Ruth leaves everything she knows and loves to support her mother-in-law, Naomi.
Ruth leaves everything she knows and loves to support her mother-in-law, Naomi.
Advent Day 12, The Faithful Companion.
Ruth shows steadfast love and faithfulness to Naomi.
She has a faithful companion.
Her words and deeds mark her.
As Boers of Bethlehem tells her as a worthy woman, this is high praise.
But Ruth isn't looking for it.
She is faithful because it is right and good to be faithful.
And she loves because it is right and good to love.
Faithfulness and kindness are who she is.
Ruth 1:16-18 tells us, but Ruth said, do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you.
For where you go, I will go.
And where you lodge, I will lodge.
Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die.
And there I will be buried.
May the Lord do so to me and more or so if anything but death parts me from you.
And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said, no more.
These are the first words that we hear Ruth speak.
How do they reveal her character?
Ruth is resolute.
She will be Naomi's faithful companion in the midst of sorrow and suffering.
Naomi has lost everything she believes makes her Naomi.
She loses her home twice over once in Bethlehem and now in Moab, her husband and sons die.
Ruth also loses loved ones, one not by choice.
Her husband, one of Naomi's sons, dies.
But she chooses and accepts her other losses.
She could return to her parents and her sister.
She could remain in Moab, her homeland, and likely remarry.
She could continue worshiping the gods that she knows.
She doesn't.
What does Ruth choose instead?
Two women on the road to Bethlehem, in both widows, both bereft of loved ones, most likely covered in dust and most definitely tired and hungry and oh so heart sore.
They are the vulnerable of the vulnerable.
What will they eat?
Where will they stay?
Who will welcome them?
When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them.
And the woman said, is this Naomi?
She said to them, do not call me Naomi.
Call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
I went away full and the Lord has brought me back empty.
Why call me Naomi when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?
Ruth 1:19-21.
Why does Naomi change her name?
What does that tell you about her?
How do the women of Bethlehem respond to Naomi?
How is their response different from Ruth's?
The pain of loss remakes Naomi.
She says to call her bitter.
Naomi staggers beneath her load.
But Ruth remains a faithful companion and her steadfast love and kindness create a shelter as fragile as it is for the two of them.
I will not leave you.
Ruth's steadfast love for Naomi astounds the people of Israel.
Her name and reputation spread throughout Bethlehem, from the reapers and cleaners to the judges and landowners.
Her steadiness of purpose and willingness to live by the Israelites' laws and customs endears her to the people.
Instead of seeing an enemy, the Moabites are some of Israel's strongest enemies.
They see a loyal daughter.
Ruth too tells us.
Then Ruth fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to Boaz, why have I found favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me since I am a foreigner?
Then she said, I have found favor in your eyes, my Lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.
Boaz recognizes Ruth's character.
What stands out to you about her reply?
What virtues are evident in her speech?
If you could be remembered as having a particular virtue, which one would it be and why?
Ruth is a faithful companion in sorrow and suffering.
Ruth remains a faithful companion in joy and celebration too.
She doesn't go off with her new husband, Boaz, into a romantic sunset.
Ruth becomes a pillar of Israel's community.
When Ruth and Boaz have a son, they bring him to Naomi.
And Naomi, who returned empty-handed to Bethlehem, now sits satisfied.
Ruth, her daughter-in-law, of more valued than seven sons, has played a part in restoring Naomi to life and nourishing Naomi in her old age.
We too have a faithful companion.
His name is Jesus.
Unlike Ruth, who eventually passed away, Jesus will never die.
Jesus is faithful and steadfast in love.
Wherever we go, whatever we see, feel, or endure.
Jesus is with us in our sorrows and in our joys.
Jesus is our faithful companion.
Jesus reveals the sacrificial love and faithfulness from birth.
He willingly leaves everything he knows to be with humans.
He veils himself with flesh.
He accepts and abides by our human limitations.
The rest of his earthly life showcases the same love and steadfastness, both in sorrow and in celebration.
Jesus attends weddings and dinners.
He teaches, often in places that are standing room only.
Jesus seems to be a popular man who likely laughed at dad jokes about carp and tree and fishing.
Then there are occasions of sorrow and suffering.
Peter concerned for his mother-in-law.
Jesus heals her.
Mary and Martha weeping over their brother Lazarus.
Jesus raises him from the dead.
The disciples on the road to Emmaus unaware that Jesus has risen from the dead.
And Jesus walks and talks with them.
Reflect on what you know about Jesus.
How is he a faithful companion in both joy and sorrow?
How is Jesus your faithful companion this advent and Christmas season?
Revisit the virtue you would like to be known for.
Why do you want to grow in that virtue?
What habits and routines could help you to nurture that virtue?
Let's pray together.
Heavenly Father, thank you for Jesus, our faithful companion.
Whether we grieve or are glad, you are with us.
Thank you for Jesus who left His throne to dwell with us, to be God with us.
Thank you for His example.
He wept and He celebrated.
Teach us to be constant companions in both seasons of life.
Thank you for your faithfulness and your steadfast love.
Amen.