A Tale of Two Women

Ruth 3:1-5; Mark 12:38-44

A Tale of Two Women

 

        The story of Ruth is a complicated tale which has far more substance than just the one verse which often finds its way into wedding ceremonies. On the surface, it is a story of a woman’s loyalty to another woman. As we dig deeper we discover questions concerning immigration and sexual mores. But if we follow the story of Ruth to its conclusion, two themes emerge, hospitality and faithfulness.

        You know the story. Ruth, a Moabite woman, marries a visitor from Bethlehem. Her husband dies leaving Ruth an outcast in two cultures. Not only has she married outside her clan she is rejected by her husband’s kin. Yet a special bond existed between Ruth and her mother-in-law, hence the verse, “Where you go I will go.  Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God.”

        Ruth, an illegal immigrant, crossed the border looking for work. Hebrew law can be a bit confusing when it comes to immigration. Ruth, a Gentile, was considered to be unclean therefore unfit to enter any place of worship. But the law was quite explicit that a widow or sojourner was to be given assistance regardless of their cultural pedigree.  Ruth had no legal status when she sought refuge in the city of Bethlehem. Imagine her surprise on discovering it was the responsibility of the community to make certain she did not starve. What a magnificent concept!!!

        I was riding my bike a few weeks ago down Route 56. A few miles past Crabtree Falls I passed a large pumpkin patch. I could see the best pumpkins had been harvested and sent to market. But the field was still full of less than perfect pumpkins. Maybe they were not esthetically pleasing but the fruit inside would still have made a delicious pie. At the end of the patch was a huge sign which read, “No Trespassing.” I translated that sign to mean, “It is better to let food rot in the fields than be picked by those too poor to buy their own pumpkins at the market.”

        I am aware we live in an economic system that depends on produce being bought at a fair market price. I understand the average farmer struggles each year in a never ending battle to feed the country and make a profit. But we also waste a lot of food in the fields and on the shelves that could be addressing the frightening reality that every night 17 million children in our country alone go to bed hungry.   

        In Biblical times, places like Bethlehem observed a code of hospitality. Part of the responsibility of taking care of the sojourner and the widow was at the end of the day, the poor were allowed to enter the fields of harvest and take home enough food to get them through the night.

But there were dangers involved in going out into the fields. Woman, particularly those who were strangers, became targets for sexual predators. I recently received a letter from Westminster Presbyterian in Charlottesville that a young woman had recently been sexually assaulted on their grounds. If churches are not safe can you even begin to imagine how unsafe an open field might be?

Each time Ruth ventured into the field the eyes of young men literally undressed her. She was a stranger. She was not Jewish. She had no rights, no privileges. Some may even have figured when Ruth entered the field she was actually enticing them to have sex with her. Naomi knew the risk Ruth was taking. In order that the illegal immigrant would be safe, the mother-in-law vowed to watch over her while she was in the field. As Ruth was faithful to Naomi, so Naomi exhibited her faithfulness toward the stranger.

Martin Copenhaver observes, “God places us where we have the opportunity to learn and live with folks we do not choose. Our fidelity to those we are stuck with can be a reflection of the fidelity of a God who is stuck with us all.”  Life in a covenantal community such as a church should place a higher responsibility on us. Most folks understand the need to be loyal and trusting toward good friends and family members. But God ups the ante. God calls for a connection with those we hardly know. God calls on us to expand our hospitality and fidelity beyond our comfort zone even though at times our actions seem to make little or no sense whatsoever.

        Francine Christophe entered the German concentration camps as a young girl. She managed to live through the experience and has become a noted poet. A couple of years ago she was asked if she might share some of her experiences in a documentary call “Human”. The incident she selected revolved around a piece of chocolate. As you can imagine food of any kind when one is imprisoned is precious.  Francine’s mother managed to smuggle some bars of chocolate into the camp when they entered. They were down to their last few pieces when it came to their attention a woman in the camp was going to give birth. The poor woman was emaciated, weighing less than 90 pounds. Francine offered her last piece of chocolate to the woman. Miraculously the mother and child survived the birth process. Nearly seventy years later Francine Christophe was sharing this story during a lecture. At the end of the talk a woman approached her with a small bar of chocolate. The strangers first words were, “I am the baby you saved.”

        Stories touch our hearts much quicker than doctrine and theology. But the theology of hospitality which inspired Naomi to care for Ruth reflects the same theology which stirred Francine Christophe to offer chocolate to a stranger. Both actions were taken as an act of hospitality and an act of faithfulness toward a God who cares for the widow, the stranger, the sojourner. Knowing the outcome of both stories motivates us toward acts of hospitality. Perhaps a greater faith is present when we act, even though all the facts deny anything will change.

        If your name is not Mary, you don’t get much air time in the New Testament. We know of Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary the sister of Martha, even Mary Magdalene. Perhaps the woman in the New Testament text’s name was Mary, but it hardly matters. For two thousand years we have only known her as the poor widow.

        The incident happened during worship. The songs had been sung, the prayers offered, the scripture read and interpreted. It was time for the offering. Everyone rose to participate. Some of the folks put in large sums. The widow contributed two small copper coins. Jesus remarked, “It is easy to give out of your abundance. That gift is hardly missed. She gave all she had. She is the true giver.” Who was this woman? She is never mentioned again. All we know is Jesus declares her to be righteous.

        Kathleen Norris writes in her book Amazing Grace, “The word righteous used to grate on my ear. I associated it with self-righteous. But gradually I discovered it has a larger, Godlier meaning. Righteousness is consistently defined by the prophets, the psalms and the gospels as a willingness to care for the most vulnerable people including the orphan, the widow, the alien, and the poor.”

        This story deserves to be heard in the context of the entire text. Jesus began his “sermon” by railing against the religious leaders. On the Sabbath they read the scriptures, lead the faithful in long prayers and then let it be known just how much they give to keep the synagogue afloat. But during the week they make their money by putting widows out in the street and selling their homes to the top buyer. Jesus had the nerve to boldly suggest the entire religious system was a fraud. The concept of hospitality had been forgotten or at least ignored. The synagogue was more interested in elevating the powerful than uplifting the down trodden. When that happens, the synagogue, or any church, has replaced hospitality and faithfulness with the business of self-preservation.

        So my question becomes, why did the woman give? She had to know the money she gave was being used to feed the mouths of the priest rather than the poor. Certainly she understood the travesty she was supporting?

        The cynic in me wants to call the gift an investment in herself. If she gave, then the synagogue wouldn’t let her die. After all she was a good and faithful member.

        The skeptic in me wants to see the woman as too ignorant for her on good. She believed in the fancy priest with his thousand dollar cuff links and million dollar smile. She believed if she prayed hard enough and faithfully contributed a miracle was going to happen.

        The trouble with these theories is Jesus would have seen straight through both of those schemes. So this leaves me with an improbable conclusion. THE WOMAN WAS RIGHTEOUS. She gave, not for herself, but because she belonged to a community of faith that was supposed to be based on hospitality and faithfulness. The fraudulence of the institution meant little to this woman. She knew God was faithful, and that was all that really mattered.

        I read an article the other day suggesting to many folks under the age of 40 the church is no longer relevant. That should frighten us because it is those folks who are giving birth to children. Folks under 40 haven’t given up on God. They have given up on us. We flaunt words like atonement, incarnation, and justification by faith. We quarrel incessantly about what sin is and what it isn’t. We even disagree who is in and who is out of the Kingdom of God. Folks under 40 seem to be more interested in hospitality and faithfulness. Folks under 40 are more interested in feeding the widow and the orphan. Folks under 40 don’t seem to have issues with immigration or even sexual orientation. I sometimes think they understand righteousness better than those of us who are suppose to be righteous. So what does Jesus think about this conundrum in which we have found ourselves?

        I have a feeling before all our doctrines and traditions were created, Christians were just simple people finding profound richness in the most ordinary stories.

A widow, who also happened to be a foreigner, discovered hospitality in the most unusual circumstance.

An elderly and impoverished relic never lost her faith despite the antics of her not so religious community.

Perhaps folks under 40 aren’t all that interested in doctrines and traditions.

Perhaps what they desire is a church community which reflects the love of God through acts of hospitality and demonstrations of selfless righteousness.

Perhaps we can be that community.              Amen.