"We Can't Go Alone"

 Ruth 1; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Our theme for the second Sunday of Advent focuses on the idea that we are not meant to go it alone in life. God created us to be in community with one another. Ideally, the church community is meant to live as one body- united in Christ's Spirit. We are meant to be one. Unfortunately, not all people feel that way.

Consider the story of a four-year-old child sitting in a Sunday school class. It was almost their birthday, and they were, of course, excited. The teacher instructed them that God wants everyone to be united and led by love, to live as ONE in community together. Once the teacher uttered those words, the child replied, "But I don't want to be one! I want to be Five!" Not everyone wants to be one in community!

That message of not going it alone in life is prevalent throughout the Bible, beginning with Genesis and Adam and Eve and continuing through the end of Revelation, with people living together in the city of God. This morning's two passages illustrate God's will for us to be together with others and live in community rather than alone, beginning with the story of Ruth.

The story was written during the time of King David- around 900 B.C. about something that had occurred 400 years prior. This story took place before the establishment of kings, during the time of the Judges, between 1375 and 1075 B.C. It was a time of great strife for God's people, with repeated bloody battles between Israel and the Canaanites, Moabites, and Philistines. There was even warfare among the various 12 tribes of Israel.

The story illustrates an important principle that applies to us today, especially as immigrant groups are targeted and demonized in our political discourse. It calls for an inclusive attitude toward foreigners, perhaps especially toward foreign women. The people of God were called to recognize care and concern from outsiders and then instructed by this story to extend their care and concern beyond the boundaries of nationality. But our main focus lies elsewhere.

We have a story of two women coming together to make a way out of no way, finding security in one another amid an unjust system that has little to offer widows without families. There are some tiny echoes of the story of the Holy Family traveling to Bethlehem here. In addition, Ruth is one of only four women listed in the lineage of Jesus himself in Matthew 1:5.

As the story begins, we find Naomi, her husband Elimelech, and their two sons, who lived in Bethlehem, had to flee, for there was a famine in the land. In a subsistence agricultural economy, where the quantity of food production was barely adequate, the prospect of famine was constant. They traveled to a place where there was food, in the land of Moab, some 60 miles away in southern Jordan. It was a mountainous region located near the Eastern shore of the Dead Sea. These immigrants from Bethlehem found food and a place to call home, although it was a strange choice to migrate to. Moabites were not looked upon favorably by Israel. One of the kings of Moab oppressed the Israelites for 18 years. As they finally gathered to fight the Moabites, in the book of Numbers, we read of Israelite men having sex with Moabite women and beginning to worship Moabite gods. Such activity caused the people to stop worshipping God. Moabites were seen as a threat to the Israelite religion and consequently forbidden to enter the worship space in Jerusalem. The Moabites were seen as enemies and eventually defeated by the Israelites. Suffice it to say that the Israelites did not have a positive image of the Moabites. When desperate and hungry, you go where you need to survive. We hear similar stories at our nation's southern border. 

Once in Moab, Elimelech dies, but the family remains, and the two sons marry Moabite women. Things are good for ten years until both sons die. In addition, now famine has reached Moab. With no food and no family support, Naomi does the one thing she can think of. It is time to go back home.

Here in the story, we have the hero, Ruth, a Moabite- She acts faithfully and loyally despite coming from enemy territory. Like Jesus' gospel stories, the hero is the last person God's people expected.

The issue now at hand- All three women lost their husbands and families. They had no means of support. God told Naomi that there was food in her old hometown of Bethlehem, which literally means "house of bread." And so, this older, childless widow set off for home, hoping to find some form of support from old friends, knowing that God had provided a good barley harvest.

Both daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, initially want to go with her.

Naomi responds with three speeches imploring them to remain in Moab. These speeches consist of instruction, a blessing, and a prayer. After the second speech and much weeping, Orpah returns to Moab, but Ruth clings to Naomi and gives her famous speech, which is often used in wedding ceremonies.

Ruth was a Moabite. She could have returned to her family of origin in Moab after her husband's death, which would have been much easier than traveling to Bethlehem in the land where she was not welcome. Naomi repeatedly pushes Ruth away. Ruth is overcome with grief, even changing her name from Naomi, meaning "sweetness or pleasantness," to Mara, meaning "bitter." Grief can make us shrink into ourselves, believing that solitude is safer than the vulnerability of connection. But, rather than leaving as Orpah eventually did, Ruth chooses a radical commitment to her mother-in-law, saying, "Do not press me to leave you. Where you go, I will go. Where you lodge, I will lodge, your people shall become my people, and your God my God, where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried."

When she states, "Where you die, I will die," this is very meaningful. In the ancient Near East, it was essential to be buried in the home of one's ancestors. Ruth sets aside her heritage to be in community with Naomi.

She then swears an oath, saying that God can do bad things to her if she backs away from her declaration of loyalty.

They arrive in the small town of Bethlehem, which at that time was only populated by a few hundred people, where everyone knows everyone. The people become excited when two strangers, especially two unaccompanied women, enter through the gates of Bethlehem. The older one looked a bit familiar, and one of the women from Bethlehem said, "Wait—it's THAT NAOMI?" Toil, profound grief, and a long journey have taken their toll on Naomi's appearance. She no longer looked like Naomi. She was bitter and felt God had taken everything away from her. She was now Mara. Why did Ruth stay with Mara?

Ruth believed that her life was better in community, better intertwined. She must have known she would not have been warmly welcomed in Bethlehem. Ruth risked a lot, committing herself to Naomi. She must have believed she would be better off with her mother-in-law than back in Moab. Ruth lived out the Godly principle of "hesed." This Hebrew word is usually translated as "kindness and loyalty." It refers to God's desire that we should have care and concern for one another. Care and concern for others can, in turn, lead to a stronger community.

How does this story end? I encourage you to read the remaining three chapters to hear how Mara becomes Naomi once more and how Ruth's sexy late-night romp restores her good fortune. It's a compelling story!

Our second example of God's desire for us to be together in a community rather than isolated and alone comes from the fascinating book of Ecclesiastes.

This book of the Bible was written by one who calls himself "Qoheleth," meaning "Teacher." It is attributed to King David's son, Solomon. In this book, Qoheleth collects, studies, and teaches wisdom about life.

Qoheleth is not a happy camper. He experiences the glories of fame and fortune, living in excess, yet finds no joy. He examines his own life and the lives of others and sees that life is toil, vanity, and pretty much pointless. In chapter 4:1-3, he sums up everything he has experienced and observed by saying 4, "Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed—    and they have no comforter;
Power was on the side of their oppressors—    and they have no comforter.
² And I declared that the dead,    who had already died, are happier than the living,
    who are still alive.
³ But better than both is the one who has never been born, who has not seen the evil
    that is done under the sun." Qoheleth is not exactly a ray of sunshine, is he?

 Given his grim outlook on life in general, Qoheleth could have sought isolation from others—everyone for themselves in this cruel, oppressive world. And yet, in this passage that follows his grim assessment, we see he sees the value of living together in a community. First, when two are together, there is strength, companionship, and the bond of togetherness.

He expands on this idea. If two are better than one, three are even better than two! When I use this passage for weddings, that third chord is God. I let the couple know that God, as a third chord in their lives, strengthens their relationship together. God's unconditional love strengthens our human and sometimes fragile love for each other.

This third chord also applies to the church together in community. Jesus tells us," Wherever 2 or 3 are gathered, I am there among them." (Matthew 18:20). The point, once again, is that we are meant to be together with others and that the presence of God through Jesus Christ can bring us strength.

Recent studies show that one in two Americans struggle with social disconnection and feel isolated. That means about half of you may feel that way right now. According to Vivek H. Murthy, the United States Surgeon General, loneliness has become an "epidemic." Research shows that loneliness can take the same toll on our bodies as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Murthy says, "If we fail to deal with this epidemic, we will pay an ever-increasing price in the form of our individual and collective health and well-being…we will continue to divide until we can no longer stand as a country."

There is a cure for this epidemic. Living together in a compassionate community. We aren't meant to go it alone.

When I moved from Sacramento to Vallejo, CA, as a twelve-year-old, awkward, brace-faced, pimple-producing kid, I initially did not want to venture outside my new room. There was only one place I was willing to go- church. Our Christian Education coordinator had put together a youth group. She intentionally named it "The New Covenant Community." It was the first place in my new life in Vallejo where I felt loved and accepted. I'm so glad the youth group was there and drew me out of my isolation into community with others and with Jesus.

This holiday season can be a time of difficulty, especially for those who grieve as they remember those we have loved and who are no longer with us. An empty chair may be at the Christmas Dinner table this year, which hurts so much. I know. You may feel as if you are on your own or want to go it alone, just as Naomi did when her husband and sons were gone, just as I did in a strange new place where I didn't know anyone.

There is a caring community here. We have a church community whose majority of friends and members understand that the church does not exist for ourselves. Instead, we live with Hesed- with kindness, care, and concern for one another and our surrounding community. That philosophy is so well shown in housing the Severe Weather Shelter in Calvin Hall and the Advent Fair later this morning.

So, I encourage this loving community to reach out to those hurting or alone this time of year. Walk with them as Ruth journeyed with Naomi. And, for those of you feeling more like Mara this time of year, if that little voice inside you tells you to isolate, causing you to feel the pain of the epidemic of loneliness, reach out. Be part of this community, for there hesed here. In addition, ask for God's strength and help. You are not alone. God is a chord wrapped around us. God is present through the spirit of Jesus Christ. Christ also accompanies us on our journey. We are not alone. May God bless us as we live together in community, reaching out in care and concern for one another and the broader community around us. Alleluia. Amen.