sermon notesA collection of resources, background information, and periodic reflections on the scripture readings in worship from Pr Josh Ehrler. Archives
July 2018
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Strong Women of Scripture: Ruth6/20/2018 During the summer of 2018, Trinity Lutheran will be meeting and interacting with a variety of strong women found in scripture. Some will be familiar, other will be new acquaintances. This reflection is meant to introduce a new woman each week and provide thoughts on how we might be inspired by her strength and faith in God.
Our reflection is for Ruth 1.1-18 (though you might as well read the entire book). Attempting to summarize Ruth is a false hope. She is beloved and consistently read by so many women and men that adding more words is relatively futile. With that, we don't need to take much time doing all that. If you want to know more about Ruth, read her book. It falls between Judges and 1 Samuel, when King Saul is anointed. As you enter her story again, note that she is not an Israelite. She is a Moabite, an ethnic and religious outsider who faithfully attaches herself to Naomi, her mother-in-law. Various scholars like to point this out because it implies the risk Ruth was taking following Naomi into "foreign" land, even though it was her husband's homeland and she would have been able to make the trip safely if he were still alive. There may be some implied risk with border crossing, but as Phyllis Trible observes in Women in Scripture, what sets Ruth apart are the facts that she married outside of her tribe in the first place, disavows her family by claiming Naomi's, "abandons her national identity and renounces her religious affiliation" in one sentence (pg. 146). The only other character in the Bible who comes close to this form of reidentification is Abraham in all his travels, though he still marries Sarah of his own tribe (Women in Scripture, pg.146). Ruth is more than simply a risk taker, she surrenders everything she knows to stay with Naomi. Naomi has nothing. She is not a man and in this culture, that is significant. A man provides shelter, support and protection. Right or wrong for us of the 21st C, it was the overwhelming reality of women in the Ancient Near East. For Ruth to not turn back, like Orpah, she is giving up a good chance at survival in order to trudge through the wilderness with Naomi. No one faults Orpah for turning back, and as so many of us know from this book, Naomi desperately wants both of her beloved daughters-in-law to leave her to her journey. The odds are steep against survival for all three of them if they stay together. Ruth, of course, doesn't seem to care much for the odds. She only knows love. Consistently Ruth shows her concern for Naomi. For all of her conspiring to know Boaz and her powerful independence, Ruth spends most of her time caring for her mother-in-law. Ruth plucks the grains in the field for them to mill simple meals. This is the work of the poorest of the poor of that culture. Israelite farmers showed their compassion and their faithfulness to God by observing the Levitical law of leaving the edges of the field behind. The poor (and the foreigner!) were to be allowed to reap this meager harvest for themselves (Leviticus 23.22). That Boaz makes this a regular practice of his vast farming business is a not-so-subtle hint that he's a good chap. Ruth collects cheap grain for Naomi. Ruth takes all of her advice from Naomi. When her son is born at the end of her story, she gives the son to Naomi, creating a sense that this child longed for since the opening verses is not for Ruth but for her embittered mother-in-law to renew her hope. Ruth is hope at the end of the book of Judges when the nation is tearing itself apart. Ruth is a vision of life coming from a "foreigner" crossing borders into new lands because she will not leave her family behind. Ruth is a dynamic woman who simultaneously knows herself and surrenders everything about herself for the sake of Naomi. Ruth is worth your time to read, then read again.
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