RUTH'S LEGACY AT THE TABLE
Sermon
A Meal For The Road
14 Sermons On The Lord's Supper
In the genealogy of Jesus that begins his gospel, Matthew, in
good patriarchal style, mentions only the men -- except, of
course, for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom the whole
genealogy leads, and Ruth, the great-grandmother of King David,
Jesus' most illustrious forebear! Matthew cleverly maintains the
male pattern while he introduces the name of Ruth: "... Boaz the
father of Obed by Ruth, and Jesse the father of King David."
(Matthew 1:5-6) The same ploy is used in culminating the
genealogy with the name of Mary, "... and Jacob the father of
Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called
the Messiah." (1:16)
Who is this Ruth, and why is she given a place at this
illustrious male "table" and our Advent communion table today?
The story that unfolds as one reads the short Old Testament
book that bears her name is riveting. It unfolds against the
background of hunger and famine. Naomi's husband immigrated to
Moab from Judah in search of food and survival for his wife and
two sons. In time he died and the sons took Moabite wives, Orpah
and Ruth. The tragedy deepened as the sons too died and Naomi saw
no alternative but to prepare
9
to return to Judah where, she heard, the drought was waning and a
fair harvest had been gleaned.
The implication is that the rigorous return journey was taking
its toll, for part way on the journey Naomi urged her daughters-
in-law to turn around and return to the families of their
girlhood, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's house [also
widowed?]. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt
with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find
security, each of you in the house of your [new] husband." (Ruth
1:9)
The reaction of the two daughters-in-law is the same, "No, we
will return with you to your people." (Ruth 1:10) Tears flowed as
Naomi again urged them to seek their own survival by turning back
and leaving her to finish the agonizing trip alone. "There is no
future for you with me in my barrenness," Naomi responded, "Turn
back; go your way ... the Lord has turned against me." (Ruth
1:13) And it is with that last phrase that we realize the depth
of Naomi's despair. Orpah reluctantly, tearfully pulled herself
away and turned back. Ruth "clung to her." (1:14)
What follows is a pledge of love and loyalty from Ruth that
has become a treasured vow of commitment for several generations,
used even at weddings:
Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your
people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I
will die -- there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so
to me, and more as well, even if death parts me from you!
-- Ruth 1:16-17, NRSV
Together they made their way back to Bethlehem "at the
beginning of the barley harvest." (1:22) At that point another
"plot" ensues which results in Ruth's marriage to Boaz, "a
prominent rich man" and "kinsman to Naomi on her husband's side."
(2:1) It includes a first meal for the two at the edge of a field
where Ruth has been picking the bits of grain
10
left behind by the reapers, in accordance with the Law which
sought to provide for the needs of poor and hungry people.
You see, from the beginning God's concern for the poor was
written into the Law of Israel, The understanding was that God's
table always had room for the poor and the destitute.
The first meal together of Ruth and Boaz is a simple one of
bread and wine at the edge of the field. "Sit here," he said,
"and dip your morsel in the sour wine." (Ruth 2:14) From the
gracious hand of Boaz, Ruth took the bread and wine, as the
disciples were to take the bread and wine from her progeny over
1,000 years hence! The conversation at that outdoor meal centered
upon Ruth's selfless pledge to Naomi. Boaz said:
All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of
your husband has been fully told me, and how you left your mother
and your native land to come to a people that you did not know
before. May the Lord reward you for your deeds and give you
refuge under his wings!
-- Ruth 2:11-12
It is significant that this blessing comes in the context of a
meal of bread and wine. For Boaz' descendant, Jesus, was to bless
his disciples with "the peace that passes understanding" at a
meal of bread and wine before his betrayal and crucifixion. (John
14:27)
At what was to become known as the last supper, Jesus used an
eating occasion to make promises and commitments to his friends
that, in the cultural context, were best made with the breaking
and passing of bread from a common loaf and the sipping of wine
from a common cup.
At that supper, Jesus said, "No one has greater love than
this, to lay down one's life for one's friends, [and] you are my
friends ..." (John 14:13-14a) To those sitting around the table,
the implication that Jesus was prepared to die if it would
eliminate the risks for their lives, was unmistakable. And it was
sealed by the passing of the bread and the cup!
11
The similarities of Jesus' pledge to his disciples at the last
supper and Ruth's pledge to Naomi as the other daughter-in-law
tearfully turned and walked away, are remarkable. Naomi knew that
the trip to Bethlehem might never be completed, rigorous as it
was and weakened as they were, when she begged Ruth and Orpah to
return to Moab. For Ruth to covenant with Naomi to stay by her
"for better or worse" might well have been a fatal move for Ruth.
There was no guarantee that they would complete the trip nor that
they would be able to survive in the new place. Here, indeed, was
one of those who would "lay down [her] life for her friend" and
thus express the "greatest love" that Jesus could imagine!
That Ruth and Naomi did survive and, more, prosper in the new
place was God's response to the kind of selfless commitment that
Ruth made and that Jesus' was later to commend in his last supper
discourse.
This story and the character Ruth is an excellent place to
begin our Advent pilgrimage. Perhaps some here come with Ruth's
grief, Orpah's isolation or Naomi's near despair. They suddenly
found themselves grieving survivors, hungry and homeless, bereft
of the necessities of life, and with uncertain futures. Naomi
bewailed the absence of God:
The hand of the Lord has turned against me. -- 1:13
The Almighty has dealt bitterly with me. I went away full, but
the Lord has brought me back empty ... dealt harshly with me, and
... has brought calamity upon me. -- 1:21
It is hard to think about Christmas when your world is caving
in or when your faith is waning. To begin Advent with Ruth,
however, is to be reminded that God does not forget any of God's
children. Indeed, those who make loving commitments to others
will be held up in their resolve by the One who heard the moans
of a dying world and sent a child, a descendant of Ruth, to bless
and to save.
12
Christmas reminds us of God's commitment to the human race
from the beginning of creation, a commitment marked by grace and
truth. In Advent we recognize that we are on the verge of
perceiving again the commitment of God to us. For soon the "True
Light which enlightens everyone [is] coming into the world" so
that "all who receive him, who believe in his name" might have
"power to become children of God!"
This is a promise that is sealed for us in a simple meal
beside the "threshing floor" -- a meal of bread and wine, given
with words of blessing: "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give
unto you. Not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your
hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me." (John
14:1, 27)
good patriarchal style, mentions only the men -- except, of
course, for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom the whole
genealogy leads, and Ruth, the great-grandmother of King David,
Jesus' most illustrious forebear! Matthew cleverly maintains the
male pattern while he introduces the name of Ruth: "... Boaz the
father of Obed by Ruth, and Jesse the father of King David."
(Matthew 1:5-6) The same ploy is used in culminating the
genealogy with the name of Mary, "... and Jacob the father of
Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called
the Messiah." (1:16)
Who is this Ruth, and why is she given a place at this
illustrious male "table" and our Advent communion table today?
The story that unfolds as one reads the short Old Testament
book that bears her name is riveting. It unfolds against the
background of hunger and famine. Naomi's husband immigrated to
Moab from Judah in search of food and survival for his wife and
two sons. In time he died and the sons took Moabite wives, Orpah
and Ruth. The tragedy deepened as the sons too died and Naomi saw
no alternative but to prepare
9
to return to Judah where, she heard, the drought was waning and a
fair harvest had been gleaned.
The implication is that the rigorous return journey was taking
its toll, for part way on the journey Naomi urged her daughters-
in-law to turn around and return to the families of their
girlhood, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's house [also
widowed?]. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt
with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find
security, each of you in the house of your [new] husband." (Ruth
1:9)
The reaction of the two daughters-in-law is the same, "No, we
will return with you to your people." (Ruth 1:10) Tears flowed as
Naomi again urged them to seek their own survival by turning back
and leaving her to finish the agonizing trip alone. "There is no
future for you with me in my barrenness," Naomi responded, "Turn
back; go your way ... the Lord has turned against me." (Ruth
1:13) And it is with that last phrase that we realize the depth
of Naomi's despair. Orpah reluctantly, tearfully pulled herself
away and turned back. Ruth "clung to her." (1:14)
What follows is a pledge of love and loyalty from Ruth that
has become a treasured vow of commitment for several generations,
used even at weddings:
Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your
people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I
will die -- there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so
to me, and more as well, even if death parts me from you!
-- Ruth 1:16-17, NRSV
Together they made their way back to Bethlehem "at the
beginning of the barley harvest." (1:22) At that point another
"plot" ensues which results in Ruth's marriage to Boaz, "a
prominent rich man" and "kinsman to Naomi on her husband's side."
(2:1) It includes a first meal for the two at the edge of a field
where Ruth has been picking the bits of grain
10
left behind by the reapers, in accordance with the Law which
sought to provide for the needs of poor and hungry people.
You see, from the beginning God's concern for the poor was
written into the Law of Israel, The understanding was that God's
table always had room for the poor and the destitute.
The first meal together of Ruth and Boaz is a simple one of
bread and wine at the edge of the field. "Sit here," he said,
"and dip your morsel in the sour wine." (Ruth 2:14) From the
gracious hand of Boaz, Ruth took the bread and wine, as the
disciples were to take the bread and wine from her progeny over
1,000 years hence! The conversation at that outdoor meal centered
upon Ruth's selfless pledge to Naomi. Boaz said:
All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of
your husband has been fully told me, and how you left your mother
and your native land to come to a people that you did not know
before. May the Lord reward you for your deeds and give you
refuge under his wings!
-- Ruth 2:11-12
It is significant that this blessing comes in the context of a
meal of bread and wine. For Boaz' descendant, Jesus, was to bless
his disciples with "the peace that passes understanding" at a
meal of bread and wine before his betrayal and crucifixion. (John
14:27)
At what was to become known as the last supper, Jesus used an
eating occasion to make promises and commitments to his friends
that, in the cultural context, were best made with the breaking
and passing of bread from a common loaf and the sipping of wine
from a common cup.
At that supper, Jesus said, "No one has greater love than
this, to lay down one's life for one's friends, [and] you are my
friends ..." (John 14:13-14a) To those sitting around the table,
the implication that Jesus was prepared to die if it would
eliminate the risks for their lives, was unmistakable. And it was
sealed by the passing of the bread and the cup!
11
The similarities of Jesus' pledge to his disciples at the last
supper and Ruth's pledge to Naomi as the other daughter-in-law
tearfully turned and walked away, are remarkable. Naomi knew that
the trip to Bethlehem might never be completed, rigorous as it
was and weakened as they were, when she begged Ruth and Orpah to
return to Moab. For Ruth to covenant with Naomi to stay by her
"for better or worse" might well have been a fatal move for Ruth.
There was no guarantee that they would complete the trip nor that
they would be able to survive in the new place. Here, indeed, was
one of those who would "lay down [her] life for her friend" and
thus express the "greatest love" that Jesus could imagine!
That Ruth and Naomi did survive and, more, prosper in the new
place was God's response to the kind of selfless commitment that
Ruth made and that Jesus' was later to commend in his last supper
discourse.
This story and the character Ruth is an excellent place to
begin our Advent pilgrimage. Perhaps some here come with Ruth's
grief, Orpah's isolation or Naomi's near despair. They suddenly
found themselves grieving survivors, hungry and homeless, bereft
of the necessities of life, and with uncertain futures. Naomi
bewailed the absence of God:
The hand of the Lord has turned against me. -- 1:13
The Almighty has dealt bitterly with me. I went away full, but
the Lord has brought me back empty ... dealt harshly with me, and
... has brought calamity upon me. -- 1:21
It is hard to think about Christmas when your world is caving
in or when your faith is waning. To begin Advent with Ruth,
however, is to be reminded that God does not forget any of God's
children. Indeed, those who make loving commitments to others
will be held up in their resolve by the One who heard the moans
of a dying world and sent a child, a descendant of Ruth, to bless
and to save.
12
Christmas reminds us of God's commitment to the human race
from the beginning of creation, a commitment marked by grace and
truth. In Advent we recognize that we are on the verge of
perceiving again the commitment of God to us. For soon the "True
Light which enlightens everyone [is] coming into the world" so
that "all who receive him, who believe in his name" might have
"power to become children of God!"
This is a promise that is sealed for us in a simple meal
beside the "threshing floor" -- a meal of bread and wine, given
with words of blessing: "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give
unto you. Not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your
hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me." (John
14:1, 27)
