Faithful Ruth, Mary, and God

He says: “It has been made quite clear to me all that you have done for Naomi, how you forsook family and land, and came to a land that you did not know. May God bless you.

Boaz points to her faithfulness another time, when, at the threshing floor Ruth asks him to marry her, not only for her sake and for Naomi, but also for the sake of her late husband.

Boaz is asked to “redeem” Mahlon's name, that is, to sire and raise up a son for his dead relative so that Mahlon will not be forgotten.

Is this, then, just another hero-story, with the brave and resourceful heroine Ruth?

Or is there still another hero in the tale?

One time I asked a group of catechetical students that question.

There was a long silence, until one of them said, “Well, if you're waiting this long for an answer, it must be either 'baptism' or 'God', so I'll pick 'God.'”

Good answer!

If the book of Ruth is about a heroine's faithfulness to her mother-in-law and the memory of her dead husband, it is one story among many.

But if it is a story of her faithfulness to God, or, even better, of God's faithfulness to her, then it is scripture.

God put before her many choices:

--will she worship the Lord God, or some other?

--will she stick with Naomi, or do the reasonable thing and go home when disaster strikes?

--will she work in the field belonging to Boaz, or some other?

--will she fall for just anyone who smiles at her, or will she follow Naomi's advice?

--will she challenge Boaz to honor the obligations of next-of-kin, or forget about it?

--will she marry Boaz, or someone else?

It turns out that each time she chooses rightly,

each time she does what honors God and also what cares for those for whom she has accepted responsibility.

And now we have hit upon the “so what?” of the story of Ruth for us.

Our circumstances are different, but our obligation to make choices is just the same.

Will we hold on in the tough times, or give up on God?

Will we persevere?

Will we choose the things which honor God, or things which honor ourselves?

Will we choose those things which care for those for whom we have responsibility, or pick only those things which comfort ourselves?

Will we make the faithful choices, or some other ones?

The question of being faithful is why the story of Ruth has been paired with Mary Magdalene today.

She, too, had choices.

--She could have turned away from Jesus when she first met him, but she didn't.

--She could have left after being healed of demonic possession, as did so many others, but she did not.

--She could have avoided the dangerous and terrible events of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, but she observed what was happening, and knew where Jesus was buried.

--She could have kept the news of the resurrection to herself, as an ultimate “my Jesus and me” moment, but she doesn't.

She becomes the “apostle to the apostles” as an ancient writer termed it; she carried Good News to the fearful and disbelieving disciples.

She went and announced to the disciples “I have seen the Lord,” and told them the things that he had said to her.

Would we imagine that she only said it once and never again?

Did she say,” Well, I did that, and now I have discharged my responsibilities; it is over and done.”

Since she had news and experience like that, we would do better to think that she would be using as many and as frequent opportunities as she could discover in order to share that story and what it means for her and for every other person as well.

Faithful choices were made by Ruth and by Mary Magdalene.

These two women are in front of us today as examples and encouragement.

Choices...all of us have to make choices.

Will they be faithful ones, or the ones into which we can slide without thinking?

Remember and rejoice that when Ruth and Mary Magdalene faced those dark and difficult days, the Lord God placed in front of them just what they needed, a little bit at a time.

Remember and rejoice that Ruth and Mary Magdalene chose well, and used those gifts and opportunities well.

Remember and rejoice that it is not just Ruth and Mary Magdalene whom we honor this day.

Remember and rejoice that the one who demonstrates faithfulness most fully and completely is the Lord God himself.

Remember and rejoice that God is the one who continues his good gifts to us day after day.

Remember and rejoice that these good gifts which constitute God's grace continue even in the dark and troubled times – times of grave illness, interpersonal conflict, natural disaster, or whatever else.

Remember and rejoice that God's grace is larger than any of those problems.

Remember and rejoice that the faithfulness of Ruth, the faithfulness of Mary Magdalene, and also our faithfulness is made possible because of the faithfulness of the Lord God.

His is a word that is good forever.

His is a word once given that is never forgotten.

His is a word that calls us to faithfulness because he is faithful to us.

Thanks be to God! Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.