The following is a devotional I recorded for KCNI AM1280 as part of a ministry of the ministerial association. I tried to carry over some formatting throughout the week.
Sometimes life goes off track, either for ourselves or for those we care about. In such times of turmoil, emptiness, and despair, the Book of Ruth offers us some strings of hope on which to cling.
Good morning. I’m Matt Fowler, the pastor of Broken Bow United Methodist Church. This week we’re exploring the Old Testament’s story of Ruth, today, focusing on the second chapter.
Naomi has returned to Bethlehem from the land of Moab with her daughter-in-law, Ruth. They’re grief-stricken. Naomi has declared her hopelessness, and both are looking into the face of an uncertain future. Without employment options – there were none for widowed women in that day – they likely wonder how they’ll ever survive.
Nonetheless, Ruth knows they must eat, and so she gets to work to provide something for the two of them to live on. She goes out to a field in which she sees young men harvesting barley, and she gleans barley missed by the harvesters. The owner of the field, Boaz – who happens to be a relative of Naomi’s husband Elimelech – sees Ruth working and asks his men about her. Then he approaches her with generosity and kindness. Over lunch, he affirms her deep commitment to Naomi, which he’s heard about from others, and he assures her that she will be allowed to glean in his fields with his blessing. And so, she keeps working throughout the day, reaping from the fields of Boaz.
Twice that day, he tells his workers to make sure to leave some of the barley, so that she’ll have barley to glean. Twice he tells them to treat her with kindness and respect. Twice he makes space for her to prosper. As chapter two comes to a close, Ruth and Naomi’s situation has not dramatically changed, except that they’ve been blessed by the generosity and kindness of Boaz, in whose fields Ruth continues gleaning through the end of the harvest.
In seasons and days of grief, it’s often tempting to wallow in our darkest emotions, to hole up and hide from others, and to avoid the things that might be life-giving. Sometimes – when we’re grieving, or broken-hearted, or physically and spiritually empty – even the most normal things, like cooking and eating, seem like tasks too big, or too life-giving to do.
But Ruth shows us one way to live through the pain, grief, and brokenness of a life gone wrong: she gets to work on something simple, and something that will bless others. When she gets to work, it doesn’t say her whole outlook on life changed, and it doesn’t say she’s suddenly filled with hope and fullness. But, in getting to work gleaning in the fields, I would guess she began to feel like life was more possible than it was before. Ruth’s work, and the generosity of Boaz, drew a thread of hope from a well of despair.
Perhaps God was inspiring Ruth to get to work for the good of Naomi, so that in working, Ruth might find a glimmer of meaning and hope. And, perhaps too, God inspired Boaz to be generous and kind, making space for Ruth to live off his land. May we see God at work in our lives when we take up ordinary tasks for the good of others, and may we bear God’s presence for others when we make space for others to thrive alongside us.
Trying to Hear 