri McDowell Ott
March 7th, 2010 – Third Sunday in Lent – Celebrating the Gifts of Women
She never imagined her life could take such a turn for the worse. Naomi had been living in Bethlehem, her home and her families’ home for generations. She had always felt so safe living in Bethlehem, the small town filled with her friends and family members, the place where she met and married her husband, Elimelech, and the home where she gave birth to her two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. Life in Bethlehem was a blessed life, that is, until the famine struck. Nobody anticipated the famine in Bethlehem…I mean the name Bethlehem means “House of Bread”…so no one was prepared. Naomi’s husband had no choice but to pack up everything and move to the east, to the country of Moab, to a country of foreign ways and foreign people. Naomi didn’t want to move, but she knew that she had to for the sake of her family. Things were bad then, but bearable. At least they still had each other, Naomi thought to herself.
But then Elimelech died. And Naomi mourned. Her marriage to Elimelech had been arranged, but she had grown to love him deeply. What would she do without her husband? How would she raise her sons all by herself? Mahlon and Chilion were good sons, though, and took more responsibility after their father passed away. They grew up and married two Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. Naomi saw her family growing again and she was pleased. But then tragedy struck again and both Mahlon and Chilion died. Naomi couldn’t take it. She knelt on the dirt floor of her tiny home and beat her fists into the earth crying out to God, “Why? Why?” Naomi’s grief and sense of loss was almost too much to bear. She turned bitter and angry, convinced that God was against her. Her life, her life that had once been so blessed, had been taken from her. She was cursed. She was cursed to live out the remainder of her days as a widow…as a widow in a time when being a widow meant being destitute…a time before life insurance…a time before women could leave home to get a job. Naomi had nothing left. Naomi had nothing more that she could lose. So famine or no famine, Naomi decided to return home to Bethlehem. At least there she could be comforted by memories of better days.
Because none of us holds the power to see into the future, life often takes unexpected and sometimes even tragic turns. We may think we’ve built ourselves a secure future, setting aside our nest eggs, saving for our college funds, planning for our retirement, but stories such as Naomi’s remind us that life isn’t so predictable or so easily planned for. Sometimes bad things happen. Life can take a turn and we can lose it all.
In 1929, on a day now known as “Black Thursday,” the Stock Market crashed and people literally lost everything. Stories have survived of men committing suicide after the crash, men whose lives had taken a completely unexpected and tragic turn. The Crash later launched the Great Depression of the 1930’s when many workers lost their jobs and were forced to live in shantytowns and former millionaire businessmen were reduced to selling apples and pencils on street corners.
Life is unpredictable and sometimes even downright tragic. Naomi’s story reminds us of this fact, her story reminds us of the reality of life that we cannot ignore.
Naomi begins to prepare for her journey back to Bethlehem. As she prepares she gathers her two Moabite daughters-in-law around her and tells them of her plans. Naomi urges them not to follow her to Bethlehem but to stay in Moab, to stay near their families and the only place they have known as home. But Orpah and Ruth protest. They are worried about Naomi. They know how insecure and unsafe life is as a widow. But Naomi insists and eventually Orpah kisses her mother-in-law goodbye.
Naomi expected this. She knew her daughters-in-law would be concerned about her, but would eventually concede to staying in Moab. In Moab Orpah and Ruth would actually have a chance to marry again. If they followed her back to Bethlehem, though, they would be looked down upon as Moabite foreigners. Their chances of remarrying in Bethlehem would be slim at best. So when Orpah kissed Naomi goodbye, she wasn’t surprised or hurt. She knew that this was the way it had to be.
As Orpah slowly walked away, Naomi turned to kiss Ruth goodbye as well. But Ruth wouldn’t accept the kiss. I’m not going, Ruth said. I’m not leaving you. Of course you are Ruth, Naomi said, you have to. No one expects you to return to Bethlehem with me. But Ruth was adamant in her decision. No, I’m not leaving you. You are my family now. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my god. Naomi couldn’t believe her ears? Was Ruth really saying she was going to Bethlehem? Was she really willing to give up her chance at a family and a future by leaving the country of her birth? Her questions were answered when Ruth grabbed Naomi’s arm and began to lead her towards their home so they could begin packing for their trip.
So, in another unexpected life turn, Ruth shows unprecedented loyalty and commitment to her mother-in-law. Such an act of loyalty and commitment can be described by the Hebrew word khesed used frequently throughout this story. Khesed can be translated as “loving kindness.” It is more than simply being kind, though. To do khesed means showing love or kindness over and beyond what is considered normal or expected. It is an act of love that is completely unexpected and unmerited. It is an act of grace. And this is what Ruth offered to Naomi.
When Naomi and Ruth get settled back in Bethlehem Ruth begins gleaning grain in the field of a prominent rich man named Boaz. All the poor people gleaned in the fields because the Israelite landowners were required to leave both the standing grain at the edges of every field and the grains that were accidentally missed during harvesting for use by the poor. So Ruth was hard at work in the fields when Boaz noticed her. “Who is that?” he inquired. Someone responded, “She is the Moabite who came back with Naomi.” Boaz was impressed by Ruth and the story that had gotten around town of her loyalty to Naomi. And, in another unexpected life turn, Boaz begins to care for Ruth and Naomi, providing them with food and security. Eventually Boaz marries Ruth and they have a son named Obed. So Naomi’s story ends happily. Because of the khesed shown to her by Ruth and then later by Boaz she was no longer poor and destitute. Her family was growing again. She knew the security of a home and a future. Naomi had been redeemed.
Oftentimes, when we read this story we take it to mean that we ought to be like Ruth. That we ought to go above and beyond when it comes to loving others, serving others, and showing kindness and mercy. And this is a valid reading of this text. But there is also another way to read it. Yes, we ought to be like Ruth, but we are Naomi. We are the ones in need of redemption. And God is the one who shows us khesed. God is the one who shows us unexpected and unmerited grace and kindness.
Our Psalm for today reflects God’s willingness to go above and beyond when it comes to showing us grace and love. Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I take the wings of morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.
God’s faithfulness to us is unprecedented and at times even unfathomable. We have done nothing to deserve God’s loving kindness. In fact, we’ve done more to deserve God’s wrath than God’s love. But God is faithful still. Yes, we ought to be more like Ruth, but we are Naomi. Naomi’s story is our story.
The story of Naomi is, in fact, a story of redemption and of hope for all of God’s people. Naomi’s story gives hope to the poor and destitute that one day they will be redeemed, that one day they will know food and shelter and security. Naomi’s story also gives hope to all of us that we will also be redeemed – that we will be changed by the grace of God – that we will be set free from sin and from the trappings of this world – that we will be set free from the need to place our trust in the things of this world – that we will be set free to live as God intended us to live—to live lives of “loving kindness.” Naomi’s story is an important one, reminding us of our hope for redemption. But Naomi’s story is also important in reminding us that we cannot earn this redemption by ourselves. We cannot set ourselves free. Instead, our redemption is the result of someone else’s faithfulness.
A.J. Gordon, the pastor of a church in Boston, once met a young boy in front of the sanctuary carrying a rusty cage in which several birds fluttered nervously. Gordon inquired, “Son, where did you get those birds?” The boy replied, “I trapped them out in the field.” Gordon asked, “What are you going to do with them?” And the boy responded “I’m going to play with them, and then I guess I’ll just feed them to an old cat we have at home.” Gordon felt bad for the birds, so he offered to buy them, but the lad exclaimed, “Mister, you don’t want them, they’re just little old wild birds and can’t sing very well.” Gordon replied, “I’ll give you $2 for the cage and the birds.” “Okay, it’s a deal” the boy said, “but you’re making a bad bargain.” The exchange was made and the boy went away whistling, happy with his new money. Gordon walked around to the back of the church property, opened the door of the small wire coop, and let the struggling creatures soar into the blue. The next Sunday he took the empty cage into the pulpit and used it to illustrate his sermon on redemption. “That boy told me the birds were not songsters,” said Gordon, “but when I released them and they winged their way heavenward, it seemed to me they were singing, ‘Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed!”[1]
It’s by someone else’s faithfulness that we are set free. It’s by someone else’s loving kindness that we are redeemed. The final few verses of the book of Ruth share the secret of who our “someone else” is. Running through the genealogy of Naomi’s family the text reads, “A son has been born to Naomi. They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, who became the father of David.” The birth of Obed represents the redemption of Naomi. But the birth of Obed also leads to the birth of David, whose line promises redemption for the whole people of God through the birth of a Messiah, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Jesus Christ is our “someone else.” Jesus Christ is the one whose loving kindness has set us free. May we leave today with our hearts full of our redemption song. May we leave today singing our praises to the one who has set us free.
Now to the God of all grace, who calls you to share God’s eternal glory in union with Christ, be the power and the glory forever! Amen.
[1] From Our Daily Bread and found on http://www.sermonillustrations.com
Dan
Teri
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