Rev. Dr. James W. Ellor,

parish associate

First Presbyterian Church

November 11, 2006

Ruth 3:1-5, 4:14-17

Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you. Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do.” She said to her, “All that you tell me I will do.” Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse. The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Mark 12: 38-44

As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Have you ever found yourself desperately in need of a redeemer? This past week I had an interesting conundrum at a lecture I was giving. That evening I went to dinner with my wife, Janet. I ate a nice salad with a somewhat spicy dressing.

We then went our separate ways. I went to the location where I was to be the guest speaker.

I realized as I was driving into the parking lot that the spicy salad dressing was beginning to linger on my breath, so I looked around the car for anything that might be a breath freshener. I found a piece of breath freshener gum.

Much relieved by the discovery, I grabbed a piece thinking I could just chew it for a minute or two, put it into a Kleenex and throw it away when I got inside.

All went like clock work, except that when I got inside, I completely forgot that I had stuck the Kleenex with the gum into my shirt pocket along with a pen.

After a bit, I was dialoging with a delightful group of folks, I went to grab the pen from my pocket and realized as I withdrew the writing implement that it was stuck to the gum, which was now becoming into a long string as I lifted it from my pocket. Embarrassed by this junior high style dilemma, I quickly jammed the pen back into my pocket. It’s at times like this that a fellow really needs his mother! Where is the redemptive love of a parent when you really need it?

For most of us, our first conscious experience of redemptive love comes from our parents. Who was it that forgave us when we washed the dog in the bath tub and left the horrible mess? Who was it that came to your rescue at the age of 8 when you thought it would be funny to push the girl into the pond, only to find her about to scratch your eyes out in retribution?

Who was it that was there for you right after the very first love of your life announced that you were a jerk and asked you not to call again?

For some of us, it has been more than a day or two ago that these sorts of early childhood and adolescent events happened, but they say that the only real difference between a boy and a man is the cost of his toys.
One can find a lot of fascinating things on the Internet, but one example of our need for redemption came to me recently in an Internet mass mail message for all those of us who were born between 1930-1979! It goes something like this:

To all the kids who survived the 1920s, ‘30s ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s!! First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes. Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, which turn out to be better at keeping grandparents out than children, or doors or cabinets. When we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking. As infants and children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat. We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-Aid made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because we were always outside playing!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were OK.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. We did not have Play stations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all and no 150 channels on cable.

Frankly, you were lucky to get two or three channels that were not filled with more snow than picture, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computer or Internet. A chat room was usually the restroom off the gym during high school dances.
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that! The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They generally sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! In hindsight, when you think of all of life’s hazards that we did not even know about, how can you not believe in a God of redemption? Someone was looking out for us all that time!

This same concept of redemption is critical to the theology of the book of Ruth. This term, redemption, much like the rest of the book of Ruth, is not rooted in depth theology but rather in the rather practical every day realities of Hebrew thinking.

It was originally derived from the practice of buying back something which formerly belonged to the purchaser, but for some reason passed out of his or her possession. When used figuratively in the context of the Bible it refers to the saving activity of God, manifested in Christ, something of decisive import has been done for the salvation of humanity.

The short book of Ruth is actually one of best short stories found in the oral tradition of the Bible. As such, we such imagine ourselves sitting around the family fire, turning from one side to the other like a marshmallow to both stay warm and to hear the speaker. Generally speaking the orator was probably a grandparent, as the older members of the family of that era were revered for their story telling skills.

Our story begins during hard times in the Heart of Texas. It has been hot and dry for many months, even the Brazos River has turned into the Brazos creek…without the help of the dam. Some friends of yours decide that things sound like they are better in the far off land of…Oklahoma.
So the key figure in our story, we will call her Naomi and her husband, Elimelech…but since I can’t say Elimelech, we will call him Jake. They have two sons, Mahlon, who we will call Sam, and Chilion, who we will call Hank. Naomi, Jake, Sam and Hank all jump into their ‘57 Ford pickup truck and head north.

Now, Oklahoma is a pretty uncivilized place for a Texan to go. After all, it is full of…Okie’s! Okie’s I am told, speak a very different language, clearly worship different Gods and they seem to have a lot more oil. This must be a bad bunch. However, a Texan can make do where ever, so it was OK.

The family found a farm and even settled down. Now it seems that life was not easy for our little band. As good Texans they worked hard, and tried to make the land fertile; however, the sad times just seemed to roll on.

Jake died. The family mourned Jake, but was able to keep on. It was soon clear that Sam and Hank were going to need to get hitched, and there wasn’t a decent Texas girl anywhere in sight.

So they went and did the unthinkable…they married Okie’s! One married Orpah, who will call Oprah, and the other married Ruth. It seems that after some accommodation for their ignorance of good Texas ways, Naomi, Sam and Hank become rather fond of these foreigners and they become a family.

Happiness for Naomi and her sons is defined as living in a caring family filled with loving relationships. However, after some time, Sam died and then Hank.

What was Naomi to do? This sort of tragedy is common at that time, but if happiness is defined as having a family, and suddenly you no longer have one, it is catastrophic.

We need to be clear in this part of the story; Naomi was devastated and bitter at all of her losses.

You could not have said to her, “It is all in God’s plan for you.” That dog just don’t hunt! As a source of reconciliation, it goes nowhere! Naomi was very clear. I am a stranger in a strange land full of Okie’s.

After Hank died, Naomi decided maybe things had improved back in Texas and that that it was better to be around family than not, so she set off to move back to Texas.

How Naomi missed Texas, a land of corn bread and beef. But what would she do with her new daughters in-law, Oprah and Ruth? They were, after all, strangers, not Texans, and clearly would not survive the move to God’s country.

So as Naomi began to load up the ‘57 Ford pickup to head back south, she talked with Oprah and Ruth, suggesting that they really should stay with their families. They had no obligation to her.

And, even though she was older and her eye doctor had told her to stop driving, she could make it on her own.

After much persuasion, Oprah, even though she loved Naomi, headed back to her family.

Naomi then said to Ruth, Oprah has left, you should do the same. You are young and can find a new husband, have a family and be happy back with all those Okie’s.
But Ruth said to Naomi, Heck no, I won’t go! …clearly a child of the ‘60s. Your hood will be my hood, your people, my people, your Ford pickup…well, she didn’t really go that far.
So Ruth and Naomi got into the pickup and returned to the land of the never-ending barbeque, where life is sweet, and clean living is encouraged at every road stop by a sign that reads, “don’t Mess with Texas.”
Upon arriving back in the Heart of Texas the question became, what happens next? Naomi had no sons, only a daughter-in-law.

They no longer had land, and they no longer had children which was important at that time, prior to Social Security. This is, however, where Ruth steps up. At the suggestion of Naomi, Ruth starts to work for Jake’s brother, Boaz, but we will call him Bubba…clearly from the Louisiana side of the family.

To make a long story short, Ruth and Bubba hit it off…some day someone will have to explain to me how laying on a man’s feet brings on true love as can be observed in Ruth 3:6, but then again, maybe that is just because I have smelly feet.

Our story ends with a marriage between Ruth and Bubba. It is clear at this point, particularly after a son is born that we can say that with the re-establishment of a family, Naomi’s life has been redeemed. One can even say that this redemption took place because of the cleverness of a woman who managed to mesmerize her daughter-in-law and prevail upon her husband’s brother. But is it really that simple? Do circumstances really work out that well all by themselves?

With the birth of their first son, the elders of the community adopt Ruth into the Naomi’s family. In doing so the story establishes the connected linage between Abraham and David.

As Christians we see this as an important linkage as it connects Jesus to David and thus to Abraham. More importantly, however, our story offers a metaphor.

Naomi is often compared to Job, in fact at one point when Ruth and Naomi return to Bethlehem, she says to an acquaintance; do not call me Naomi, which in Hebrew means “pleasant.” Rather, call me Mary, which means “bitter.”
Think about it, Naomi and Elimelech felt that they had to leave the land of milk and honey in Bethlehem and go to the neighboring country of Moab to make a living, so she lost her family home, and then she lost her husband and two sons, without even a grandchild to offer her comfort.
In these days lineage was everything, even more important than inheritance, though the two were clearly related. What more can Naomi lose? She clearly felt that God had dealt her from the bottom of the deck.
And then there was Ruth. If you think about it, Ruth did not have to be any more faithful in this story than was Orpah. Yet, she was. Ruth provides the vehicle for Naomi’s redemption. This story is such a good story, because it has a happy ending.

Redemption is about finding something that was lost. On the surface of it, that something is Naomi’s welfare as a widow. However, this story would not have survived all these years simply as an alternative to Social Security and Medicare! It survives for the deeper message. God’s redemptive love walks with us, even when we don’t notice. It comes to us in the face of a stranger, it can be explained away by invoking circumstance, but in this story we see the hand of one who is greater than we are, even in our tragedy.

Too often in today’s world of political correctness and scientific rationality the presence of God’s love is explained away. But maybe Jay Leno got it right when he recently noted:

"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"