Advent 12/8/22 Sacred People

Steadfast God
Thursday, December 8

Ruth 1:11-18. (NRSV)

But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters. Why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.” Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.
So she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said, “Do not press me to leave you, to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go;
    where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people
    and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die,
    and there will I be buried.
May the Lord do thus to me,
    and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!”
When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.
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Ruth showed a profound faithfulness to her mother-in-law Naomi, and more importantly to Naomi’s God. She followed Naomi to a new place, a new situation, a new people, trusting in God. That is the faithfulness I strive for in my relationship with God. Even when my life isn’t going the way I thought I wanted it to go, God is still there with me, always. Knowing that God is always with me keeps me hopeful.

Sometimes I need to welcome the newness that may come with an ending.  Instead, I focus on what I think I am losing.  In those times, so much of what I worry about or mourn the loss of doesn’t really matter. I may need to let go of the past and how I thought life was going to be and commit to a new way of looking at my situation, a new plan, a new hope. I need to remember that I am never alone.

In the time of Advent, we celebrate the promise of hope. Let that promise of hope be the foundation of our relationship with God, a God that is there, steadfast with us, always.

-Robin Elston