Ruth Sermon Series Week 1 - Naomi: Richard's sermon at Blackford and Wedmore

Book of Ruth Sermon Series

Naomi

Everyone loves the Book of Ruth. Everyone loves the book of Ruth because first and foremost it is a great story. An make no mistake this is almost certainly a work of fiction, a story written for a particular purpose, and not a piece of history – and more of why that is the case later.

The book is a great story because it has that classic progression. It begins in despair and ends with great hope for the future; it begins with death and ends with life. There is romance; there are plot complications (the appearance of the closest relative); there is suspense; there is a whiff of seduction’ and, of course there is a happy ending. Everyone loves the book of Ruth because it is a story with strong characters and we all like heroes and heroines. There is Boaz, an amalgam of everyone’s favourite uncles and everyone’s favourite boss; there is Naomi and her persistence; there is Ruth who just seems to be a truly good person – loyal, faithful, resourceful.

Everyone loves the book of Ruth because it is a story that can help navigate and reflect upon our own times, how we might act in similar situations, even though the setting of the story s so alien in both time and place. These four chapters can make us think about such weighty and relevant issues such as family, loyalty, the choices we make that define us, the nature and meaning of home, faithfulness, redemption. And I am sure that we will have the chance to reflect on many of these as the sermon series progresses.

Particularly for those who weren’t able to hear the book read last week and haven’t read it for themselves…yet, the bare bones of what happens to Naomi and Ruth are as follows.

Elimelech, his wife Naomi and their two sons (Mahlon and Chilion) are forced to leave their home in Bethlehem because of poor harvests and resettle in Moab (Moab is in what is now Jordan, across the Dead Sea from Israel – you can see the hills of Moab from Bethlehem, but it could have been a difficult and dangerous journey through the Judean desert). The sons marry, the three men die and when Naomi hears that things in  Bethlehem are going well now, she opts to return. Her daughters in law Ruth and Orpah go with her. Naomi tries to persuade them that they will prosper better in Moab. Orpah stays; Ruth returns with her. It is harvest time in Bethlehem so Ruth goes out to glean what she can. By chance she finds herself in the fields of a landowner who is also a relative (or kinsman), Boaz. Boaz recognises Ruth for a relative and perhaps takes a shine for her; so he makes sure he is looked after.

Naomi is delighted at this turn of events and persuades Ruth to lie at Boaz’s feet at night. Boaz recognises his responsibility for the family but knows there is a relative who has a closer claim on the women. He buys the claim off the other relative, marries Ruth and they all live happily ever after, Ruth and Boaz becoming the great grandparents of David himself.

I mentioned at the beginning that this is story and not history. That it is so is kind of given away by the names. For it seems as if these characters were named for the part they play in the tale or for a particular light they can cast on our relationship with God. After all who, in real life would call their two sons, as Naomi and Elimelech do , Sick and Weakling. Ruth means ‘Friend’ and that is exactly what she proves to be; Orpah means Nape of the Neck and therefore to present the back of the neck and therefore ‘turned away’, another appropriate name. While Boaz means Strength or Security, which is exactly what he offers. Finally Elimelech means My God is King’. And this is what all the characters in one way or another discover as the narrative progresses.

So a story, written for a particular purpose and this is why all the scholars also love the book of Ruth – because no-one knows when or why it was written and so they can argue around and around to their hearts content.

Was Ruth perhaps written during the time of the early kings to give that link to David? The book begins by saying that it was the time of the Judges and everyone knew that this was a time of anarchy and misfortune. It ends with David’s heritage, David who brought stability and wealth to his country. You can read the whole book as a sort of ‘Origins’ story. The entertainment industry is obsessed with origins stories at the moment. The Marvel franchise of superhero films has recently given us all sorts of back stories to explain how the heroes came upon their powers. James Bond has been back to his family home and been stalked by an old family nemesis. Even the final Sherlock episode can be explained as an ‘Origins’ story. Our own family origins fascinate us, where we have come from. Our family foundations stories are repeated to each generation and often embellished. And the book of Ruth tells us that Origins stories were important then also. This is David’s origins story and it is notable that his foundation story is one of refugees and aliens and powerless but able women.

Or was Ruth perhaps written after the people of Israel had returned to their land from exile, hundreds of years after the supposed events of the book? At a time when some strands of the jewish faith were pushing for greater purity, seeking to ban marriages with non Jews, here is a different side to things, a story about the great grandmother of the greatest king of Israel who just happens to be a Moabite, a foreigner, and a rather wonderful woman at that. God is God of everyone, not just of Israel and so anyone can join his family.  And so we wonder about the place of stranger or immigrant in our own family or community story (focus more on that next week when come to look more closely at Ruth)

Anyway whenever and for whomever it was written, everyone loves the book of Ruth. But not everyone love Naomi. One commentator writes, ‘It’s often hard to “read” Naomi. She will sound deeply depressed and disillusioned with God when she is trying to persuade the two women to stay in Moab and when she herself gets back to Bethlehem…does she have much hope that her hopes will be fulfilled? One could hardly blame her if the answer is no.’

Naomi means ‘Gracious One’ but God has hardly been gracious to her. She is like a female version of Job – her wealth, status, security and family stripped away from her one by one. Reading some refugee stories as part of this sermon preparation, I was struck by how similar the stories and the desires of many of them were to those of Naomi, in the way that she becomes as nothing, in the way that she longs for her home and also in the way that she still remains a protagonist, moving the action forward, taking responsibility. Little wonder that Naomi seems depressed and full of self pity at times but her actions belie her words and her part of the story show the importance of sticking with someone through depression, standing by them, as Ruth stood by Naomi, not giving up or turning away, even if the one who is depressed seems not to care (Naomi’s reaction when Ruth insists on sticking with her is a kind of ‘Whatever.’ Like many before and after, Naomi is saved by the love of a good woman.

Not everyone loves Naomi, but I have always had a soft spot for her (perhaps it’s because my wife’s middle name is ‘Naomi’). Naomi refuses to play the victim and on more than one occasion is the one to move the action forward.

When we first really come across Naomi, she is utterly powerless, lacking the protection of husband, father, son, an old woman, lacking protection even of own land and people. Here are three women who appear to have nothing except each other and the passage I chose for today gives us Naomi railing against her situation but it also gives us those beautiful words of Ruth and the covenant she makes with Naomi

‘Where you go, I will go;
   where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people,
   and your God my God.’

Beautiful words.

But these powerless women, a refugee and an alien are shown to be important and precious to God and important to his plan for his people, Israel. So again as we use the book of Ruth to ask questions of our own time, might it be the case that those with nothing, those who are powerless are also precious and important to God and tohis plans for his people.

Finally, this part of the story that belongs to Naomi can help us to reflect on the nature of home. Home for Naomi was a definite place, the hills around Bethlehem that she could perhaps see from Moab.

Home for Ruth is tied up more with people, those she is closest to.

Home for each of us brings out so many associations. I guess that, for me it is the fields and hills and houses where I grew up, little changed through that time and home is also about family.

But home for Ruth is also tied up with the God of Israel, our Father. She ultimately finds her home among God’s people and in God’s presence. And so she reminds us that we can become too attached to ‘home’. For we who are Christians our true home is only and always where God is. We are citizens of heaven in the process of colonising earth. As that great Easter hymn proclaims ‘bring us safe through Jordan to our home above.’ Ruth and Naomi came safely through the Jordan, one to an old home, one to find a new one. Both ultimately found their home in being faithful to the one we call upon today. may we be faithful also, may we also ‘come home’.

http://stories.unhcr.org/uk

http://www.refugee-action.org.uk/refugee-voices/

‘Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone by John Goldingay;  publ. by SPCK

Ruth 1.11-21

¹¹But Naomi said, ‘Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands?¹²Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, ¹³would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.’ ¹⁴Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

15 So she said, ‘See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.’ ¹⁶But Ruth said,
‘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. 
¹⁷ Where you die, I will die—
   there will I be buried.
May the Lord do thus and so to me,
   and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!’ 
¹⁸When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them; and the women said, ‘Is this Naomi?’ ²⁰She said to them,
‘Call me no longer Naomi,
   call me Mara,
   for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me. 
²¹ I went away full,
   but the Lord has brought me back empty;
why call me Naomi
   when the Lord has dealt harshly with me,
   and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?’