Sermon for 23 Pentecost Yr B, 12/11/2006
Based on Ruth 3:1-5 & 4:13-17
By Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson
Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, &
Chaplain of The Good Samaritan Society’s
South Ridge Village, Medicine Hat, Alberta
“Loyalty, Lovingkindness, Mercy, and Redemption”
Today’s first lesson from Ruth reminds me a bit of the song in the movie Fiddler on the Roof, “matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match.” Although our lesson today is only part of the bigger story of Naomi and Ruth; nonetheless we still have enough of the story to see that Naomi, the mother-in-law of Ruth plays the role of matchmaker and plans out the marriage of Ruth. She justifies her actions by saying “My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you.” In reality, she is also concerned about her own security as a widow, living in a man’s world. In the patriarchal society of biblical times, women were very dependent upon men for their survival. And so, Naomi, fearing her future and the future of Ruth comes up with a plan to marry Ruth off. Naomi’s plan for Ruth to visit Boaz at night on the threshing floor, after he had finished eating and drinking; and Ruth, smelling of perfume and dressed to the nines, was at best an ambiguous plan, and, at worst, by today’s standards, one that was sexually risky.
In order to better understand and appreciate this story, two things shall be helpful for us. Firstly, we shall take a look at the biblical concept of levirate marriage. Secondly, I believe there are four key themes woven intricately into the story, namely: loyalty, lovingkindness, mercy and redemption.
Firstly, then, levirate marriage. According to Deuteronomy 25:5-10, it was a brother’s duty to marry his deceased brother’s wife. He and his deceased brother’s widow were to give birth to a first-born son. This son would be named after the deceased husband to perpetuate his name and family line. This son would also receive the deceased husband’s inheritance. Also, in terms of property law, according to Leviticus 25:25, we read: “If anyone of your kin falls into difficulty and sells a piece of property, then the next of kin shall come and redeem what the relative has sold.” These laws of levirate marriage thus were determined by the men of Israelite society, although the women were beneficiaries of such laws, but only insofar as they had some kind of family connection with male relatives. Women without any male family members to ensure their security, were most likely destined to live in poverty. Women without any children were also destined to live without honour in the community, for childbearing was regarded as a blessing. Such seems to be the situation of Naomi and Ruth. Their future security was virtually non-existent without some male family relative. At that time, there was no public social safety net. Rather, offspring ensured one’s security and honour in old age, as it does even to this day in several poor nations.
This brings us to our second point, the four key themes of the story. Nowhere in this story are we told that Naomi’s male relatives were brothers of her deceased husband. The two most eligible next of kin males were Boaz and someone else who is not even named in the story. Thus, in my understanding of the story, there is a great deal of loyalty, lovingkindness, mercy and redemption displayed on the part of Boaz. Actually, he goes above and beyond the requirements of levirate marriage law when he agrees to marry Ruth—since he was not a brother of Naomi’s or Ruth’s deceased husbands, hence there was no legal obligation. Furthermore, his loyalty, lovingkindness, and mercy are shown because he agrees to marry Ruth, a non-Jew, a Gentile, which, in the eyes of some, may have been a very risky thing; for some believed that God did not look kindly upon or bless Israelites who married Gentiles.
As the story unfolds, we also learn of the loyalty, lovingkindness, mercy and redemption of Ruth. Ruth, throughout the story remains tenaciously loyal to her mother-in-law Naomi. She had left her homeland willingly; she had traveled back to Judah with Naomi. She also became a follower of and believer in the LORD God. She had cared for and supported Naomi in every way possible. Her words spoken to Naomi in response to the latter’s marriage plan was: “All that you tell me I will do.” All of these things underscore the loyalty, lovingkindness, and mercy of Ruth. This reminds me of another story of loyalty, lovingkindness, mercy and redemption.
Walking Across Egypt is about a widow, Mattie Rigsby (played by Ellen Burstyn), who, moved by her pastor’s message to care for “the least of these,” reaches out to a sixteen-year-old boy, Wesley Benfield (played by Jonathan Taylor Thomas), whose parents abandoned him as a baby and who is serving time in a correctional center for stealing a car.
After Mattie visits Wesley at the correctional center on a couple of occasions, he breaks out and goes to her house. Thinking he is on leave, she allows him to stay with her for a short period. Ultimately, he is apprehended and returned to the center. Mattie’s compassion grows for the orphan, though Mattie’s adult children, Robert and Elaine, are disgruntled with her involvement with Wesley. They adamantly try to dissuade Mattie from caring for him.
Elaine argues, “He’s an escaped convict. You could be charged with aiding and abetting a criminal.”
Mattie snaps back, “He’s not a criminal, Elaine.”
Robert disagrees. “He’s a thief, Mama. He’s a juvenile delinquent.” Mattie says, “Robert, nobody ever loved him.”
Robert replies, “If they did, he probably stole their car.”
When Mattie begins to say, “The Bible says--, “Elaine interjects, “We know what the Bible says. The Bible is full of wonderful stories, Mama. It is a monument to humanity, but that’s all it is—it’s just a storybook.”
“The good Lord says we must help the least of these our brothers and sisters,” Mattie declares. “That boy is one of the least of these.”
“I’ll say!” Robert growls.
“You have already done plenty for him. You have done more than most would. Doesn’t the Bible say when to stop?” Elaine asks.
Mattie makes an emphatic reply: “No!”1
In our story of Ruth and Boaz, we discover that both go above and beyond their required duty under the law to act out of loyalty, lovingkindness and mercy. Does this story and Mattie in Walking Across Egypt inspire us to do the same? Most importantly, doesn’t the life and perfect example of Jesus inspire us also to act out of loyalty, lovingkindness and mercy? Such acts can and do make a big difference.
As we learn in our passage today, such acts of loyalty, lovingkindness and mercy eventually, with the help and blessing of God, lead to redemption. Boaz becomes the redeemer, in Hebrew the go’el, the next of kin with the right to redeem. Boaz is able to redeem, to buy back, the property of Naomi’s deceased husband Elimelech. This and the marriage of Boaz and Ruth ensure the future security of Naomi and Ruth. Moreover, the additional blessing from the LORD of a son for Ruth and Boaz and a grandson for Naomi ensure them both that they shall be granted an honourable place in their community. This is clear as the women of the neighbourhood bless Naomi and praise Ruth the foreigner as “your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons.” In the eyes of these women, one woman, a Gentile, Ruth has more value than seven sons for Naomi. Quite a compliment in the context of the male-dominated culture of that day. It is interesting too that neither Boaz, nor Ruth, nor Naomi name the newborn son. Rather, the women of the community name him Obed.
Then the narrator of the story tells us that Obed “became the father of Jesse, the father of David.” So David, the ideal king of the Israelites, has a great grandmother who was a Gentile. Interestingly enough the Messiah, Jesus, came from the house and line of David, so he too has a Gentile ancestor, Ruth.
Another story of redemption: A man risked his life by swimming through the treacherous rip-tide to save a youngster being swept out to sea. After the child recovered from the harrowing experience, he said to the man, “Thank you for saving my life.”
The man looked into the boy’s eyes and said, “That’s okay, kid. Just make sure your life was worth saving.”2
Unlike this man, Jesus was and is destined to be The Go’el of all go’els, The Redeemer of all redeemers. He is our next of kin Go’el/Redeemer. He has promised to redeem all peoples, all nations. According to Jesus, every single life is worth saving. However, his redemption, his act of purchasing was much more profound than any other act of redemption. It is thanks to his suffering and death on a cross that we were purchased with his life-blood; that we were redeemed from the powers of sin, death and evil and given the forgiveness of sin and promise of eternal life. This inheritance and redemption is ours as a free gift of grace through our baptism into Christ. So it is that we discover God, through Jesus our Go’el/Redeemer, is the God of all people—including us, and a host of others who are still waiting for this Good News. Amen.
1 Craig Brian Larson & Lori Quicke, editors, More Movie-Based Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan & Christianity Today International, 2004), pp. 44-45.
2 Brian Cavanaugh, More Sower’s Seeds: Second Planting (New York & Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1992), pp. 76-77.
