| To contact us: frbobg@comcast.net Calvary Episcopal Church 667 Mount Road Aston, PA 19014 610-459-2013 OFFICE 610-358-3571 RECTORY |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| SERMON 20 Pentecost - Proper 23 October 14, 2007 The Rev. Robert C. Granfeldt |
| 667 Mount Road, Aston, PA 19014 610-459-2013 |
| Small Parish - Big Heart - Inclusive Come and worship with us! All are welcome! |
| Our Mission: To worship the Lord To serve the community To grow the church |
Ah, what a change – and what a relief. After all the “down” stuff of recent weeks – and
especially last Sunday’s Old Testament lesson – there comes one of the loveliest and
most beloved stories in all of Scripture: the Story of Ruth.
We can’t read the whole story in one morning, of course, but everybody, I suspect, is
familiar with at least its broad outlines. So, rather than dwell on the story, itself, this
morning, beyond just a quick recap, I’d rather deal with the actual writing of the story:
when and why it was written.
You’ve heard me talk many times about how the scriptures were compiled and composed
over a period of about 11 or 12 centuries, or so, and I have mentioned that part of the
uniqueness and wonder of the Bible is that it includes examples of just about every type
and style of literature there is! Today’s old Testament reading is a great example.
The Book of Ruth has been called – for good reason – the first short story ever written! If
you were to take a literature course, today, you would find that the Book of Ruth contains
all of the elements that are considered as comprising a good, modern short story –
except that, far from modern, it was written about 2500 years ago!
In addition to its structure, it’s very modern I another sense, as well, in that it’s a very….,
well, let’s just say that if it were made into a movie, Today, as opposed to when it actually
was, in 1960, it would probably be rated “R”.
But quite apart from its rating it’s a love story; indeed, a Double love story! It’s about the
love that develops, finally, between Ruth and the man who would become her second
husband – Boaz, of course. But much more importantly, it’s the story of the love between
the young Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi – the mother of her first husband!
Naomi and her husband were of the Hebrew people, long before they had evolved into
the religious group that would later be called, “Jews.” They lived, the story indicates, in
the time of the Judges – that period between the conquest of Palestine under Joshua,
after Moses’ death, and the rising of Saul as the first King of the Hebrew people!
As the story opens, famine has come to the land, and Naomi and her husband have set
out from their home town of Bethlehem to find a place where they could live and raise
their sons. Unfortunately, the Husband of Naomi had dies shortly after they arrive in the
land of Moab, and afterward, their two sons marry Moabite women – Ruth and Orpah. But
then the two sons die, as well! With no husband and no sons, and hearing that the famine
has lifted, back home, Naomi decides to return to her own people. Neither of her
daughters-in-law want to split up with her, but Naomi convinces Orpah to return to her
own people, and to let Her return to hers! But her second daughter-in-law, Ruth, just won’
t leave her – occasioning the pledge that is the hallmark of the story and one of the most
familiar quotes of scripture (in the King James language): “Whither thou goest, I will go;
and whither thou stayest I will stay; Thy people shall be my people, and thy God shall be
my God.”
Unfortunately, to understand this story, At All, there is a rather strange – to us – custom
that must be understood, first, however alien it is to us! That is, amongst the Hebrews,
when a husband died without giving his wife a son, it was required of his next of kin that
he take the widow to be a wife! Moreover, the Sons of their marriage would be
considered to be, not his, but the first husband’s! Now that may seem weird, but actually
it’s all about Property! In fact in great measure, it’s about “her” as property – because in
those days, No woman was considered to be free and independent, but had to belong to
some man – to her father, first, then to her husband, then – if she were widowed – to her
son, if there is one, or to her husband’s next of kin! At the same time, it was important
that a man leave an heir – a son – to inherit his property and to avoid conflict over his
estate. Hence, these peculiar – to us – customs! So under the rules, Naomi needs to go to
her homeland, where she can be taken in by her husband’s nearest relative.
All this – alien to us – would have been cut and dried to the people the story was written
for. The Peculiar elements in this story have to do with Ruth’s origins! You see, because
she was Not a Hebrew – she was a foreigner, and a worshipper of a foreign God – the
rules didn’t apply to her. And yet, when her husband died, she chose, not to stay where
she was – in Moab – and perhaps marry one of her countrymen – but to follow her Mother-
in-law: to “whither (she) goest!”
Obviously, she loved that lady! Loved her so much that her love overcame everything
else! So she went with her mother-in law, out of the land of Moab, her home, and off to
the distant, unknown land of Judaea!
Once they arrive, the rest plays itself out according to the rules. Naomi locates her
husband’s, and, therefore, her sons’ next of kin – Boaz. And she quite brazenly arranges
to get Boaz and Ruth together!
But this part of the story isn’t clear, either, unless we understand what some of the
euphemisms used in the telling really mean. Suffice to say that when Naomi advises her
daughter in law to go to the threshing floor, where the men will be sleeping during the
harvest, and “uncover his feet and lie down,” we have arrived at the “R” rated part!
When Boaz sobers up, in the morning, and wakes up enough to see what has gone on
during the night, when he was drunk, he “does the right thing,” by his kinsman’s wife,
and he marries her.
And because of that, according to the Hebrew Scriptures, a hundred or so years later
King David is born – their descendent!
And because of that, according to the Christian Scriptures, 1100 or so years later, Jesus
of Nazareth is born – also their descendent!
Of course, those two little items of information aren’t why the story is found in our Bibles.
The book of Ruth is part of the Jewish Scriptures, the Old Testament, and believe it or
not, the Jews couldn’t care less who the ancestors of Jesus might be! And while they’re
more interested in David’s line, all his ancestors didn’t rate a whole book of the New
Testament.
So what is this all about, and why is it important?
This tale is important because it tells something, establishes something that is every bit
as important, today as it was 2500 years ago, when it was first written down.
It steps into the story that begins with God telling Abraham that His people are the
chosen ones, through him; that the children of Abraham – through Isaac and Jacob and
Moses, and David and all the rest – are the beloved of the Lord. And it tells them – and us
– that through them, ALL the peoples of the worlds are to be blessed! That through them,
ALL people become the beloved of the Lord. And that through them, all people come to
salvation!
The book of Ruth was composed at a time in the history of the people when what we
today call “Judaism” was finally coming into its own. The exile in Babylon had ended, and
the people had returned to Judaea. With their return there came a great religious revival,
and part of that revival was the establishment of the people as “One People” – the Jews!
And the leaders of the revival have decreed that all the Hebrew men who had grown up
in exile and married “foreign” women must “put them away” – that it, divorce them – to
restore the purity of the people! But into this time, the writer of the Book of Ruth injects
his story! “No!, he says. That kind of purity is Not what we are to be about! Our purity is to
be one of love and commitment, not just blood. The foreign woman, Ruth becomes one of
us because she joins us in love and caring, and because she adopts our God to be her
God! And it is because of her that – through her offspring, David – we have become a
great people!”
The Book of Ruth is a part of the Scriptures – of the Jews, of the Christians, of the
Muslims! But what makes the Book “Scripture” is Not some notion that “God Wrote It” –
because He didn’t! What makes it Scripture is the fact that it conveys to us, Truth, today;
and it conveys to us the open and indomitable love of God!
And it comes to us, Today, in our lectionary, at a most difficult time in the history of our
world and of this country: a time when the world is about as divided as it has ever been –
and in ways just as dangerous as ever!
And it comes to us to tell us that origins don’t matter; that bloodlines don’t matter; that
tribe and nationality don’t matter; and even that religion, in the end, Doesn’t Matter!
It comes to tell us that, while the peoples of this world may have some differences to iron
out – and that while those differences, as we understand them, may lead to terrible
consequences – in the end they just don’t matter!
Because in the end, we are all the people of God. We are all beloved of him. We are all
precious in his sight!
We live in a time when the world is torn apart by strife and by the belief – devoutly held
by those on each side – that God is on “our” side – while the Book of Ruth – that lovely,
creative short story for the ages – tells us that we are wrong! Tells us that the love of
God encompasses All nations! And that the Moabite widow is every bit as precious in His
sight as is the Virgin of Nazareth; that our God does not love Hebrew more than Moabite;
does not love native-born more than immigrant; does not love Jew more than Roman;
Catholic more than Protestant; Christian more than Muslim; or, yes, even American more
than either Iraqi or Irani.
But that he loves all his children, with a love strong enough to give up his only-begotten
son on the cross – dying for each and every one of us. And more importantly for our
understanding and for our sake, today, that he dies for each and every one of them –
whoever the “them” might be!
In His Name! Amen.
especially last Sunday’s Old Testament lesson – there comes one of the loveliest and
most beloved stories in all of Scripture: the Story of Ruth.
We can’t read the whole story in one morning, of course, but everybody, I suspect, is
familiar with at least its broad outlines. So, rather than dwell on the story, itself, this
morning, beyond just a quick recap, I’d rather deal with the actual writing of the story:
when and why it was written.
You’ve heard me talk many times about how the scriptures were compiled and composed
over a period of about 11 or 12 centuries, or so, and I have mentioned that part of the
uniqueness and wonder of the Bible is that it includes examples of just about every type
and style of literature there is! Today’s old Testament reading is a great example.
The Book of Ruth has been called – for good reason – the first short story ever written! If
you were to take a literature course, today, you would find that the Book of Ruth contains
all of the elements that are considered as comprising a good, modern short story –
except that, far from modern, it was written about 2500 years ago!
In addition to its structure, it’s very modern I another sense, as well, in that it’s a very….,
well, let’s just say that if it were made into a movie, Today, as opposed to when it actually
was, in 1960, it would probably be rated “R”.
But quite apart from its rating it’s a love story; indeed, a Double love story! It’s about the
love that develops, finally, between Ruth and the man who would become her second
husband – Boaz, of course. But much more importantly, it’s the story of the love between
the young Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi – the mother of her first husband!
Naomi and her husband were of the Hebrew people, long before they had evolved into
the religious group that would later be called, “Jews.” They lived, the story indicates, in
the time of the Judges – that period between the conquest of Palestine under Joshua,
after Moses’ death, and the rising of Saul as the first King of the Hebrew people!
As the story opens, famine has come to the land, and Naomi and her husband have set
out from their home town of Bethlehem to find a place where they could live and raise
their sons. Unfortunately, the Husband of Naomi had dies shortly after they arrive in the
land of Moab, and afterward, their two sons marry Moabite women – Ruth and Orpah. But
then the two sons die, as well! With no husband and no sons, and hearing that the famine
has lifted, back home, Naomi decides to return to her own people. Neither of her
daughters-in-law want to split up with her, but Naomi convinces Orpah to return to her
own people, and to let Her return to hers! But her second daughter-in-law, Ruth, just won’
t leave her – occasioning the pledge that is the hallmark of the story and one of the most
familiar quotes of scripture (in the King James language): “Whither thou goest, I will go;
and whither thou stayest I will stay; Thy people shall be my people, and thy God shall be
my God.”
Unfortunately, to understand this story, At All, there is a rather strange – to us – custom
that must be understood, first, however alien it is to us! That is, amongst the Hebrews,
when a husband died without giving his wife a son, it was required of his next of kin that
he take the widow to be a wife! Moreover, the Sons of their marriage would be
considered to be, not his, but the first husband’s! Now that may seem weird, but actually
it’s all about Property! In fact in great measure, it’s about “her” as property – because in
those days, No woman was considered to be free and independent, but had to belong to
some man – to her father, first, then to her husband, then – if she were widowed – to her
son, if there is one, or to her husband’s next of kin! At the same time, it was important
that a man leave an heir – a son – to inherit his property and to avoid conflict over his
estate. Hence, these peculiar – to us – customs! So under the rules, Naomi needs to go to
her homeland, where she can be taken in by her husband’s nearest relative.
All this – alien to us – would have been cut and dried to the people the story was written
for. The Peculiar elements in this story have to do with Ruth’s origins! You see, because
she was Not a Hebrew – she was a foreigner, and a worshipper of a foreign God – the
rules didn’t apply to her. And yet, when her husband died, she chose, not to stay where
she was – in Moab – and perhaps marry one of her countrymen – but to follow her Mother-
in-law: to “whither (she) goest!”
Obviously, she loved that lady! Loved her so much that her love overcame everything
else! So she went with her mother-in law, out of the land of Moab, her home, and off to
the distant, unknown land of Judaea!
Once they arrive, the rest plays itself out according to the rules. Naomi locates her
husband’s, and, therefore, her sons’ next of kin – Boaz. And she quite brazenly arranges
to get Boaz and Ruth together!
But this part of the story isn’t clear, either, unless we understand what some of the
euphemisms used in the telling really mean. Suffice to say that when Naomi advises her
daughter in law to go to the threshing floor, where the men will be sleeping during the
harvest, and “uncover his feet and lie down,” we have arrived at the “R” rated part!
When Boaz sobers up, in the morning, and wakes up enough to see what has gone on
during the night, when he was drunk, he “does the right thing,” by his kinsman’s wife,
and he marries her.
And because of that, according to the Hebrew Scriptures, a hundred or so years later
King David is born – their descendent!
And because of that, according to the Christian Scriptures, 1100 or so years later, Jesus
of Nazareth is born – also their descendent!
Of course, those two little items of information aren’t why the story is found in our Bibles.
The book of Ruth is part of the Jewish Scriptures, the Old Testament, and believe it or
not, the Jews couldn’t care less who the ancestors of Jesus might be! And while they’re
more interested in David’s line, all his ancestors didn’t rate a whole book of the New
Testament.
So what is this all about, and why is it important?
This tale is important because it tells something, establishes something that is every bit
as important, today as it was 2500 years ago, when it was first written down.
It steps into the story that begins with God telling Abraham that His people are the
chosen ones, through him; that the children of Abraham – through Isaac and Jacob and
Moses, and David and all the rest – are the beloved of the Lord. And it tells them – and us
– that through them, ALL the peoples of the worlds are to be blessed! That through them,
ALL people become the beloved of the Lord. And that through them, all people come to
salvation!
The book of Ruth was composed at a time in the history of the people when what we
today call “Judaism” was finally coming into its own. The exile in Babylon had ended, and
the people had returned to Judaea. With their return there came a great religious revival,
and part of that revival was the establishment of the people as “One People” – the Jews!
And the leaders of the revival have decreed that all the Hebrew men who had grown up
in exile and married “foreign” women must “put them away” – that it, divorce them – to
restore the purity of the people! But into this time, the writer of the Book of Ruth injects
his story! “No!, he says. That kind of purity is Not what we are to be about! Our purity is to
be one of love and commitment, not just blood. The foreign woman, Ruth becomes one of
us because she joins us in love and caring, and because she adopts our God to be her
God! And it is because of her that – through her offspring, David – we have become a
great people!”
The Book of Ruth is a part of the Scriptures – of the Jews, of the Christians, of the
Muslims! But what makes the Book “Scripture” is Not some notion that “God Wrote It” –
because He didn’t! What makes it Scripture is the fact that it conveys to us, Truth, today;
and it conveys to us the open and indomitable love of God!
And it comes to us, Today, in our lectionary, at a most difficult time in the history of our
world and of this country: a time when the world is about as divided as it has ever been –
and in ways just as dangerous as ever!
And it comes to us to tell us that origins don’t matter; that bloodlines don’t matter; that
tribe and nationality don’t matter; and even that religion, in the end, Doesn’t Matter!
It comes to tell us that, while the peoples of this world may have some differences to iron
out – and that while those differences, as we understand them, may lead to terrible
consequences – in the end they just don’t matter!
Because in the end, we are all the people of God. We are all beloved of him. We are all
precious in his sight!
We live in a time when the world is torn apart by strife and by the belief – devoutly held
by those on each side – that God is on “our” side – while the Book of Ruth – that lovely,
creative short story for the ages – tells us that we are wrong! Tells us that the love of
God encompasses All nations! And that the Moabite widow is every bit as precious in His
sight as is the Virgin of Nazareth; that our God does not love Hebrew more than Moabite;
does not love native-born more than immigrant; does not love Jew more than Roman;
Catholic more than Protestant; Christian more than Muslim; or, yes, even American more
than either Iraqi or Irani.
But that he loves all his children, with a love strong enough to give up his only-begotten
son on the cross – dying for each and every one of us. And more importantly for our
understanding and for our sake, today, that he dies for each and every one of them –
whoever the “them” might be!
In His Name! Amen.