[Propertalk] FW: Proper 27 b- Part 1 of 2

[Joe Parrish]

Forwarded:

 

From: Robert P Morrison [mailto:robertpmorrison at charter.net] 
Sent: Friday, November 06, 2015 12:20 AM
To: 'JoeParrish at compuserve.com' <JoeParrish at compuserve.com>
Subject: Proper 27 b

 

Let me try a Part 1 ... it's still in draft form.

 

Bob

 

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY                  

THE TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

RUTH 3:1-5; 4:13-17                                                                                                     PROPER 27 B

HEBREWS 9:24-28                                                                                            8th NOVEMBER, 2015

MARK 12:38-44                                                                                                                  PSALM 127

 

            “You don’t get to choose your demons,” said novelist John Irving. “They choose you.” 1  

            He was talking about the things that may you keep awake some nights, unable to get something out of your mind, unable to resolve certain issues.

            What’s YOUR worst nightmare? What is it that can tie up your mind in knots and, at the same time, engage your stomach in the roller coaster ride of its life?

            There are some things that affect all of us in one way or another.

            This isn’t supposed to be some sort of sadistic exercise on my part, invoking images in your mind that will surface as soon as your head hits the pillow tonight. What the readings suggest today is that taking on the greatest challenges, doing the things that may seem scary, and potentially crippling; facing up to them, having had an earnest conversation with God, and trusting in God for guidance, can give us a feeling of release. And doing this – trusting God after such conversation and reflection – can give us the courage to act on what we believe God is inviting us to do – namely, to find a way to live out our Baptismal Covenants.

            Naomi and Ruth had come to Ruth’s home town. For her it was bittersweet. She knew the folk there, and she had relatives. But she was returning without her husband and her sons. She had left with a sense of dignity and purpose, even if she was getting out of her comfort zone by moving away from her familiar surroundings. Now she was returning and had none of the people or things which might offer her stability and hope. Although things were familiar, they’d taken on a whole new look because there wasn’t anyone on whom she could depend one hundred percent. Naomi and Ruth were alone, by themselves, and had only their faith and their wits on which to depend.

            As an older widow, Naomi might have succumbed to fatalism, simply giving up. But she knew that she had a responsibility for Ruth, a foreigner, a migrant, possibly even considered a refugee, who was herself a widow. So she had to do something to ensure that her daughter-in-law had some means to find support.

            So what did Naomi do? She pointed out to Ruth a stable, wealthy relative, told Ruth to get herself all dressed and perfumed up, and then sent her in to seduce Boaz. The biblical writers tend to get cold feet, if I can use that expression, when it comes to certain matters, but what Naomi sent Ruth to do had something to do with that which was considerably higher up than Boaz’ feet.  Jesus’ ancestor, Obed, father of Jesse, father of David, and so on; Jesus’ ancestor was born out of this moment of seduction. Jesus’ ancestor was guaranteed a roof over his head and a source of income, AND a place in history, because one older widow sent a younger widow in to pick off a rich husband.

            How do you feel about those morals and ethics? I can imagine today’s lawyers gearing up for a lengthy and lucrative court case if that were to happen today. But what was Naomi to do? She had to care for herself, even if she had only a few weeks or months to live. She had to do something for Ruth. So she acted.

            Naomi was living with, and trying to deal with, the demons of starvation, of loneliness, of humiliation, of everything which would reduce her to a nothing. People would simply walk by her, not willing – perhaps not able – to suggest any remedy.

            There’s a seventeenth century Jesuit theologian whose teaching offered comfort and hope to many, yet who was condemned as heretical by the official church. Nowadays, however, these same writings are considered in the mainstream of devotional works. Jean Pierre de Caussade “believed that the present moment is a sacrament from God and that self-abandonment to it and its needs is a holy state” 2 In other words, immersing one’s self in the company of God, being open to God’s guidance and leading, sifting through the intuition that the Divine Company offers us as individuals and communities, offers us the freedom we need to respond to choices, to crises, to demons, if you wish to call them so.

            Caussade seems to speak to many of the situations in which we find ourselves. We get stressed so easily. We worry about outcomes – of financial markets, of our health, of decisions about work and relationships and whether or not we should take a chance, But so much of this leads into an unknown future.

            Caussade wrote, “When you are conducted by a guide who takes you through an unknown country at night across fields where there are no tracks, by his own skill, without asking advice from anyone, or giving you any inkling of his plans; how can you choose but abandon yourself? Of what use is it looking about to find out where you are, to ask the passers-by, or to consult maps and travelers? The plans or fancies of a guide who insists on being trusted would not allow of this. He would take pleasure in overcoming the anxiety and distrust of the soul, and would insist on an entire surrender to his guidance. If one is convinced that he is a good guide one must have faith in him, and abandon oneself to his care.

            “… If you would live according to the Gospel, abandon yourself simply and entirely to the action of God.

            “… The life of each saint is the life of Jesus Christ; it is a new gospel.” 3

 

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