Sermon - Devotion (Proper 26B) Reformation Sunday

23^rd Sunday After Pentecost (26B)                           October 31, 2021
Ruth 1: 1‑ 18, Mark 12:28-34                      Panzer Liturgical Service

Once upon a time, there was a famine in the land, in Bethlehem, and a young family, husband, wife, and two sons went to the land of Moab, to find food. Soon after they arrived, the father died, and because the boys had begun to settle in, and because a widow with two sons would want to be someplace safe and comfortable until her sons grew up to take care of her, they stayed in Moab. And as sons will be sons, they each fell in love and married local girls. Here is where we expect the ending to come, "…and they lived happily ever after."

But this story does not have the ending we expect. After ten years in Moab, the two sons died. And now the three women are left to decide what to do since there is no one left to take care of them. It’s not that these women were without talent. Women were wives and mothers, household administrators, weavers, cooks, and teachers, they cared for people in their society. But we must remember that in Biblical times, women's authority was only valid within the context of family, so without any male relatives nearby, they were in a bit of trouble. Their only legitimate choice was to return to their own families and seek new marriages so their places in society could be re-established.

Naomi, the matriarch, informed her daughters-in-law that she would be returning to Bethlehem, even though the famine continued there, also. She encouraged them to return to their parents’ households to find new husbands. Both argued, claiming loyalty to their mother‑by‑marriage. But again, Naomi released them from their bond to her and prepared to return to Bethlehem alone. And so Orpha went back to her home, and we are left with the hope that she had a good life, for we do not hear of her again.

Ruth, however, clung to Naomi. Now it important to understand that the word "clung" is the same word used in the creation story to talk about the uniting of a man and woman in what we think of today as marriage. Clung, ‑‑ made into one flesh ‑‑ unwilling to be parted. With these words, Ruth commits herself to Naomi, using language we only hear occasionally. For those of us who are married, they are very familiar and reminiscent of the lives that we have led.

"Do not ask me to leave you! Let me go with you. Wherever you go, I will go; Where you live, I will live; your people will be my people; you God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die and there I will be buried." And then the writer states, "When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more. So, the two of them went on..."

When we hear this passage, we think of weddings and reflect on promises made by persons in love and committed to a future together. But really, this story is about something bigger than marriage. It reaches out and shows us what it is like to commit ourselves to someone else – anyone other than ourselves. Here, Ruth is willing to leave everything that she has known, her friends and family and her way of life, to go with Naomi to a foreign country, in commitment to a God she only knows through someone else’s relationship with the Divine.

Think about what that must have been like - to throw her lot in with this widow, to another famine-stricken country, not knowing how they would be supported, and assuming she would never see home again? Why would she choose that life? What influenced her to take that kind of risk to show that kind of devotion, ‑ to this woman who was not even her mother?

First, there seems to be a deep well of love between all three of these women. They had endured a difficult time together, with sons and husbands dying, and were drawn together by both grief and love. Secondly, we do not know what there was for Ruth to return to at home. Maybe there were other daughters, all looking for husbands. Maybe her parents were dead. We do not know. But even under the worst of circumstances, it is hard to imagine the depth of devotion that led Ruth to follow Naomi to Bethlehem.

What we do know is found at the end in Ruth's impassioned speech. "Your God will be my God." For these long years, Naomi has maintained her Jewish faith and practice of Jewish customs, and these have undoubtedly influenced Ruth. It is almost as if Ruth is saying, “I have seen your God through your eyes, and now I will see him through mine. I am willing to follow you, and to trust that your God will see us through this time."

But I feel like there is another reason for this willingness to embrace the unknown. We read her story, and from the very beginning know that something important is going to happen here because this family came from Bethlehem. As we think about the work of the Holy Spirit, from the events of creation to the Day of Pentecost and beyond, we see the Spirit move people to make choices and go places they never would have chosen for themselves. Maybe that has happened to you. Have you found yourself making choices, not based on your preformed plan, but reacting to things that pull you outside of yourself? Some of our best work for the Kingdom of God happens when we let go and let God. The same Spirit that gave life to the human formed from clay and a group of grieving disciples also breathes life into us. And often, we make choices, go places, and take risks that best be understood as God-inspired.

Today, we celebrate the 504^th anniversary of Martin Luther’s dramatic declaration of protest against the actions of the Pope and Church in Rome. A biblical theologian and local pastor, he knew that the burdens his parishioners were under to satisfy the Church’s requirements so that they could be certain of their salvation and ultimate forgiveness in the eyes of God. He knew that something needed to be done, but he also knew taking on the establishment was a risk. Even so, in his 95 Theses, he wanted to put power back into the hands of the people.

If you ever get a chance to look at the list, you’ll see that the first three points were on the importance of families reading the bible at home. The next eleven were questions about the power of the Pope to develop theological dogmas that were without biblical foundation – he specifically denounced the doctrine of purgatory, spoke out against the corruption of the clergy, and clarified the doctrine of free grace and forgiveness, on which he would write extensively later in his ministry.

And then what followed was a detailed discussion on why the selling of indulgences, which required parishioners to pay for masses to “assure” their or their loved ones’ entry into heaven, was bad… this covered points 15-82 in the document. And while we think of this document as Luther’s red line in the sand, his tone was more questioning than accusing… more academic than pastoral. And people listened and read his questions for themselves. With his actions, he earned ex-communication, but fanned the flames of the smoldering questions being asked all over Europe – what does it mean to have faith in Jesus Christ? And the Church has never been the same.

It’s clear that Martin Luther, while a rebel, stands on the shoulders of preachers and theologians who preceded him. This protest reboot of Christianity began because faithful people saw how far the Church had strayed from the teachings of Jesus. They saw the value of reading scripture themselves instead of relying on a priest for interpretation. Even before Luther, John Wycliffe in England, and Jan Hus in what is now the Czech Republic translated the scripture into the languages of their people and paid the price with their lives.

It isn’t clear that Luther wanted to leave the Roman Catholic Church – he just wanted re-formation – he was hitting the reset button, to bring people back to the basics of faith, the essence of the biblical story, and teachings and example of Jesus Christ. He wanted the church to return to the core of the Gospel message, to keep the main thing the main thing: Love God – Love Your Neighbor.

As I was preparing for the week, I felt like Luther’s work offers us a bridge between the story of Ruth and Jesus’ encounter with the scribe. People were always asking Jesus questions – to know him better, to gain insight into his perspective of God, and yes, sometimes to trip him up. “What is the greatest commandment?” This question is proposed in each of the synoptic gospels, but each in a different context.

This week, we hear the question from a scribe and get Jesus’ most straightforward response. This man’s job would have been to transcribe the scrolls of scripture, and also to interpret the Law to the people in his community – how much more could he be immersed in the Law than to write it every day? He would then use his understanding of the law to settle disputes and instruct people’s behavior. It’s no wonder that having heard about Jesus, he might come by to hear him speak, and ask a question that would have meaning in both his personal and professional life.

The simple message is often the hardest to follow. Love God. Love our neighbor… what does that look like for us? This love that Jesus speaks of is embodied in the way he lived, in the way he encountered others throughout the gospel stories. Jesus never took the easy way out. His experience of love was costly, costing him his life on earth. But his resurrection changed everything. Love won the battle and became our rally cry. So simple, and yet so hard.

Love requires a lot of us. Like Ruth, it may steer us onto a different path to life and responsibility that we never imagined for ourselves. Sometimes we will be hurt by our unwillingness to let love go. But Jesus reminds us that this life is worth every battle and every joy. Love brings us close to the Kingdom of God. And it’s the most important gift we can give or receive.

If we were to skip to the end of Ruth's story, we would find out that there was an important reason that this Moabite woman was called to Bethlehem in the land of Judah... a reason that Naomi went to Moab and then returned home. After an intense and complicated series of events, Naomi manages to introduce Ruth to Boaz, a prominent member of Bethlehem society, and the relative who now had responsibility for Naomi’s care. And when Ruth and Boaz were married, they had a son, Obed. And Obed had a son Jesse, and Jesse had a son David, and eventually, through the generations, David had a son Jesus. Ruth was called be a mother of the faith, and a mother of the faithful, from a long way away.

How many times is God calling us to something, and yet we are unwilling, or afraid, or not listening closely enough to hear God's call? Ruth reminds us that God calls all kinds of people to serve in his kingdom. And the grace which comes and goes before us prepares us and the world for God’s kingdom to come.

The path that we follow in response to God’s call is filled with twists and turns. Perhaps these lessons teach us that while we may not have control of our circumstances, we do have control over how we behave. Jesus summarizes the most basic understandings of the Law into two main tasks. Love God – Love others. This is the main thing.

Christ's life provides that kind of witness to us. On Tuesday, at the Garrison-wide Service of Remembrance, and next Sunday in our regular worship, we will remember the lives of the saints – those who have provided a witness and a template for how we can be pointed toward and into new directions in faith.

All we have to realize is this: God has to come first. We may claim devotion to many things, to wives and husbands, to family, to friends, to our careers, to our countries, to sports... the possibilities are endless. But our devotion has got to be more than cheering like crazy when things are going well, and bored indifference or even hostility when things are not. If we place our devotion to God first, then all of the other things will fall into their proper places.

Ruth heard a word in her heart, through her relationship with Naomi and her son, that led her to a new land, a new marriage relationship, and a new relationship with God. Jesus gave the scribe the answer that he already knew. The greatest commandment is not found in the minutia of 616 rules and regulations. The Law is grounded in something much more important and life-giving. If we love God and love our neighbor, everything will fall into place.

May we, like Ruth, be willing to follow wherever God calls… and let us always live that life with love as our guiding light.

 Peace, Deb

(c) Deb Luther Teagan, October 2021