Society, compassion and knowing our place…….

Boaz seems like a lovely chap.

What Ruth is doing when he comes across her is not unusual, as Boaz is already letting women glean behind the harvesters – just as God instructed the upright responsible Israelite citizens to do back in Deuteronomy –

When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow.  Deuteronomy 24:21

And yet Ruth does stand out. When Boaz takes the time to come and greet his harvesters with a blessing – “The Lord be with you!” – he asks…

“Who does that young woman belong to?” Ruth 2:5

This is Ruth. She is a Moabite. She is Naomi’s daughter-in-law. She’s asked permission to glean. She’s worked hard. She’s only had one short break.

Boaz is filled with compassion for Ruth –

My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.  Ruth 2:8-9

He wants to protect her. He wants to provide for her.

She is overwhelmed. She shows him respect. She bows down with her face to the ground. She asks him “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?”

Boaz knows about this remarkable young woman already. Of course he does. Everyone in Bethlehem has heard about Naomi’s return to town with her Moabite daughter-in-law. What Ruth has done in leaving her family and homeland to come and live among an unknown people is the talk of the town. And this is his desire for her –

May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge. Ruth 2:12

Ruth is again overwhelmed. She knows her place –

You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants. Ruth 2:13

At the mealtime, Boaz invites her to sit and eat with the harvesters. After she’s had enough and returned to work, Boaz orders his men to show her special favour –

Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her. Ruth 2:15-16

In the evening, Ruth takes the threshed barley that she has gathered and the leftover food from the meal home to Naomi.

Naomi: Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!

Ruth: The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,

Naomi: The Lord bless him! He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead. That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers (a legal term for one who has the obligation to redeem a relative in serious difficulty).

Ruth: He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.’”

Naomi: It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.

So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.  Ruth 2:23

Maybe the tide is beginning to turn. Maybe things are beginning to change for the two women. Maybe Naomi can now see a light at the end of the tunnel.

So what stands out for us today in this heart-warming story?

1. Before any kind of formal welfare state, gleaning was a way of providing for the poor (and interestingly, Boaz’ response to Ruth is not simply a handout but a way for her to continue her work in safety and with a fair reward – the basis of fair trade initiatives all over the world……). Now in our welfare state, those of us that work are taxed to provide resources to support and provide for those less fortunate than ourselves (which the selfish side of most of us is prone to resent on occasions…..). Society works by people looking out for other people. That is what community is about. Although you wouldn’t think it listening to most of the politicians pitching for our vote at the moment. They are appealing to our selfish side. About what they can do for us as individuals. About how they can improve our lives as individuals. About what we deserve as individuals. About how our individual nation can become great again. Maybe living with a socialist all these years has rubbed off on me, but I can’t think that way. I want the whole world to be a better place for everyone and I want to play my part and share what I have.

2. Compassion is seriously under-rated. I’m a massive fan of compassion. Compassion is strong and brave and sacrificial. It is not weak and idealistic. It sees the best in others. It sees the humanity in others. It wants the best for others. It reaches out to others in practical generosity. It’s a heart response with a practical outworking. It doesn’t count the cost. It does not have to be earned. It is not deserved (except that everyone deserves to be loved and cared for and protected and provided for….). It sees all individuals as equally human regardless of status or capability. There is not enough compassion in this world. I intend to be a compassion champion today (and everyday)!

3. Ruth’s response is telling too. Yes, she needs help but she is willing to work hard too. She has proved herself to be loyal and self-sacrificial already. She responds with respect to Boaz (effectively her boss). She knows her place – not in a negative humiliating put-herself-down kind of way but in a humble, respectful, diligent kind of way. Whatever we do and whenever we do it, we should always do it with the best attitude and to the best of our ability, regardless of whether anyone is watching or not. We never know what effect what we are doing now will have on what happens tomorrow. Here’s an example from my own life – although I don’t know how to tell this without sounding big-headed (which is definitely not my intention!) Anyway, I’ll give it a go. Hopefully it helps explain my point.

I love my job. Some people have said I am overqualified and shouldn’t be doing this job. I have never thought that way. I have never thought I am too good for what I do. Every day I turn up and clock in and do what I am asked to do to the best of my ability. I am not the best but I work hard and I am willing and always happy to help. Sometimes extra shifts are a pain and sometimes customers are a pain and sometimes the requests from above are a pain but I genuinely love the work and the people and the place and am grateful to be a part of it. I know my place within the organisation (and am happy with that) and I respect and encourage those in authority over me. I have been part of some great community projects and initiatives recently that all came together at the same time and resulted in a high profile period of media coverage. It wasn’t planned deliberately that way. I probably couldn’t have planned it that way if I had tried. I simply threw my all into every project and gave of my time and effort and enthusiasm because that is what I do. It got me noticed however at just the right time to be nominated to go to Arkansas as a national representative. Which is a massive privilege. People say I deserve this because I am amazing. But you know what, I work with loads of other amazing people who deserve this just as much as I do. It’s not because I am amazing, it’s because everything came together at just the right time and maybe it was just all meant to be. I actually feel a bit embarrassed when everyone goes on about it and have to fight the urge to persuade them that I really don’t deserve this at all. However now that I have been offered this chance, I will seize the opportunity with both hands and give it all that I have got and really savour this once in a lifetime experience. Actually, that’s pretty much how I try to live everyday – seizing the good stuff with both hands and giving everything all that I have got and savouring the special experiences…….

Maybe one of these three points touched a chord for you – or maybe all three! Rob Bell has made an excellent NOOMA short film on this subject entitled CORNER which explains all of this so much more eloquently and creatively than I ever will.

So today I will watch that again and tomorrow try to convey the essence of his message…..watch this space!