Sermon Notes for November 5th

November 5, 2006
Ruth 1:1-18
“Where you go, I will go”

1.So, here is your quick quiz this morning:

What famous TV personality – and talk show host is named after a woman in the Bible?
Orpah -- Oprah Winfrey

Many of you are familiar with this well known and timeless story of the young woman Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi.

In brief, it is the story of how Naomi and her husband and two sons who travel to the land of Moab to escape from a famine. The two sons marry Moabite women and then all the husbands die leaving Naomi with no one so she decides to return the land of Judah and tells her two daughter-in-laws to stay behind. Orpah does but Ruth, refuses and after much discussion, Naomi finally relents and Ruth goes with her.

1. It is a simple, yet wonderful story of loyalty and faithfulness and compassion. For, despite the dangers and uncertainty of leaving her own people, Ruth cannot allow Naomi to be left alone with a husband and no one to care for her. Her words are forever remembered for all time in the great language of the King James Bible:

16And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:

Seldom, if ever, is the idea of self-giving love – the love of Ruth for Naomi, better described for us than in this story.



Which does not mean that Orpah did something bad, for she did Naomi had asked -- only that Ruth goes beyond just doing the right thing – she does the greater thing! She lets go of her fears, uncertainty, and her past and goes forth bravely into the unknown, knowing only that it is the right thing to do even if she were to die.

2. And so, this morning, I want to hold up that image for you as a way of looking at communion and our spiritual life. Because that is, in a way, what we are symbolically doing when we come forward to receive the bread and juice … we are letting go … letting go of our comfortable seat in the pew … where we can sort of hide out … or hide behind the self image we project for others to see us out in the open.

But it is more than that … we are acknowledging that to live good, whole, and productive lives we have to let go of a lot of things in life. Sometimes we have to let go of the past … or let go of who we once were in the past.

In a book I was reading recently by a Catholic spiritual director, he tells the story about the hockey player who could not let go. It seems that this man, who was living in a small town in norther Canada, had been a successful hockey player in school and had high hopes of going on to play professionally. But, it didn't work out and finally he settled down to work at the local supermarket, get married, have children and all the rest. In fact, it wasn't all that bad. His wife loved him, his kids were fine, and it was a good job. But, he kept dreaming about being a hockey star. He went to hockey games, bought hocky paraphrenalia, and was always talking about hockey to the point where he was neglecting his family. It was a real problem because he could not accept himself for what he was. "I need help," he said. And so began the process of "letting go" of the past and the dream he had once had in order to accept and care about himself and his family.

3. Holding on to the past … can affect us in many ways … and theologically speaking it can be the difference between resuscitation and resurrection.

Do you know the difference between them?

Well, resuscitation is when something or someone is ill or about to die or has died and comes back to life. As in the case of Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead. Lazarus got his life but he was still the same Lazarus who would eventually die again.

This is different from Jesus … who died … and came back, but in a different form, through which he was able to transform the lives of the disciples who were no longer the same people they were before.

So, communion is really about resurrection and new life and to be so transformed … we need to be able to let go of our old life.

And -- Sometimes we have to let go of people in our lives … both people who have been good for us and those who have not …

4. In 2nd Samuel we learn of how King David’s son became seriously ill. David, doing what was expected, donned sack-cloth, sat in ashes, and prayed and fasted, pleading with God to spare his son.

Incidentally, sackcloth was most often made of coarse, black goat's hair. As its name indicates, it was used for sacks, but was also customarily worn by mourners (in some countries, the ancient custom is still faintly seen today when mourners wear black arm bands at funerals), or as a sign of deep repentance and humility.

However, the son died. Upon hearing this, David took off the sackcloth, bathed off the ashes, went to the Temple and prayed, and then went home at and good meal and slept with his wife who conceived another son – whose name was Solomon.

David’s advisors, having observed his behavior, said to David:
“while you son was alive, you fasted and prayed but now you eat and drink.” And David replied: “While the child was still alive, I fasted and prayed, hoping God would spare him. Now that he is dead there is nothing I can do to bring him back – but I am still alive and I must go on living and continue to create new life.”

5. Now, it all sounds pretty simple and quick and easy … but of course the Bible is often just touching on the surface … for we know that dealing with hurt and pain … and loss can be difficult and it can take time … especially the loss of a spouse or loved on.

And sometimes people do not recover … as in the case of the famous baseball player, Kirby Puckett, who really had a hard time making the transition away from stardom … and ultimately suffered from depression and an early death from overeating and hypertension.

No, you are not likely to take communion one day and be all better the next.
Communion is not a quick fix. But it is a place to start. It is a reminder that the real power in our lives begins with God – whose spirit, present in Jesus Christ, has the ability to transform us from within … if we are willing to let go … as we proclaim (in the words of well known hymn):

Lord, we are able. Our spirits are Thine.
Remold them, make us, like Thee, divine.
Thy guiding radiance above us shall be
A beacon to God, to love and loyalty.

6. So, whatever it is, what ever is holding you back … leave it behind today as you come forward … or at least name it … and pray about it … and talk to someone, a friend, a wise person … talk it through … as you begin your own personal path of resurrection … of dieing and being made whole.

A now, there is one other aspect of communion which I wish to touch on today … and that is that we do it together.

Nowadays, there are those who feel that they can meet all their religious needs through private prayer or meditation or any number of self-help programs or gurus … in fact, there is a whole industry of these approaches … books proliferate … it’s a kind of “do it yourself spirituality.”

Now I am not knocking them, necessarily, I am only pointing out that we need to be involved with others in our spiritual journey. The search for God is not a private matter … for, from the earliest days, Christians recognized the truth in Jesus’ words, “wherever two or three are gathered together I will be with you.”

7. And there are those who believe that merely by being involved in politics, or social service, or helping the poor … can represent all that is needed for a healthy spiritual life. Who needs the church, anyway?



And the church is called to help the poor and disadvantaged. And often we do it together … as in the relief efforts to victims of Hurricanes and other local community needs like Churches United and the Food Shelf and the Soup Kitchen.

Yes, as we say, “we are all in this together.” Christ calls us to be part of something greater than ourselves. And in so doing, we are reminded that we are not alone in our faith.

8. Along these lines, we are reminded that we are not alone in faith for there have been many persons … who have been part of our lives and who have nurtured our faith as children and adults.
Both in this congregation and elsewhere and in our families as well as among our friends.

No, our faith in God did not just spring up out of nothing … it did not come right out of thin air … chances are we first learned about God from other people … their words … their actions …

And these are what we call the communion of saints. And this is All Saints Sunday when we take time to remember all the saints both living and dead whose examples of faithfulness, and charity, and love have been a guide for us in our spiritual life and in our church and all other aspects of our faith. We all know of them, do we not? Who are they?

9. Well, I suppose, we mostly think of those great exemplary people like St. Paul, and Francis of Assisi and John Wesley … and others who, in terms of the church and their commitment to Christ – stand out head and shoulders above the rest.

And yet, like every one of us, they, too, were very human.

To be a saint, in other words, doesn’t mean that you necessarily some superhuman person. Ordinary people can be saints, too.


So, who we are honoring here today are all the wonderful, caring, faithful people who gave their lives that others, like us, could become who we are.

These are people who didn’t ask “What’s in it for me?”

But who accepted their lives, reached down deep inside themselves, and went out and did what needed to be done: raising a family, helping out in church, caring for loved ones, volunteering for community organizations and demonstrating the faith in God which underlies all of life … and which we nourish in prayer and worship and service.

10. with this in mind, we are doing two special things this morning in connection with communion.

First, we are starting the bringing of communion to members of our church who are unable to attend church. The new Methodist term is “extending the table.” Or, you could call it, “take out communion.” This is a trial run today which will involve only 4 to six persons, but in the future, we hope to be bringing communion to everyone who desires it – on a regular basis.

Elaine Hazard, John and Lo Sorenson, Tom and Mary Ann Gray and De Pickett will be our lay communion visitation team today. The special baskets on the communion table have names on them and after our visitation team members take communion they will go up and get a basket and bring it back with them to their pew.

10. Secondly, we have arranged candles along the communion rail and to the sides. Anyone who wishes, today, to remember and honor a special saint in their life … please feel free after you take communion to go up and light a candle and name that person in your heart or say a special prayer. The candle lighter are easy to use, you just pull the trigger. And, we will have two persons up front to help you if you are having trouble lighting the candle. We would like to start by lighting the larger candles on the communion rail first.

In doing so, we are honoring not only those who we remember today who have died in the past year … but all those saints who are part of God’s kingdom here on earth and throughout all eternity.

And with that, I leave you with this thought from the well known novelist and Christian writer Frederich Buechner, Who advises us that on All Saints Day: "it is not just the great saints of the church that we should remember in our prayers, but all the foolish ones and wise ones, the shy ones and overbearing ones, the broken ones and whole ones, and all the despots and crackpots of our lives who, in one way or another have been our own particular fathers and mothers and saints, and whom we loved without knowing we loved them and by whom we were helped .... to have of some kind of very humble and precious sainthood of our own.”

Amen.