Looking Ahead to July 16, 2017 -- The Conclusion of Ruth's story

This week we reach the end of our series on Ruth as we read chapter 4.

The Sermon title is Redeemed

Early Thoughts: As with any good story, in this final chapter the plot comes to a conclusion, the conflicts are resolved. Back in chapter one it was uncertain if the ending would be tragic or happy, but chapters 2 and 3 have been giving us ample clues and here we find that it is indeed a good news story.

In part this ending gives us a glimpse into a piece of Jewish custom (the business of who will redeem the land). In part this ending is a wrap-up of the story. And in part it is a launching point for the story of David (which is likely one of the reasons the text made it into the canon).

But there is something deeper too.  For the whole book we have watched Naomi as she has coped with the reality of loss. In chapter 1 she renamed herself Bitterness, even as Ruth proclaimed that she would remain faithful through all of life Naomi still found herself feeling empty. Throughout chapters 2 and 3 it has been unclear that Naomi comprehends the gift that Ruth has been -- focusing all that is good on the works of Boaz. Here, at the end, Naomi is told outright by the women of the village that Ruth is a greater gift than 7 sons. And maybe, as Naomi holds her newborn surrogate grandson she can see where the path to fullness has been all along.

Chapter 1 was about death and famine and emptiness. We have heard much about abundance throughout the rest of the book (directly in the form of grain, more symbolically in the burgeoning relationship between Ruth and Boaz). Now we are reminded that life wins, that life continues.  The land and family of Elimelech have been redeemed and restored. Life has won.

But where is God?

I have no doubt that some read the book of Ruth, get to the end, and presume that this is what God had planned all along. From the moment Elimelech took Naomi and Mahlon and Chilion to Moab God had this endpoint in view. I am not convinced God works quite that way. So where is God? Is God in the myriad acts of faithfulness and love which have pushed along the story of Ruth and Naomi and Boaz? Is God in the rules of life that created a space for Ruth and Naomi to find a life as childless widows? Is God in the healing of Naomi's empty heart?
--Gord

Stand Up Straight! (Newspaper Column for July 14)

Often when I was growing up my father would tell me to stand up straight, to stop slouching. I am not sure I ever listened all that well. Looking back I wonder why I slouched so much. Maybe I was tired, maybe I was lazy (this one gets my vote), or maybe there was another reason. Maybe something was bending me over.

One of my favourite healing stories in the Gospels is in Luke 13:10-17. In it Jesus heals a woman who has been bent over, unable to stand up straight, for 18 years. Luke tells it in such a way as to make us think it is about healing on the Sabbath, but I think it is about being set free from 18 years of bondage. And celebrating freedom is a big part of the life of faith.

The late theologian Marcus Borg lists the story of being set free from captivity as one of the meta-stories of Scripture. We find it most famously in the story of Moses and the Israelites fleeing from Egypt, but we also find it in the story of Jesus.Being freed is a large part of my understanding of the work Christ came to accomplish. So talking about being freed is hardly a small matter.

What do we need to be set free from today, in Grande Prairie in 2017? What has us bent over with a heavy load or left us chained? Is it possible that some of us don't even know we can be freed? Is it possible, or even likely, that we have been bound for so long that we think bondage is our normal, natural way of being?

Maybe a story...

In Junior high I was heavily bullied (admittedly I was a good target). And while I wasn't happy – not even close, there were days I was almost suicidal – there was a part of me that accepted how I felt as normal. And for years afterwards the chains remained, the chains that set me into a description of myself that was less than helpful.

Only when working with a therapist 15 years after the bullying did I really realize what had happened. We were using a technique that allowed or pushed me to remember the events of the past so I could process them. As I revisited the events of my teens something happened. I slumped lower and lower in the seat, my voice got quieter and quieter, I started feeling cold. As we talked about it afterwards, I realized not only how bent-over I had been but also that I had been freed. But for so many years I thought I couldn't be freed, that I was who I was and that couldn't happen. In hindsight I had been freed, the bonds were not there any longer. I just needed someone to tell me to “stand up straight” and find out that I was indeed free.

In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus says “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:30). In Christ God offers relief from our burdens. In Christ, God offers us freedom from bondage.

So what is bending you over? What is bending over your neighbours or family members? Where are the chains in our lives? How long have you been bent over? How long have you been in bondage? What would it look and feel like to be set free? Who will set you free, who offers release from bondage?

In an old hymn by George Duffield we read:

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, /stand in his strength alone; /the arm of flesh will fail you, /ye dare not trust your own. /Put on the gospel armor, /each piece put on with prayer; /where duty calls or danger, /be never wanting there.

Freedom is one of the greatest gifts the Messiah brings. Freedom from what oppresses or holds you down. Indeed that freedom is one of the ways we are brought back into loving relationship with God and neighbour, because only when we know that we are free can we openly give ourselves to deep relationship. In the strength of the Christ we are freed from our bondage. Armed with prayer and a relationship with God we are able to stand tall. When we know we are free, we can accomplish great things.

God is calling you to stand up straight. God is trying to break the chains that keep us from being who we were created to be. God knows what burdens and bonds are holding us back. Can we let God lead us into freedom? Can we hear God saying “let my people go!”? May God lead us on the road to freedom.

Looking Forward to July 9, 2017 -- Ruth 3, What happens on the threshing floor?

This week we continue our tour through the book of Ruth as we explore chapter 3.

The Sermon title to go with this chapter is The Threshing Floor

Early Thoughts: The romance, which started to bud while Ruth was gleaning in the fields of Boaz in chapter 2, starts to blossom...

Or at least it moves to a new phase.

Naomi, in essence, counsels Ruth to seduce Boaz. After the party to celebrate the end of harvest, after Boaz has eaten and drunk his fill and lies down to sleep it off, Ruth is to go and uncover his feet. It is worth noting that feet may be feet. Feet may also be something a little higher up on the male anatomy.

The seduction is accepted. Boaz throws his cloak over Ruth, a sign of placing her under his protection (if nothing else). And as a kinsman of Elimelech Boaz is an appropriate husband for Ruth to allow the continuation of the family of Naomi and Elimelech. There is, however another closer option. But we will learn more about him in chapter 4.

Then we return to the abundance. AS Ruth leaves in the morning (early enough that folk will not know she slept on the threshing floor) Boaz gives her 6 measures of grain.

Boaz continues to be struck by Ruth's faithfulness. Boaz shows signs of being a model of faithfulness himself. Naomi is still on the fence. Has she yet seen the gift that Ruth is or is she still stuck in her bitterness phase? At least she is showing signs of worrying about Ruth's future as well as her own. But where is God? How is God active in this chapter of the story?

THat is the question for this Sunday...
--Gord