Sermon: The Ministry of Election

Ruth 1:1-19

"No Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted to the assembly of the LORD. Even to the tenth generation, none of their descendants shall be admitted to the assembly of the LORD, because they did not meet you with food or water on your journey out of Egypt. . . You shall never promote their welfare or their prosperity as long as you shall live."

That's Deuteronomy.

"We have heard the pride of Moab -- how proud he is! -- of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; his boasts are false. Therefore let Moab wail, let everyone wail for Moab."

That's Isaiah.

"The calamity of Moab is near at hand and his doom approaches swiftly. Mourn over him, all you neighbors, and all who know his name and say, 'How the mighty scepter is broken, the glorious staff!"

That's Jeremiah.

Are these statements making you uncomfortable? They make me uncomfortable! And they're only a snippet of how many negative statements there are concerning the country of Moab and the people who live there. This certainly sets a scene for what we're studying tonight! Moab was the enemy of ancient Israel. Its people were considered to be absolutely abhorrent.

And then? Ruth? Ruth the Moabite? What on earth is going on here in the Book of Ruth? This book has a different perspective entirely and isn't ashamed to give it. Ruth from Moab becomes the epitome of one who shows loyalty and devotion, breaking apart every negative connotation of the people of Moab. Ruth is God's faithful servant, pledging her life toward others -- going way beyond the expectation. And she convicts us to do the same. I wonder. . . What will we do with a story like this one? How will we put it into practice?

Some of you had a chance to read the Book of Ruth this week. And as you did, I imagine that some parts were convicting and others were just puzzling. This story contains a lot of ancient customs that are completely foreign to us today. And if you haven't had a chance to read the entire story, I'd invite you to do so. I think you'll find that this little story -- only four brief chapters -- is absolutely radical. It's full of abundance and excess, because from beginning to end, over and over again, we find people going way beyond what's expected of them. We find surprising characters who challenge us to pledge ourselves toward others. We find surprising characters who convict us to include those on the margins, people who are constantly told "You're not welcome," people who are told they have no hope of belonging. This book -- The Book of Ruth -- flings doors wide open. It teaches us to choose one another -- to accompany one another. I wonder how we'll put it into practice.

At the beginning, the story is a bleak one. It begins with a famine in Bethlehem in Judah. And a man named Elimelech makes a choice that would be outrageously offensive to his own people. But perhaps the situation was desperate enough for such a desperate action. He travels with his wife Naomi and his two sons Mahlon and Chilion to the land of Moab - to a land that was forbidden, to a land full of people who were not to be admitted to the assembly of the LORD.

But the situation becomes more desperate. Elimelech dies in Moab, leaving Naomi behind as a widow. Thankfully she has her two sons. Now they do something that would be completely looked down upon. They marry foreign wives, Moabite wives, people who were not to be included.

And some time passes, and Naomi's sons die as well. Now three women are left defenseless in an ancient culture where women were entirely dependent upon male relatives for security.

What could widows do to be protected in a situation like this? There weren't many options. They could remarry, live under the care of their children, or turn to prostitution. That's about it. But none of these options were viable for Naomi. There weren't any children left. What could these three women possibly do to protect themselves?

Naomi receives word that there's food in Bethlehem. So after ten years, it's time to go back. But in a sense, there is no going back. Things will never be the same. Naomi came to Moab to seek a future, and she thought her future was right beside her -- a husband and two sons. But now Naomi knows she is alone and too old for a future. She's going home empty and humiliated. There's no hope for her.

She tells Orpah and Ruth, her two daughters-in-law, to leave her to it. She tells them to turn around -- to go back to their families and remarry. There was hope for them, she thought. And that would have been the easy thing for them to do. Orpah and Ruth had seen grief and hardship, but they were young enough to have options. Naomi has no options. Orpah follows Naomi's instructions. It's interesting: Oprah's name in Hebrew means "back of the neck." She turns around and goes back home to her people.

"See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods," Naomi tells Ruth. "Return after your sister-in-law."

But no. Ruth clings to her. Ruth is tenacious. She will not turn back. Ruth will not leave Naomi's side -- even if her best option for survival is to follow Orpah back home. And Ruth launches into this beautiful statement of commitment. She will go where Naomi goes. She will live where Naomi lives. Ruth's God will be Naomi's God. She will die where Naomi dies. She will not leave. Ruth makes a conscious choice to pledge herself toward Naomi. She will accompany her - not only on the journey to Bethlehem but throughout life. Ruth - a foreigner, and worse, a Moabite -- sets the example of what it means to live with and for others.

And she keeps her word. If you've read the rest of the story, you've discovered that this is true. Ruth meets Boaz, a close relative of Naomi, and though she has no status whatsoever in Israelite society, she makes a claim on Boaz for him to marry her. She asks him to marry her.

Boaz also goes way beyond the expectation too. He praises Ruth's loyalty to Naomi and marries her. Boaz marries a foreign woman. He accepts her. He includes her. He learns from her. He knows that Ruth -- this Moabite who was not to be included -- has gone beyond the expectation. Pledging herself in loyalty, she becomes a teacher to Israel. She and Boaz give birth to a son who will care for Naomi in her old age. Naomi has hope. This son is Obed, the grandfather of David. That's crazy! According to this story, Ruth - an outcast - becomes the great-grandmother of King David, the one who all of Israel would look to as a great leader. The outcast has become cast-in. She's an example.

I wonder how we will put this story to practice.

We've spent a whole semester talking about spiritual practices. We've been intentional for months, thinking about the ways that we might practice our faith -- ways that we might serve as faithful disciples. We've talked about ministries of prayer, proclamation, Sabbath, and Sacrament. We've considered ministries of remembrance, playfulness, and healing. We've asked ourselves who we are called to bear God to the world and how we are called to bear one another. How will we spiritually practice the type of devotion that Ruth practices? How can she serve as an example to us?

"Do not press me to leave you or to turn back 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 -
There I will be buried.
May the LORD do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!"

Those are powerful words. Those words are a powerful pledge and claim. In our theological tradition, we make a powerful claim as well. That claim is this: God elects us. Well, what does that mean? It means that God chooses us to be recipients of divine love. It means that completely apart from our own effort, God loves us. It's astounding when you think of it!

Really, think of it! We can't do anything to make God love us. And we can't do anything to make God stop loving us. God loves us. God has chosen us. God has deliberately become pledged in love toward us. God has made a willful choice.

The Doctrine of Election - that's fancy theological-speak for this powerful claim we make. And we make the claim because God has first made a claim on us.

I'll tell you a story. Once I was at a camp for college students (many like you), and I overheard an interesting conversation. Two students were asking someone else about what it means to be Presbyterian. They asked all sorts of questions. Eventually, one of them asked, "So. . . what's predestination?"

I have to admit that I laughed out loud. "How's he gonna answer that one?" I thought.

Predestination has been a part of the Reformed faith traditions, and at times, it's been interpreted to say this: "God has chosen some for salvation and others for damnation. There's nothing anyone can do about it. It's all God's choice. Case closed. End of story. That's the way it is."

This person decided to answer the question in a way I've never forgotten. He said, "Predestination means that God has pledged to be God toward us. And we are the people we are because of that pledge." To bring is point home, he mentioned his daughter. "You know, there may be a day when she could decide to not act like my daughter. She may never talk to me or care if I exist. But I've made a pledge to her, and here's what I say to that: 'I'm not gonna let you not be my daughter!'"

I think that's beautiful. "I'm not gonna let you not be my daughter." That's what God does to us. God has elected and pledged to be God toward us. We can act like that's not true, but in a myriad of ways, God is always saying "I'm not gonna let you not be my son! I'm not gonna let you not be my daughter!"

Well, here's an idea. If God lives this way toward us, could it be that we are called to live in such a way toward others? "I'm not gonna let you not be my sister!" "I'm not gonna let you not be my brother!" "I'm not gonna let you be an outcast because I'm gonna include you!" "I'm not gonna let you believe lies about yourself, because I know who you are: A Child of God. And I'm gonna tell you and toward you like that's true!"

This is what Ruth has done in this story. She has made a pledge to Naomi, and Naomi is someone because of that pledge. Could we live a ministry through spiritual practice of election?

Can we elect one another? Can we choose to be loyal toward one another? These are important questions.

Tonight, I will close with this: Who is it that needs to you practice this pledge? Is it someone in your family? One of your friends? Who needs you to stick by them no matter what -- no matter what the cost might be to yourself?

Who in this neighborhood needs a pledge of Austin Agape? Students who don't feel welcome anywhere? People who sleep in the courtyard? People who come to our food pantry every Tuesday morning?

Who will you pledge to love?
Who will you accompany?
Who will you elect to serve?

May the God who elects you give you strength to elect others.

Amen.

- Renée Roederer, Campus Minister