Pentecost 23

The Reverend Martha Frances

Year B, Pentecost 23, Proper 27

8 November 2009

Text:  Ruth 3: 1-5, 4: 13-17; Mark 12: 38-44

Other Readings: Psalm 127; Hebrews 9: 24-28 

      This morning we encounter 3 widows, two in the story of Ruth, & the other as observed by Jesus at the door of the Jerusalem temple.  Widows did not have right of inheritance, so they were dependent on family or community for their very survival.  Jews were expected to provide for the least, the last, & the lost, & widows & orphans represented some of those must vulnerable in society.

      We know little about the widow whom Jesus watches make her contribution to the temple except that she is a widow, which tells his listeners that she is needy.  His emphasis is upon her willingness to give sacrificially to the glory of God's house & work in comparison to those in charge in society who ostentatiously garner honor & wealth & give out of their plenty.  Although scribes are often mentioned along with Pharisees & other temple leaders who try to entrap Jesus with their questions, Jesus doesn't condemn all scribes.  A couple of chapters back, he affirms one who rightly recognizes that love of God & love of neighbor sum up all the other Jewish laws.  Here, however, he lays bare the motives of those who are all about putting themselves & their positions first. 

      As you know, we at Hope are dealing with a deficit in our income for 2009, & though many in our congregation are struggling with their own financial woes in this economy, others are able to return to God through giving to Hope more generously than you had intended to do.  We're all called to consider faithfully how much our parish & its ministries mean to us, musing perhaps on what it would be like were Hope not here.  

      I'm put in mind of another widow at a former parish, a woman who is aunt to one of our parishioners here at Hope.  The parish budget was already tight when a storm revealed some roof leaks which couldn't be patched adequately, so we were asked to stretch to give to a roof fund for the re-roofing.  I'll never forget what she shared with me.  She said, "I didn't see how I could give more of my income, but then I decided if I gave up my weekly beauty shop appointment, I could contribute that money to the roof fund."  Now, perhaps only the women of the parish can fully appreciate how much a sacrifice was my friend's level of giving!  This fall we've been talking about the fulfilling of covenant commitments, & it is my prayer that each of us take our Baptismal Covenant which we renewed last Sunday seriously for the ongoing health & ministry of Hope.

      The other 2 widows who appear in today's readings are 2 of my favorites:  Naomi & Ruth.  We're probably familiar with their story, but we may not be fully aware of what makes it so compelling.  When Naomi tries to send Ruth back to Moab, she is aware that a Moabite woman will be accepted in Israel about as well as an undocumented worker is in our country today.  While Naomi may be flattered that Ruth wants to make her home with her mother-in-law, she also recognizes the difficulties 2 widows will have when she returns home accompanied by a foreigner.  Of course, in Ruth's case, she may have had no family to go back to in Moab, so her decision to accompany Naomi may have been for survival as much as for affection.  Would that this story were limited to the ancient past.  However, I have had several women come to me recently with similar stories of dislocation & desperation.  The unemployment figures released this week assure us that we as a faith community will be called upon to provide for widows & orphans & other vulnerable persons in our society at an even greater level in the near future. 

      Naomi & Ruth settle back in Israel, & Naomi is resourceful in sending Ruth into her cousin Boaz's fields to garner the leavings of the barley harvest.  However, harvest time is nearly over, so Naomi comes up with a longer-term plan for her own survival as well as Ruth's.  The first section we have recorded in today's reading is filled with euphemisms, sort of like the "G" version of an "R"-rated movie, but early hearers would pick up the societal & sexual innuendos of Naomi's plan.  Boaz, as the well-to-do male relative, has an obligation to marry the eligible widow of his deceased kinsman, yet his attention has flagged, perhaps because Ruth is a Moabitess.  Therefore, Naomi's scheme encourages him to fulfill the familial obligation to care for Ruth &, incidentally, for Naomi herself. 

      The women's plan is successful, & Boaz indeed marries Ruth.  At this point, even Naomi's well-laid plans need some heavenly intervention, & our account tells us that God made Ruth conceive & bear a son.  The women of Bethlehem act as a Greek chorus of sorts, commenting on God's action in response to the value in which male children are held in the community.  Even though the baby Obed is born to Ruth, the women celebrate God's gift of an heir to Naomi, the Jewess, so the barrenness of the loss of her husband & sons has been transformed with the birth of Obed.  In fact, the imagery of fullness & fecundity is emphasized in that Naomi becomes his wet-nurse.  Ruth drops out of the picture, & it is the townswomen who name him Obed.  Clearly, part of the importance of this story is that Obed becomes the father of Jesse who becomes the father of David, the greatest King of Israel & an ancestor of Jesus.  Ruth therefore joins Tamar & Rahab as the women—all of questionable reputation—who are mentioned in Jesus' genealogy.

      Scholars differ on the time of this story, but most presume it was told in the time of Ezra & Nehemiah, at least partly as a corrective to the super-nationalism which led to their forbidding mixed marriages, marriages between Israelites & pagan citizens of neighboring areas.  In fact, Ezra & Nehemiah wanted to cast such foreigners out of the covenant community.  It seems, however, that foreigners who join themselves to God's interaction with humanity are an essential part of God's plan for Israel's redemption. 

      When former Presiding Bishop Edmund Browning was consecrated, he declared that, in the Episcopal Church, there would be no outcasts.  Whether in the spiritual or political realm, God's acceptance of people is much broader than many people those in charge in a society are often comfortable with.  As the rhetoric builds surrounding the religion & ethnicity of the psychiatrist who shot so many people in the massacre at Ft. Hood heats up, may we be voices of reason & tolerance in not vilifying all Muslims for what this one man has done.  The horrors of last week's mass murder in Ft. Hood as well as the shooting spree in Orlando, Florida, have stunned all of us, & all involved need our prayers & support.  May we stand firm in recognition of God's love for all & not let these tragedies further splinter our society. 

      Our readings today show us God's blessings upon 3 widows who contribute to the good of the larger community & who help us visualize God's gifts showered upon us, God's often doing for us more than we can ask or imagine.  Please join me in praying for Hope parish that we continue to find ways to return to God & God's work in the world resources necessary to fulfill our commitment to share God's Good News with all we encounter.