Are You My People?; Ruth 1:1-18
Plymouth First United Methodist Church; October 31, 2021
Pastor Toni Carmer
There are some folks who just struggle, you know? Not through any fault of their own, necessarily, just hard times seem to follow hard times.
Naomi and her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah have lived together for some time, now. The older woman’s face bears the lines of the greatest heartache, but all have experienced difficult days. They aren’t related by blood, but they are family in every sense of the word; they are bound together by the love that each one of them has lost.
Years ago, Naomi and her husband had moved some distance from their home in Bethlehem of Judah. Though Bethlehem is known as “House of Bread” or “House of Food,” it was a time of famine and there was no bread, no food. Just as people will move today to a different place in order to find food or jobs or a better life for their families, so too, did Naomi and Elimelech move to a place where there was food and life.
Strangers in this land, they made their home. They had two sons, and long before his time should have been, Elimelech died, leaving Naomi to raise their sons on her own. Isolated from her own people and living in a time when women did not travel alone with children, Naomi remained in this foreign place, doing her best, as single mothers try to do even today.
In time, her boys grew into men, and they married young women who were native to this foreign land. There were blessings and challenges in the years that followed: there were more mouths to feed but there were more providers as well, so that was a good thing. But, neither of Naomi’s sons nor their wives were able to have children. And then, like their father before them, both Mahlon and Chilion died, and now three women were left alone in their grief.
Naomi heard that God had blessed the people of her homeland with food and determined that this was the time to return to her own people. She also knew that even though she had grown to love these young women who had married her sons, her neighbors, and relatives back in Bethlehem may not look fondly upon their arrival. Their reasons weren’t unfamiliar to us: we read in the Old Testament how Moabites were considered enemies of the people of Israel, even when Naomi and her husband had made the decision to move there. Returning to Bethlehem might require explanation from her as to why they would have gone there in the first place, and returning home with two Moabite women would only complicate the issue. Prejudice about race and ethnicity was deeply entrenched in the culture: if we were to spend time reading Ezra and Nehemiah before reading this story, we would see how they called for the expulsion of “foreign wives,” with the opinion that their society was being polluted by these unwelcome aliens. Naomi may very well have been wanting to protect these women from experiencing the discrimination they would surely face if they were to return with her to her homeland. And so, she decided to send her beloved daughters-in-law away—back to their own families, where perhaps they could begin their lives anew.
When Naomi told Orpah and Ruth they heard what she had to say, but they couldn’t imagine leaving her. Life wasn’t easy, but they had remained with one another, they had supported and encouraged one another. Leaving their native land wouldn’t be easy, but when they married these Jewish men, they had taken on their way of life. Their husband’s God had become their God. Their husband’s family had become their family. Naomi was their mother.
At first, both Orpah and Ruth said no—they wouldn’t leave her. But when she saw the determination in Naomi’s eyes, Orpah finally agreed. She packed her belongings and with a sad and grieving heart, embraced Naomi and her sister Ruth and said goodbye.
Naomi turned once more to Ruth: “It’s your turn, Ruth. Go home to your mother. I cannot provide for you the thing you most need. Go home and live among your people”.
That’s when Ruth replied, “Do not force me to leave you or to return from following you. Where you go, I will go. 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.”
Ruth was telling Naomi, “We’re family, and there is nothing on this earth that will change that: ever.”
They were family, and Ruth believed the bond to be so precious that she decided against the practical and the logical and the most secure decision, but in faith committed herself to remain at Naomi’s side. They would remain family, no matter what.
We can see that even in those days, the picture of a family varied in design. There are all different kinds of families.
My husband grew up in what may of us would define as a “traditional” home. He lived in a house with his birth parents and his older sister until they grew up, married and left home.
My family wasn’t traditional in that sense, but still is very common. My parents were divorced when I was young, my mom remarried, and I was raised by she and my stepdad. I have 2 younger half siblings who are the only siblings I will ever have, and our love for one another is as deep and as wide as it would be if we shared the blood of both parents. My stepdad was my dad and he treated me as his own. We were and we continue to be family.
There are adoptive families, families who include aging parents, adult children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters or friends, all who live in the same household. I know 2 divorced sisters who lived together all the time their daughters were growing up so they could share parenting and it worked very well for them. They were a non-traditional but strong family committed to one another.
Families don’t always live in the same house. When Scott and I moved to Colorado, the seminary community became our family. As we moved from place to place as itinerant pastors, each community where we lived became family. For the past 5 ½ years, you have been our family.
Many of you live miles away from your family of origin. Those people who we leave behind are very much in our hearts and may very well remain active parts of our lives. But when we settle elsewhere, it’s important for us to build a new family.
Some of us live alone and even if we don’t, being alone at times is a good thing. But not being all alone, all the time. Remember what God said to Adam: “it’s not good for you to be alone.” That’s when God created Eve. Adam needed Eve.
Realistically speaking, we don’t all have biologically related family around us, but it’s important to know there are people around who care enough to be our family.
Why is family important? I can think of a variety of reasons: raising children, supporting one another, protecting one another, sharing strengths and responsibilities, encouragement, comfort, caring for one another when you’re sick….
As I look through scripture there are many references in the Old Testament related to family—primarily they’re dealing with members of the various tribes/families. In the New Testament, the references are more personal. God is addressed as Father, Jesus as Son. We are addressed as brothers and sisters: individual family members with God as our heavenly parent.
We join the family in our baptisms. That’s when we take on the name of Christian. In baptism, we proclaim for ourselves, or we make commitments on our children’s behalf until they’re able to speak for themselves, that we recognize God’s power and presence in our lives and the saving grace of Jesus. In baptism we are adopted into Christ’s family.
If you wonder why we call it adoption, let me explain: In Jesus’ day, shepherds would watch over a flock of sheep to care for them and to protect them from predators. But sometimes, a momma sheep would die, leaving a dependent lamb. That would sometimes happen in reverse, as well: a mama sheep might lose her lamb. There would be orphaned lambs and lamb-less moms, but a mother sheep would not recognize and feed just anybody’s baby, even if it didn’t have a mom. But shepherds learned that a momma lamb would receive an orphan if the blood of her dead infant was smeared on the surviving one. She would inhale the scent of her lamb’s blood and would adopt this new one as her own.
In the same way, Christ’s blood was shed for us, and because of his sacrifice we are adopted and received as God’s own. We’re “washed in the blood of the lamb of God” and gathered as God’s children.
We’re family. We are brothers and sisters together. We are a part of a community. There are all kinds of ways in which work and relate and care for one another—people who we know and people who we don’t know. I’m grateful for our connections with other churches and the work we are able to accomplish for the sake of Christ in our world. We’re always stronger, better, when we share the work, share our resources, working side-by-side. Through the last however many years we’ve shared with other churches in this community to provide youth ministries through ASK: Adam Street Kids. We’re keeping open to ways we can share in ministry together with Trinity, with the Fall Bible School being our most recent work together, which focused on children. Last week’s work team to Henderson Settlement included a member of Trinity, and they’re always invited to be a part of our work teams when they’re scheduled. And I’m so grateful for the relationship we’re building with our brothers and sisters here at the United Church of Christ. They’ll join us in the Clothesline project. We’ll share our Longest Night Service and Christmas Eve services this year. I know our churches will continue to work together as brothers and sisters in Christ as we nurture our relationship together.
They are our people—our brothers and sisters.
As I think about those with whom we ARE connected, I know there are others around us who don’t have a faith community. I was looking at demographics in Plymouth and Marshall County this past week, and about 60% of the population around us isn’t connected to a church. Those figures are from 2017, and I’m guessing that that number is increased today, related to the pandemic. Some of that 60% may have connections to people/to community through service organizations or through the schools or the work they do—and yet there are others who are doing life on their own. Some have made that choice and don’t desire anything different, and yet there are others who are alone, who are lonely, and who are ready to learn what it could be like to be a part of a family. To be a part of Christ’s Body. They only need an invitation.
So, keep your eyes open. Don’t hesitate to offer that invitation. There is room in this sanctuary for others to come join us, and I know there is room in our hearts, as well.
May we welcome others into relationship…into the family.
Amen.
