Loving God, you lift up those who are bowed down and fill those who were empty with good things.  Fill us this day with your Holy Spirit, that your Word might be both spoken and heard; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            It is at the end of the book of Ruth that we discover why this whole story involving Ruth and Boaz is important in the history of Israel.  Once Ruth and Boaz are married, they become the parents of a boy named Obed, who turns out to be the grandfather of King David.  Yet, it is not just the fortunes of Israel that are affected, but the fortunes of all those who long for a Saviour.  For all of the same people listed at the end of the book of Ruth are also ancestors of Jesus, the Messiah.

         It is the same kind of connection that can be felt while standing in the shepherd’s field near Bethlehem and looking out over the fields that belonged to Boaz, where Ruth would have been gleaning so long ago.  In the story of God’s salvation, it is all connected.

         At the same time though, Ruth is not just a story involving ancient customs and antiquated notions of women as property.  Rather, it is a story that reveals the God who brings new life out of emptiness. Having lost her husband and both sons, it was looking pretty unlikely to Naomi that there would be anybody to carry on her husband’s family name and inheritance.  However, through Ruth’s loyalty and faithfulness and Boaz’s generosity, Obed becomes the descendant who will allow the family name to continue.

         You may also have noticed today that somebody named Perez is mentioned a couple of times, along with Judah and Tamar.  While the whole story surrounding them is rather complicated (Gen. 38), they are mentioned because Judah’s two eldest sons had also died without having children, and Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, was left behind.  In that story, Perez becomes the child who will carry on the family inheritance, and who also becomes an ancestor of both David and Jesus.

         While there are not necessarily all of the same rules today for ancestral lands being handed down, there are people who have the same concern about the continuance of their family name.  There is a certain kind of emptiness that is experienced by those who would love to have children or grandchildren but do not.  There is a sense that something is missing when little ones are no longer coming into the family.  Yet, our God is still the one who brings new life out of emptiness.

         In some cases this might happen through the gift of children after many years of barrenness.  In other cases, it might happen through adoption, or even through becoming a mentor to other children in the family of God.  And sometimes – just maybe – that empty space inside is filled with the love of God, especially when it is experienced in the family of God.

         However, the absence of children is not the only kind of emptiness that is addressed by God’s love and mercy.  Grief and loss are also part of the story – the loss of loved ones, the loss of a home, and even moving away from family and friends.  There, too, sometimes God gives new love, as with Ruth and Boaz or Naomi and her new grandson.  At other times, though, God gives us simply the hope that is ours through Jesus Christ.

         Whether we find new love or not, we have the promise of resurrection, as well as participation in the communion of saints.  Our loved ones are not lost to us forever, but in the hands of God.  Those who trust in Jesus Christ will be reunited in the presence of God in the life to come.  This is both our hope and our faith.  This is why the apostle Paul tells believers not to grieve as those who have no hope (1 Th. 4:13).  We continue to have a connection with all those in the communion of saints through Jesus Christ.  Our God continues to be the one who brings new life out of emptiness.

         Sometimes, though, it seems that we forget this as we participate in the body of Christ.  Some become empty because they are worn out and have given all that they have as volunteers.  Others become empty because they see only what used to be, and don’t notice what God is doing now.  Others become focused only on what others are not doing, and this leads to resentment and a different kind of emptiness. And still others have become a canal rather than a reservoir (and I love this image from Bernard of Clairvaux!).  The canal is like a flow-through for the Holy Spirit. Everything that flows in flows out just as quickly.  However, the reservoir drinks deeply of the Holy Spirit, building up enough of a reserve that anything that is poured out comes out of its fulness, rather than leaving behind emptiness.

         The thing is that, just as we have seen in Ruth, our God responds to emptiness with abundant harvest and with overflowing blessings.  As the gospel of John reminds us, “From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (1:16).  And so, when participation in the body of Christ leaves us empty, there is something wrong.  It is time to step back, to drink deeply of the Spirit, and to allow God to fill us with love and mercy once again.  It is also time to do lots of praying, and to ask what God would have us do, rather than continuing to run on the hamster wheel.  For, as you probably know, the hamster wheel won’t take you very far.

         And so, drink deeply today of the God who restores life and who nourishes old age (Ruth 4:15).  Drink deeply of the God who acts with love and mercy, filling our emptiness with new life, and giving overflowing blessings. Drink deeply of the God who saves us, who forgives and restores us, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Pentecost 12 (NL summer)                                    Ruth 4:1-22

August 12, 2018

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2018 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved