1/24/21 Worship Bulletin

Worship January 24. 2021 German Church of Atlanta Sermon 1-24-2021 Ruth 1: 1-19 Signposts come incredibly handy! On them, for example, it says: "Top of the mountain: 2 km". Then you can think about how to divide your energy and what speed to take, when to take a break and when to eat. On the arrow on the back of the signpost you can often see how much distance you have already travelled. Even if the mobile phone can continuously show us where we are: Signposts are irreplaceable as orientation and break moments. Ⅱ.

Three women are on their way from Moab to Bethlehem. Naomi, Rut and Orpa: They must leave the beautiful land east of the Dead Sea. They have no future there. Naomi is the mother-in-law of Rut and Orpa. All three are widows. Ten years earlier, Naomi and her husband Elimelech had fled to Moab in the opposite direction of Beth-lehem. Her sons Kiljon and Machlon were there. The hunger had driven them. For in Bethlehem was a shortage of food. In Bethlehem, of all places, which translates as "House of Bread".

An unreal world. They had gone on to the neighboring foreign land, which the ancient scriptures warned them of: “Evil is Moab, harsh towards strangers, and hostile to Israel. They have other gods anyway.” But Naomi and her family experienced a good reception. That is the way it is with prejudice. After some time Eli-melech had died. Kiljon and Machlon married Rut and Orpa, women from Moab. They were doing so, although it was forbidden under the laws of Moses. No Jew was supposed to marry a woman outside their religion and culture. But love had been stronger.

Now the two young men were also dead. This meant that Naomi no longer had anyone to take care of them. At home in Bethlehem, there were relatives who will take care of her. That is why she must go away. However,

her daughters-in-law decide to stay with her. What a beautiful declaration of loyalty of the young women to the old Naomi.

Iii. There is still such a thing today: Aunt Ella and niece Karin were the only ones who still lived from the large Franke family. Everyone else had died.

"We are now the only Frankes, we have to stick together," said Aunt Ella.

Said and done: When niece Ella had to stay longer in the hospital in Hanover after the birth of her child, the aunt travelled with her and stood by her. When Aunt Ella became old, she moved to the retirement home where her niece worked. Karin cared for her aunt lovingly until she died of old age.

"We have to stick together". And they did.

Iv. The three women in our story are still on the road from Moab and approaching Bethlehem. It is then when Naomi admonishes her daughtersin-law: "Go back to your mother's house. Let the Lord be as merciful to you as you have been to me and to the dead. You shall come to rest and remarry". The daughters-in-law weep: We will go with you to your people.

Yet Naomi relents: Turn around, my daughters! Naomi knows she cannot offer them sons to marry. The future and security for the two young women is only available in Moab. Naomi dismisses her daughters-in-law in all love.

Orpa listens to the voice of reason: she kisses her mother-in-law and goes back to Moab. No reproach or bad feelings are following her. Quite different Rut: She stays with Naomi, against all reason. How will the people of Bethlehem receive her as a widow of Moab? But Rut is carried and strengthened by her love and hope. So she tells her mother-in-law the most beautiful words people can say to each other. No wonder many couples choose Rut's declaration of love as a saying: “Wherever you go, I will go; where you stay, I stay there. Your people are my people, and your God is my God. Wherever you die, I will also die, and I will be buried there. The Lord (Jahwe) do this to me and this, only death will separate me and you.�

In this way, Rut committed herself to Naomi and the God of Israel, calling him by his ancient Hebrew name. She leaves Moab completely behind, opening and freeing herself for a future in Beth-lehem. The two go on: the two together.

V. The two together. With whom do we go together through thick and thin?

History opens to our stories as well, because the names we encounter in history have a special symbolic meaning. "Noomi" is the name of the "Lovely". When Naomi enters Bethlehem with Rut, everyone asks: Is this Naomi? She said: Call me not Naomi, but Mara (the bitter), for the Almighty has done me bitter things. "Orpa" means: "The one who turns away", just as she turns away from her mother-in-law in order to return to Moab. "Rut" means the "companion who helps". So the names are Symbolic names.

They describe, using the example of the three women, what people experience over and over again. When are we doing this? When are we sweet and gentle like Naomi, when are we bitter and grieving like Mara, when are we helpful companions and when are we those who turn away?

Vi. The outbreak of the coronavirus has been a bitter time in the last year. We hadn't seen anything like it before! Prohibition of contact: A full brake in all life areas: No school, no kindergarten, no movie theatres, no worship services, the working life and traffic patterns - completely confused. Many deaths all over the world. The economy in free fall, many businesses still fear for survival. The fear of an infection, masks in the supermarket, the hospitals in overdrive struggling to care for all who are admitted. Children and women who have been at the mercy of all the more family violence in their homes. A bitter time, an unreal world. And on the margins: refugees and homeless who, unlike Rut and Naomi, have not been accepted. How will we get out of this time, how will we get to what we call normality?

Vii. In Bethlehem, Rut meets Boas, a relative of Naomi. The story of their approach reads beautifully. They marry and have a son, Obed. He will be one of the forefathers of the helping and lovely King David. Boas says he wants to use his marriage to make sure that the late Elimelech has a grandson. And the wise neighbors are happy that Rut has helped Naomi have a descendant.

So the future opened up wide for Rut. The neighbors say to Naomi: "She is worth more to you than seven sons." They thank Rut for their solidarity with Naomi. The future also opened up for Naomi, who takes care of her grandson: she is again Naomi and no longer Mara. The future is full of possibilities for Boas, little Obed and for all who come after them. The story of Rut is a guide to the future. It is a beautiful signpost.

VIII. How does this story relate to us as country that has a new government? As a congregation that will probably live with online services for a few more months? Do we take last year's experience as a break moment and as a guide? Are we going to carry on differently, with more solidarity and care that we have learned at the depths of the crisis? How do we deal with the strangers who come to us with their experience of need? Has the experience that things can suddenly become very difficult taught us to be more loving ? Have we realized how important community is? Are we looking for spiritual nourishment more than before? It is up to us to label the signpost. I believe that if courage and consciousness, solidarity, togetherness and new ways of living continue to set out together, then "future" will be written on this signpost. We have to do without mileage indication, but that doesn't matter. We can be sure that what is important and what will sustain us, we will find along the way. And in doing so, in labeling our signpost “Future�, God will provide us also with the experience of love, commitment and hope, just as Naomi and Ruth have embodied those.

Amen.