In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.2
The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there.3
But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4
These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, 5
and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.
Many of us have had that phone call or doctor’s visit…those couple of minutes that literally changed everything for us.
I was speaking to a dear Xn girl in college and told me that her mom called her from home to inform her that her dad and she were getting divorced…her life changed
from that moment.
A loved one tells you that the cancer is back…or someone calls and says, I’m sorry, there has been an accident.
Some of you have received that piece of news, that changes, well, it changes everything. It knocks us off our feet, takes the wind out of us, makes us feel dizzy…and
yet for those who look to the Lord, His love comforts, heals and restores.
As we move forward the book of Ruth we are going to go deeper and deeper into what it means to love, that is the journey, but for this morning we want to camp on the
simple point:
You can’t flee the crucible. Love will not emerge if you check out, or become bitter or just become a cynic, trusting no one…giving yourself to no one, or if
you seek comfort in something worldly, something to distract you from your life instead of dealing with it…as many do, as many CHRISTIANS do.
It is quite an amazing thing, what we call grace. It is a gift that God gives and because we have it, because of what God has done in us, for that is the only explanation,
when the tragedy hits, we are caused not to run away from him…but to run full force to Him…go figure.
But let’s leave this morning with verses 6-7
Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food.
7 So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.
Quite remarkable that the women operate as a team/family. The daughters-in-law intend to go with Naomi. (Interesting in light of what you hear so often today about the strain
of in-law relationships) She hears there is food in Israel because God has come to his people. In the midst of all this suffering, she puts one foot in front of another and goes to where God is.
Here is the word for you: Always go to where you know God is…where He is making Himself known. I have always been dumbfounded by how many folks who are in trouble, who are suffering…spiritually
worn out and think the answer is to skip church. The answer is to stay home, making the excuses that what they really need is some “me time”. But where is God? Where does God say He is? What is it that you really need? Do you see the foolishness of such a
conclusion?
Recently I was told of a pastor who told his seminary intern, that he, the intern, had been through a rough patch lately, so he needed to take a week off from church and just
stay home with his family. That, from a pastor!!!
Where is the Lord? Where does He say He will manifest Himself? That is where you need to be. And it could be in some very small things, very small manifestations. Put yourself
in God’s way…If indeed God is love, as John says, and we know He is, then if you are to find love, be loved, understand love so as to truly love anyone…you need to be where God is.
A glimmer of hope leads Naomi home. There is not much there, and it doesn’t mean the suffering is not real or that she is to pretend things are fine when they are not. But where
God is there is always hope, and hope…hope is critical to love…and so Naomi with Ruth close at her side…grab hold of the glimmer of hope and head home…where God is…where love is.
This is where love is…this is where the greatest love ever known, is re-lived, demonstrated, given and received…it is why you come to church, yes to give praise and glory to
God. But we also come to the Lord to get…to receive…and you come to get because you need…our Father knows that. And what you and I need most, is to be loved…to be loved, cared for not in a shallow sense but in the deepest way that love can be expressed.
And it is in this…no greater love has a man than to lay down His life for His friends. The Lord has given His life for us, He has shown us the extent of His love and
that is what we are taking into our hands when we eat and drink at the table of the Lord, that is what is waiting for us in the Divine Liturgy!
Prayer: Gracious and kind Father, I confess that I am far too taken with the details of my life and fail to see everything from the perspective of Christ’s work
and coming glory. The ‘now’ captivates me more than does eternity. Holy Spirit of God, bring to me through this day the wonders and glories of Christ’s life, death and resurrection for me! Help me to see the abiding hope of what is to come and so much so,
that I live in that hope today. Through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.
Hymn: Awake, Awake For Night is Coming
