Not Chaff

For a week at least, the animals have been trampling the gathered grain and the threshing floor has hummed with activity. Tossing up the harvest, so the grain falls to the ground, but the wind carries the chaff away. No one keeps the chaff, no one wants it. And in the world each in some way, Ruth and Naomi and even Boaz carry something of the chaff about them.

They are not desired- Ruth, carries the chaff of being a foreigner whose marriage must not have been blessed since she had no sons; Naomi, the chaff of the widow whose husband and sons are gone, not blessed. Boaz, the chaff of being older and alone-without a companion, and hardly the object of the eyes of the young.

But God is on a rescue mission.

Even for the people of Bethlehem who this year are blessed. On average, out of a ten year harvest cycle, seven of those years, one could hope to have enough to get through the winter, and into the spring. In two or three of those years, one could count on drought or famine. And they knew those times. But this year, this year was blessed- a harvest of abundance! And they’d all worked to bring it in, and to thresh that grain and scatter the chaff. To praise God’s faithfulness. Because it is God’s hand that has done this.

And then they celebrate. For in Deuteronomy, after the harvest was a week long festival. In fact, God commanded it- “Rejoice during your festival, you and your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, as well as the Levites, the strangers, the orphans, and the widows residing in your towns. Seven days…you shall surely celebrate…with whatever you desire.” And so of course there was eating and drinking, and the settling in of pleasant fatigue- the kind you know when you have worked hard, but good has come. Where you know you are blessed.

 

And it’s a great thing to see that God loves the people enough to bless them with the harvest, and with a command to celebrate together- everyone. Which makes sense in light of God’s command to leave part of the harvest for the foreigner, the orphan and the widow. And God’s command to love the stranger, “for once you were strangers in Egypt.”

How often perhaps we forget the love in these laws of God. The beauty of the story of Ruth is what happens when God’s loving faithfulness reaches out through people rather than staying stuck on a page. Where we see God’s never ending rescue mission come to life.

So there we are, and the party was great and the last of the revelers are finally asleep. There on the floor with all that grain. Which at first makes no sense in our silo world, but in the day, it was first important to harvest, and then to celebrate, and thank God, but at the end of the celebrating, the men slept there with the grain. Each in a different spot, forming a circle round it, to protect it for everyone. Sleeping head in, feet out just in case thieves came.

That’s how it is. No wonder Naomi told her to Ruth to look for where Boaz laid down if you had to wander around in the dark looking at feet. She’s cleaned up and looking her best and she has come and laid down and she touches him.  And at some point her presence startles him. And he could have mistaken her for an intruder. Or a prostitute. Neither of which end well. There she is at the very edge of the harvest, just reaching out, hoping for something. But what follows is not what we expect.

He wakes up startled asking, “Who are you?” And she tells him they are kin. When really he wakes up, she proposes marriage! Suggesting she is not chaff that should just blow away in the wind of no concern. She proposes that she instead be gathered. “Spread your cloak over your servant-you are next of kin.” If she as a foreigner has married an Israelite, she has become kin. When she became a widow, there was no obligation to still see her as such.

But she bound herself to Naomi, and now asks Boaz to honor her with the same treatment a daughter of Israel could expect. Don’t cast me off like chaff. I ask to be treated like the law demands.

Because God’s law provided that a widow be married to another member of the family in order that she be provided for. That too was the law. So widows would be rescued. “Spreading a cloak was not only an invitation to a marriage bed, but a symbol of being gathered under the protection of his wings. And Boaz said yes. And there on that threshing floor, they exchanged the equivalent of marriage promises.” (Rolf Jacobsen)

And God’s love was at work as Ruth was gathered in, not cast to the wind.

At each turn in this story, the question is – will she be scattered or gathered? “Through Boaz living out the law, God was at work, rescuing Ruth from a marginal life of gleaning as a foreigner. But through Ruth, God was at work rescuing Boaz, who apparently was alone, as love moved into his home. Boaz recognized that Ruth could have approached a younger member of the relation. But by choosing the older, and more loyal Boaz, Ruth also secured a future that rescued Naomi. God’s steadfast loving kindness shows up in everyday ordinary, even unremarkable people. As Ruth leaves at dawn, returning home perhaps wondering whether that promise in the night will hold up in the light of day. With yet more steps of faith to come.

Would Boaz honor his promise? Would the community live as God intended? Would God still be faithful?”

When she comes back to Naomi, we hear the question “What happened?” But in the Hebrew, it is the same question Boaz asked her- “Who are you?” Who are you now? Ruth responds by showing what she has received- grain for today and a promise she hopes is true- that she is rescued.

The chaff does blow away but it is the chaff of the labels- widow, foreigner. But the grain- the heart of who she truly is as God’s child remains.

There we are too. We who wonder if the labels of our world define us, we who are those who have received the promise that is not yet fulfilled. Wondering whether the hope is for real, whether the promises will last.

We too walk by faith in the promise that Christ is not only risen but returning again. That we share in the greater feast to come. That we will be gathered not scattered. That God’s abundance, faithfulness, overflowing love are for us. We are not only rescued, but desired by God who promises not only salvation, but more to the story.

Until then, we, just as unlikely people, gather and share in the grain of the meal of this day, believing it is a foretaste of the feast to come. When the celebration has no end and that God’s desire is to gather us in until all are fed.

 

Living Blessing

One thing I miss about living in Lancaster County is Gleaner Season. Where we used to live, at the edge of a town surrounded by agriculture we lived in awe of the Gleaner. It would come through town to get from one field to another. A massive machine that took up the whole road and shook the windows of the house as it drove by, it was so powerful. It was designed to get ALL of the crop from the field.

Smaller scale harvesting left things behind. The Gleaner kept that from happening. The field is stripped bare. I find it ironic that then a huge percent of the harvest never makes it to the store because it’s not pretty enough but that’s another sermon.

I have a friend who grew up gleaning the traditional way. In a poor family whose parents used to drop them off at various fields to pick, not around the edges- in the middle where you can’t be seen. She grew up thinking that everyone did this. Only in adulthood she discovered it was trespassing and theft. It was the neighboring farm. I don’t know if the farmer knew and tolerated it, or if it was lucky for her they were never caught or found themselves at the other end of a shot gun and someone else’s understanding of the law. Getting caught in the wrong part of the field is like being on the wrong part of the street. Either way, I am sure they would not have been blessed by the landowner.

In Ruth’s day, gleaning was a part of culture for many, actually provided for in the law. But just like not everyone drives the speed limit, not everyone obeyed the law about leaving part of the harvest behind for others. Not everyone was as charitable- and in our reading, did you catch the little phrase about wondering who this person was, followed by an assurance you will be treated well?

It suggests that not everyone treats gleaners well, or maybe not everyone treats foreigners well- that maybe what some can get away with others cannot. And that maybe people think that the problem of those other people is just not their problem. Ruth and Naomi are widows hoping for enough to survive, counting on gleaning in the harvest season to eat. And Naomi has been bitter and skeptical, with frankly, good reason. Ruth goes out determined and frankly a little fast and furious. She’s going to glean as long and fast as she can.

Ruth works fast, because it may not last. She asks no questions, and bothers no one. And no one bothers her. She’s tolerated. No one so much as offers her water in the midday sun either. In our story today, there are not only Ruth, and Naomi and Boaz, there are all those other people in the field, just doing their thing. But Ruth is not connected to them.

When Boaz shows up, he gets personal which is what living out God’s law looks like. He shows up and blesses his workers. How many of you when you show up for work are blessed by your employer?

He blesses them, and then he notices Ruth.

We perhaps want this to be about how he “notices” Ruth and sexualize the story to give him a motive for generosity. But there is nothing in this encounter to suggest that. Rather, he seems to be the sort who notices others. After all, Ruth is hungry, she’s traveled far, and she’s a foreigner. That suggests dirty, smelly, scrawny, not Hollywood beauty. We’d feel better about the times we don’t notice others if we give Boaz a motive.

Boaz, takes a personal interest in Ruth-because their paths have crossed. He doesn’t have to. He could ignore her and truthfully say what a ridiculous decision she made. She could’ve stayed where she was. She chose to follow this Naomi and put herself at risk. Why should anyone care if she’s that foolish not to take care of herself? Indeed today, I wonder if we would think that Boaz is the brave one, letting some foreigner glean on his land.  She shouldn’t be our problem. In a world where every needy person or person who is “not like us” is now viewed as an intruder, or an assault.

 

Boaz not only shares he blesses Ruth! Boaz instead notices her and praises her loyalty to her mother-in-law. And then shows generosity, and blesses her.  “May the LORD reward you for your deeds, and may you have a full reward from the LORD… under whose wings you have come for refuge.”

Boaz represents what loving kindness looks like-  abundance, protection, hospitality, blessing.  

No wonder Naomi is astonished. Aren’t we all?

Naomi had decided to just be bitter, now she has hope. The hand of God she thought was against her is not. She’s quick to name God as the source of blessing: The Lord whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!"

Naomi’s hope isn’t found in remembering that everyone recognizes that gleaning is the law and everyone follows it, but because in spite of human nature, a good thing has happened where you can see God’s hand in it. That’s what she teaches Ruth and us-that while God has spoken in large miracles, like speaking from burning bushes, or dividing the sea, God is far more likely to be seen acting through the faithfulness of ordinary human beings. Like you and me. God’s blessing happens through us.

Our world and our lives are full of places about more than just physical hunger-there is real hunger for many, for more than just food. Hunger for dignity, for generous hearts, hunger for compassion, hunger for justice that laws be used rightly and enforced the same for all. A hunger that our lives actually touch others, a hunger for blessing.   Ruth shows up hungry, striving, struggling to find hope. Wondering if that emptiness can be filled. Maybe you have too.

And we’re met by God’s blessing, that’s God’s desire-lovingkindness, and mercy and grace not judgment or scorn or rebuke.

That’s the gospel for all of us as Jesus spoke this day-telling us, his followers, to live out our God created identity.

Live as God lives toward us- Don’t condemn, don’t pick on people or jump on their failures. Show mercy. That’s how God already sees it. That’s what Jesus reveals. That’s what God wants for us, and what God wants us to share. That our lives do touch and that blessing and grace overflow.

So today we’re going to do something else we probably don’t do much- bless each other. You’re the end of the sermon.  

I invite you to turn to your neighbors, and remind them of that blessing made most clearly known for us in the cross. It’s time to get personal.

Make the sign of the cross on their forehead and say, “you are a blessed child of God.”

I wish you could see yourselves- you’re all smiling! You’ve been blessed! That’s the gospel – the blessing we experience here we’re called to take out into our world!

Amen