Stories Change Things Preached on November 4th, 2018 At Wollaston Congregational Church Scripture:Ruth 1:1-18 Today we heard the story from the book of Ruth. Or to be specific we heard a part of it. Ruth is a short book, only four chapters, and so we can take in the whole story in one sitting. And that is what I intend to do today. It is a story that sits in our Bibles between the book of Judges and the first book of Samuel. It’s so short you could easily miss it. And yet, it has a powerful role to play in the greater stories of both the people of Israel and the followers of Jesus. And because of that powerful role, it also stands as a counter to a worldview that is strongly and lengthily presented in some other books of the Hebrew Bible. Ruth is named for a woman, like the book of Esther we read a few weeks ago. In the Old Testament, 23 books are named for men, and only two for women. And in the New Testament, 15 books are named for men and none for women. Ruth, like Esther, is an exceptional story … particularly as the woman the book is named for is a foreigner whose people are considered enemies of Israel. The story tells of Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth, who are migrants in the land of Judah. Years before the story begins, Naomi and her husband Elimelech, who are Israelites, move from Bethlehem in Judah to the foreign territory of Moab. They travel in search of food security because there is a famine in Bethlehem. While they reside in the country of Israel’s enemies, Naomi and Elimelech’s sons grow up and marry Moabite women: Orpah and Ruth. And then, tragically, this displaced family experiences more loss. All the men, Elimelech and the two sons die, leaving Naomi and her daughters-in-law alone in a strange land. Naomi decides she must return to Bethlehem. The young women cling to her, and beg to go with her. She tries to send Orpah and Ruth home to their mothers. She has nothing to offer them, they would be better off with their own people. Orpah agrees to go home, but Ruth refuses. Ruth insists that she will stay with Naomi come what may. Ruth’s speech of loyalty and love is one that is often used in wedding ceremonies, it is so beautiful: “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, if even death parts me from you!” The story goes on, with a wonderful surprise ending. Naomi finds a way for Ruth to approach the owner of the field in Bethlehem where they glean their grain. This man, Boaz, is actually a distant relative of Naomi’s family, and so he is responsible for taking Ruth as his wife. He does not take much persuading. And soon a child is born. And so the story ends with the birth of Obed, the one who will become the father of Jesse, who in turn is the father of the great King David. We Christians find ample foreshadowing in this story: a child born in Bethlehem! This is a story of the love and loyalty of Ruth and Naomi. It is a story of destitute women, of different ethnicities, receiving compassion and hope in the land of Jesus’ birth. While this moving story can stand alone, it also stands in defiant witness to some of the other parts of the Hebrew scriptures. This is possible because Judaism is a tradition that is in conversation with itself. There is no “one way” to interpret any scripture ... something that I discovered through my seminary’s relationship with Hebrew College in Newton. While I was at Andover Newton Theological School, there were many opportunities to join in group activities with the Rabbinical students at the college. And no matter what the purpose of the gathering was, there would be Havruta learning. This is a reading a passage of scripture which the students then discuss one-on-one. This process begins even before the professor (or Rebbe) teaches a class. I love the idea of it, because it empowers the students to ask their own questions and put forward their own ideas. In fact, there is no excuse. Everyone has to participate and contribute to the discussion. I remember one occasion when a couple of students were disagreeing. The issue? What were the motives of the captain of the ship that took Jonah away from Ninevah. You might think, like me, that this is a pretty minor detail in the scheme of things. But these two students argued their points at length and with passion. When I observed that they were getting a little heated, they laughed. This had been an incredibly polite exchange by comparison with the noise you would hear coming from a typical session of Havruta in the Yeshiva … Hebrew school. And so, I can easily imagine some lively Havruta learning going on over the book of Ruth, especially in relation to some of the other books of the Hebrew Bible. Many scholars believe that Ruth was written to counter the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. These longer books tell of the remnant of Israel returning to Jerusalem following their 100 year exile in Babylon. The trauma of the exile and separation has made them determined to re-establish their home and their identity. They set up boundaries. Marriage to “foreign” women is expressly forbidden and existing foreign wives and *their* children are to be expelled and sent away. Ruth may have been written to counter these double-down measures, but it certainly isn’t another book of proclamations about what is unacceptable to God. Nor is it a book of counter arguments that lift up the values of inter-marriage and diversity. Instead we simply hear the story of these two migrant widows, who journey together through wilderness country and who depend on the compassion of Boaz of Bethlehem. This story poses a challenge to a worldview that the people of Israel are threatened by the people of the neighboring lands. It reminds the Israelites that their survival as a tribe has depended upon their giving hospitality to and receiving hospitality from strangers. Arguments and disagreements do not usually break into our worldviews. But stories might. Over the past few weeks, here at Wollaston Congregational Church, some of our members have been gathering for a “Circle Process” after worship. This is the method we have chosen to discuss the way we hold our relationship with our nation together with our relationship with God. We tell stories from our own lives, because storytelling reaches people on many levels – emotional, spiritual, physical and intellectual. We have tried to move our conversation away from one opinion versus another, and toward a setting in which one person’s story can sit side by side with another’s. We try to practice active listening to one another, because our stories will not be effective unless they are listened to. Why listen to stories? Why should we listen to someone who has a different perspective on the flag, or on immigration, or on marriage, or on race and diversity, from ourselves? It is because most of us here will never have the experience of those two destitute women migrating from one land to another. Most of us here will never know what it means to look visibly like an enemy in the only place that can offer security. Most of us here, will never know what it means to survive by picking left over grain from a field that has already been harvested. Does the story of Ruth break into your worldview? Do the stories of your fellow church members challenge what you thought was right and true? Over these past weeks, I have had the opportunity to listen to some stories. They have been stories from some of you in our Circle time. They have been stories from people I have met in my daily life. And they have been stories that are woven through the daily news cycle. How do these stories challenge my worldview? I cannot know what it is like to be a visibly gay or transgender person and experience verbal and even physical abuse when I go out and about. But I can listen to your story. I cannot know what it is like to be a member of a minority religion, such as Judaism, and live through the shooting at Tree of Life synagogue and a see graffiti, in the shape of swastikas, daubed onto my house of worship just this past week. But I can listen to your story. I cannot know what it is like to immigrate, as a child, from a different culture and to be teased and provoked in school because I do not understand the language and seem to be stupid. But I can listen to your story. I cannot know what it is like to fear for my children on a daily basis, because people see them as suspicious and threatening simply because of the color of their skin. But I can listen to your story. I cannot know what it is like to travel through hostile lands, away from violence and fear and toward a hope that may never be realized. But I can listen to your story. And in listening I can be changed. Yes, the story of Ruth and Naomi stands alone. It is a heart-warming tale that explains the lineage of King David and our savior Jesus. And yet it is more … a tale that turns upside down expectations of where greatness will be found. It is a tale that upends a worldview of xenophobia, self-protection and boundaries … Many all God’s people say, Amen
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