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Ruth 1:1-9, 16-19

Rev. Rebecca DePoe

Our Scripture reading for this morning comes from the book of Ruth, beginning in chapter 1. Hear now the word of God:

 1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. 

 Naomi and Her Moabite Daughters-in-Law

6 Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had considered his people and given them food. 7 So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.” Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. 

 16 But Ruth said, “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. 17 Where you die, I will die— there will I be buried. May the Lord do this and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!” 18 When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Let us pray, May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all of our hearts, be pleasing and acceptable to you, our rock and our redeemer…

 Like Ruth and Naomi. I know what it’s like to feel like your entire world changed overnight. I remember waking up the morning after my father passed away. To sunlight streaming through my childhood bedroom windows. And to feelings of confusion. And disorientation. The worst possible thing had happened. My father passed away from complications of liver cirrhosis at 51 years old.

Time should have stood still. It should have stayed dark for at least a week. Yet, somehow, the earth continued to spin on its axis. The sun came up. I could hear my mother and grandfather in the kitchen making a pot of coffee. How, on earth, was the world moving on when I felt paralyzed by feelings of fear, frustration, and loss?

Ruth and Naomi are no strangers to these feelings. To feeling like their entire world changed overnight. That somehow, people were moving on without them. Naomi is Ruth’s mother-in-law. She is an Ephrathithe, while Ruth is a Moabite. The family travels from Judah to Moab and back again to Judah in search of food and economic stability. Only Naomi, Ruth, and Ruth’s sister and law Orpah survive the journey. Leaving all three women widowed. And Naomi without sons to care for her in her older age.

Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah face enormous uncertainty as widows in a foreign land. For single women in the ancient Near East, their best hope for long-term safety and security was to find new husbands as soon as possible. Naomi knows that this option isn’t available to her as a woman who can no longer bear children. So she tells her widowed daughters in law, Ruth, and Orpah to return to their mother’s houses. She has no more sons to give them, they should look for husbands amongst their own kin. She prays that the Lord grant them security in the house of their husbands, kisses them, and weeps aloud.

Orpah returns to her mother’s house. But Ruth refuses to leave Naomi. She puts alleviating Naomi’s economic instability above economic stability. Ruth tells Naomi: Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.

In so doing, Ruth illustrates the gift we can offer one another in the midst of uncertainty: the gift of presence. Ruth refuses to leave. Ruth will worship the God that Naomi believes abandoned her when he took her husband and sons away from her. And Ruth swears to do what four other people- Elimelech, Mahlon, Chilion, and Orpah couldn’t do- stay.

Now I won’t lie. It’s hard to be present with another’s loss. People who are grieving often say and do hurtful things they wouldn’t otherwise do. We see this in the way Naomi proclaims that the hand of the Lord has turned against her. But that is why the gift of presence is so important in the face of uncertainty. It proclaims that I have seen you at your worst, and I’m going to choose to love you anyway.

In the year after my father’s death, I was not a fun person to be around either. My father’s death unleashed a spiritual crisis in me. I couldn’t comprehend of a God who would leave two teenaged girls without their father. I was a junior at Pitt at the time and was living in a house with two other Pitt students in South Oakland. One day, one of my housemates, after I’d spent most of the moping around the apartment. Kindly, but firmly asked if I’d consider going to an Al-Anon meeting for support? She’d done the research. She found a group that met on Saturday mornings at a Presbyterian church on the Southside. Would I consider going if she went with me?

Some quick googling assured me that Al-Anon is not a cult. But a worldwide fellowship that offers support for the family and friends of alcoholics. Groups meet to provide for people affected by a loved one’s drinking to share their experiences, and help members solve common problems together. They do this by practicing the 12 steps, and by welcoming and giving comfort to families of alcoholics.

Despite my initial reluctance to going. I can honestly say, this group loved me into being, and set me on my path to Pastoral ministry. In group I met other eldest daughters of alcoholics and learned that the things I did as a child to survive- people-pleasing, perfectionism, and pessimism no longer served me as an adult. I learned how to understand alcoholism as a family disease, how to be radically honest about my role in the family system, and how to find hope and joy in life again.

I will forever be indebted to my college roommate who at the wise old age of 20 saw that I was drowning, and pointed me in the direction of the help I needed. When most of my friends abandoned me to sort through my grief alone. She shone a light in my darkness.

This is the gift of presence that Ruth so beautifully illustrates for Naomi. By sticking with Naomi through the hard times, Ruth adopts Naomi’s faith that nothing is impossible with God. No situation is truly hopeless, and it is possible for us to find contentment, maybe even happiness, in our current situations, if we stick together.

Today is a special day in the life of this congregation. If the way be clear, after worship today you all will be voting on whether to accept me as your next Pastor. On this special day, I can’t help but feel gratitude for the saints of this congregation- upon whose shoulders I stand. For the work of the Pastoral Nominating Committee, who has been working since July of 2024 to discern who God is calling to be the next Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Coraopolis. For the work of the Session who have been meeting more than they perhaps signed up to meet during this season of transition. But also, for Pastor Tom whose ministry in this place over the last 20 years is what makes it possible for me to be standing here today.  

Today also marks the beginning of a new season of transition. It’s really tempting on a day like today to be like, “whew, now that Pastor Rebecca is here, I can just sit back and let her handle everything.” Unfortunately, I don’t yet know where all the bathrooms are in this church, so that’s probably an unrealistic expectation. Moreover, I think that line of thinking misses the point of today’s Scripture reading. Ruth is not a saint martyring herself for her mother-in-law. She is a person with limited options- no money, no special gifts, no favors to call in. Who is offering her mother-in-law the one gift she has to offer- her presence amid uncertainty.

While we give thanks to God for the Pastor nominating committee. And for the women and men who have said yes to God’s call to serve step up during this season of transition. I’m curious how God might be nudging all of us in the direction of participating in God’s ministry of presence. In this time and in this place.

 Maybe you’re feeling a nudge to work with the deacons- to serve on a team of people who send meals to folks in our congregation going through a tough time? Maybe your gifts are more administrative. What might it look like to work with our elders. Maybe you can help them get systems in place. So that we might more efficiently solicit the congregation’s feedback as to what new directions God’s Spirit will lead us in the coming year? 

What gives me hope as I (hopefully) begin this new chapter in my ministry is that the work of the church remains the same. We are to glorify God by using our gifts, our talents, and our passions to make our communities and congregations better places to live and worship. I am confident that God will continue to surprise and delight us as we head into the unknown together. One crock pot of pulled pork. One online form. One welcome reception at a time.

Thanks be to God, in Jesus’ name, Amen.