Ruth

There's an old story about a man who was doing his first parachute jump.

He was understandably very nervous and he memorised very carefully the instructions that he had been given.

Number one, when told to jump, jump.

Don't hang around because otherwise you get cold feet and you'll never do it.

Number two, count to ten and then pull your ripcord.

Number three, in the unlikely event of the parachute not opening, then pull your emergency ripcord.

And lastly, number four, when you eventually reach the ground, just stay where you are.

Don't try and make your way back to base.

We will know where you are.

A truck will come and collect you.

Well, he memorised the instructions and sure enough, when told to jump, he jumped.

Number two, he counted to ten and pulled his ripcord.

No parachute.

Number three, the unlikely event had happened, so he pulled his backup ripcord.

Again, no parachute.

He thought to himself for a few moments and then said out loud, great, and I suppose the

truck won't be there at the bottom when I reach the ground either.

Do you ever have that experience where life is one crisis after another, after another, after

another?

Just when you think life can't get any worse, it gets worse.

If that's ever been your experience, this story of Naomi and Ruth and the others involved

in that story, this story is for you.

One crisis after another, after another, after another.

To kind of really kind of get our heads around that, we need to think of what that book as

a whole is like.

It's not a long book, but one of the striking literary features of the whole of Ruth is its

brevity.

There's hardly any reflective discourse.

There are 85 verses in total.

55 of those 85 verses are dialogue between characters, such that when you read the whole

of the book of Ruth through from start to finish, at times it almost feels like reading the script

of a play.

But here in chapter 1, we have that very brief, blunt introduction which sets the scene before

we get to the dialogue.

Let me read to you those first five verses again.

Because as we read these first five verses, we see that it plunges straight into the crisis.

The writer wastes no time whatsoever in getting straight to the painful facts.

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land.

So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while

in the country of Moab.

The man's name was Elimelech.

His wife's name was Naomi.

And the names of his two sons were Malon and Kilion.

They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah.

And they went to Moab and lived there.

Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died.

And she was left with two sons.

They married Moabite women, one named Orpha and the other Ruth.

After they had lived there about ten years, both Malon and Kilion also died.

And Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

It's so blunt.

It's brutal.

There's no emotion.

Just cold facts laid out right from the get-go.

Five verses sum up a ten-year nightmare.

Let's just unpack some of that list of tragedy in a little bit more detail.

We're told firstly that it was in the days of the judges.

We're talking somewhere roughly about 1,100 years or so before the birth of Jesus.

That period known as the judges was a time in the life of Israel as a time of chaos.

There was no leadership by way of a monarch.

There's a certain irony that the word Elimelech means in Hebrew, my God is king.

So we've got that backdrop that there was chaos going on anyway all over.

But we throw into the mix famine.

Famine that is so bad that they are driven from their land.

And where do they go?

Moab.

A land that was known, that was renowned for its immorality.

But they're driven there by desperation.

And then we're not given any reason why we're just told that Elimelech died.

So Naomi is left stranded in an extremely vulnerable position.

There's no welfare state there to support her.

She's just got her two sons.

And they grow up and they marry Moabite women.

Something that would have been looked down upon within their own Jewish culture.

But then we're told that both the sons die.

Simple as that.

We're not given any reason.

We're not told how they die.

We're just told that they die.

And so little wonder that Naomi says towards the end of the chapter,

don't call me Naomi.

Call me Mara.

Which means bitterness.

But the fascinating thing about this particular journey that she then makes from Moab to Bethlehem,

which ends the first chapter of the book of Ruth,

is the turning that it takes.

Now we don't have time to unpack the whole story this morning.

So let's just stick with chapter one.

But I want to suggest that there's something particularly significant about what chapter one does.

You see, it begins with all of that tragedy and pain and loss.

And yet it begins with a sense of hope just around the corner.

We don't know yet exactly what that will be.

We don't know how it's going to unfold.

We read the whole story and we see it does unfold.

But the point is, is in that one chapter,

we have a story that begins with a famine

and yet finishes with a harvest.

In verse 22, the last verse of chapter one,

it says that,

The other interesting thing about Bethlehem is in Hebrew,

it literally means house of bread.

Every story, every story,

every story directly or indirectly in Scripture points to Jesus.

And so we have this setting of the scene over a thousand years before his birth,

where they're returning to the place of Bethlehem,

the house of bread.

Just a sense that there might be this thing called hope just around the corner.

Whenever we're immersed with circumstances that are tragic,

or full of crisis or pain,

the danger can be that our attention focuses in entirely on those circumstances.

Understandably,

Naomi feels full of bitterness plus nothing,

as those are the circumstances that surround her.

But God bids us to see beyond the immediacy of those circumstances

and to dare to lay hold of a hope,

ultimately as in Jesus.

Father Greg Boyle is a Catholic priest in America.

He's the founder and director of an organisation called Homeboy Industries,

based in LA.

The organisation gives rehab to former gang members.

And it's grown and grown and grown over the years,

to the extent that now every year,

the organisation engages with some 10,000 men and women,

getting them off the streets,

getting them out of crime,

breaking that cycle of violence,

crime and prison.

But Greg Boyle,

who set this whole thing up,

tells a story

about how he was at a funeral

and

the minister leading the funeral

shared a really,

really helpful

and fascinating

image of hope.

Drawing attention

to the difference

between

a full stop

and a comma.

He says that

often

in

our lives,

all we see is a full stop.

Somebody has died,

full stop.

End of.

I'm in terrible pain,

full stop.

I feel this situation

is never going to get any better,

full stop.

See,

a full stop

denotes an end.

There's nothing left to be said.

It stops there.

End of story.

And when we look at tragedy

and pain

and death,

that can be the way

in which we see it

if we look

only at the circumstances.

He goes on to say

that

when we see things

through the lens

of the risen Jesus,

that full stop

is changed

from being a full stop

to being a comma.

You see,

a comma

doesn't delete

everything that's gone before it,

but rather than it being an end,

it's a pause.

Yes,

death has occurred,

but

we draw breath

because we know

that that's not

the end of the story.

Resurrection

is on the horizon.

And this

was the situation

for Naomi.

Now,

the end of us,

we approach the end

of chapter one

of the book of Ruth.

We're not told

the detail,

but rather than

there being that

full stop

that just says

the death,

the grief,

the pain,

the famine,

the hardship,

the vulnerability,

that that's the end

of the story.

Rather,

it opens it up.

It says,

carry on,

there's more to say.

It reminds us

that no matter

how

we may be tempted

to focus in

on our circumstances

that say

there's a full stop,

there's nothing more

to be said here.

Resurrection

hope

calls us

to swap out

that full stop

and put a comma

in its place.

Yeah,

I've messed up

comma,

but things can change

and that changes now

and I'm going to

make a better job

things.

I feel

absolutely

racked with pain.

It's never going

to get any better

physically,

emotionally,

mentally.

Put a comma

in there.

We draw breath.

But there is

healing and wholeness

ahead.

we may say

to ourselves,

I've hit

rock bottom,

full stop.

But when you put

a comma in there,

you say,

I've hit

rock bottom,

but I recognise

that there is

such a thing

as a bottom

and when you

hit it,

then you can

turn upwards.

See,

there's that old

saying,

never judge a book

by its cover.

But we can also

say the same

thing

about a chapter.

You see,

if we only

took the

circumstances

of Ruth

Ruth 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

and put a full

stop there,

we would see

a story that

ends with pain

and bitterness.

But that's

not what happens.

what we

actually have

is a comma

of hope

put there.

A drawing

of breath,

a pause,

which says,

keep going,

there's more

to happen here,

there's more

to come.

Things actually

can and will

and do

get better.

And as that

story unfolds,

we see

reconciliation,

hope,

redemption

and a new

beginning.

A story

which eventually

sees

how

Ruth becomes

the great

grandmother

of King

David

and we're

pointed towards

that ultimate

hope

of Jesus.

Yeah,

there's an old

saying,

isn't there,

that we tend

to

gaze

at our

problems

and take

the odd

glimpse

or glance

at God.

God.

What this

story reminds

us that we

need to do

is swap

those things

around.

To gaze

upon God.

Glimpse at

our circumstances,

our problems,

God,

who is the

one who

replaces the

full stop

with the

comma,

who is the

one who

takes that

first chapter,

that early

chapter,

but turns it

towards a

story of

hope.

Let's pray

together.

Lord God,

we thank

you that

you transformed

Naomi and

Ruth's lives,

meeting them

in their

brokenness,

emptiness,

and bitterness,

and leading

them to

hope and

new beginnings.

Lord,

forgive us

for those

times when

we allow

our gaze

to become

fixed upon

our

circumstances.

Help us

instead to

turn our

gaze upon

you.

We take

a few

moments now

as we lay

our lives

before God.

Thinking of

those situations

where perhaps

we may be

tempted to

see a

full stop.

We bring

those situations,

those circumstances

before him.

We ask him

to replace

that full stop

with a

comma.

Lord,

help us

to draw

breath,

to pause,

to wait

upon you.

Lord,

whatever chapter

of our lives

we may be

in right now,

we give you

our story

and we

ask

that we

may trust

you

with the

rest of

that story.

As we

live that

story out,

may we do

so with you

at the

centre of

our lives,

trusting you,

seeking you,

searching you,

knowing you.

now and in

the days to

come.

We thank

you.

In Jesus'

name.

Amen.