Focus

Turn off your cell phone, TV, or radio. Listen to the silence that is around you. Listen for God to speak to you.

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Read

Ruth 2:1-16 (NRSV)

Now Naomi had a kinsman on her husband’s side, a prominent rich man, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain, behind someone in whose sight I may find favor.” She said to her, “Go, my daughter.” So she went. She came and gleaned in the field behind the reapers. As it happened, she came to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. Just then Boaz came from Bethlehem. He said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you.” They answered, “The LORD bless you.” Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “To whom does this young woman belong?” The servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the Moabite who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. She said, ‘Please, let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the reapers.’ So she came, and she has been on her feet from early this morning until now, without resting even for a moment.”

Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Keep your eyes on the field that is being reaped, and follow behind them. I have ordered the young men not to bother you. If you get thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.” Then she fell prostrate, with her face to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?” But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. May the LORD reward you for your deeds, and may you have a full reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge!” Then she said, “May I continue to find favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, even though I am not one of your servants.”

At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here, and eat some of this bread, and dip your morsel in the sour wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he heaped up for her some parched grain. She ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. When she got up to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, “Let her glean even among the standing sheaves, and do not reproach her. You must also pull out some handfuls for her from the bundles, and leave them for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”

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Reflect

I am not sure how she does it, but she does. It is obviously a calling, going out to the camps of the homeless around Nashville, taking propane for cold nights or food for hungry days, meeting at the laundromat to wash clothes or helping someone move to a new area. It takes people like Rev. Lisa Cook to help those who have no voice. She shares a glimmer of hope for those whose lives are overwhelmed with dark moments.

Just as the homeless people Lisa encounters, I’m not sure Ruth understood why Boaz was being so kind. He told her to follow along, gleaning the leftovers and staying close by. What she didn’t know was that he had instructed his men to drop extra grain along the way. Boaz had compassion for the Moabite foreigner because he saw her faithfulness. He knew she was in a bad place, yet she was staying close to her mother-in-law. This was his way of sharing a little hope for a woman who found herself overwhelmed.

Lisa’s actions and Boaz’s kindness speak to the very nature of our call. Someone must speak up for the voiceless, showing them that someone does care. I am not sure I do a great job of that, but I learn from example of others. So, while we all can’t walk in the woods or gather to wash clothes or leave grain in the field, there is bound to be something we can do. Maybe it’s time to try.

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Pray

God, sometimes we feel so overwhelmed and we use those feelings as an excuse not to act. Convict our hearts so that we use whatever resources we can to make a difference for someone besides ourselves. We pray in the name of the best example we have ever been given, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Go with God.