“Where you go, I will go.” That’s what Ruth said to Naomi. “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.” Ruth to Naomi. Daughter-in-law to mother-in-law. Moabite to Israelite. Widow to widow. Woman to woman. “Don’t press me to leave you or to turn back from following you.” Don’t make me leave now. Don’t turn me away from you now. Entreat me not to leave you.

            In all of the mystery of life and of death, Naomi was left without her two sons and without her husband. They had all died there in the land of Moab. Naomi sought a blessing from God for her widowed, childless daughters-in-law. She prayed that God would deal kindly with them, assuming that they should return to their own mother’s house even as Naomi herself intended to return to her native town of Bethlehem in the land of Judah. The two young wives expressed their desire to return with Naomi to her people. Naomi said no and insisted they remain. One daughter-in-law, Orpah,  listened to Naomi and honored her request. She kissed her and went on her way. But Ruth, Ruth clung to Naomi and said “Don’t make me leave. I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.”

            “Entreat me not to leave you” as told in an older translation. With such words, the echo in the room points the church’s imagination toward a wedding, the exchange of vows, people dressed up, a solo soprano, and schmaltzy arrangement. “Entreat me not.” But a summary, a paraphrase of Ruth’s expression of devotion, “I will be with you always” it is less like romance and more like that quote from Jesus at the end of Matthew’s Gospel. The great commission. “And remember, I am with you always, even until the end of the age.” That’s the promise of Jesus. But it sounds a bit like the promise of Ruth as well; where you go, I will go, where you live, I will live, your people, my people, where you die, I will die. You. Me. Always.

            Ruth commits her devotion, her companionship, her family ties, her economic survival, her faith, her future. Naomi yearns for Ruth to experience the very blessing of God. Yet that blessing is expressed by Ruth and lived out in the devotion of their lives one to another. The kindness of God that Naomi prays for is given life and shape in the breadth and the risk and the humanity of Ruth’s love. Where you go, I will go.

            The blessing and kindness of God are given a unique and glorious expression in the promise of Jesus. Not just the Great Commandment, but his life, death, and resurrection. Yet the story of Naomi and Ruth reminds us that something of that same blessing and kindness is embodied in relationships, in family, in devotion and commitment. In how we treat one another. The Book of Ruth with  its place here in the Bible affirms that God is revealed in our love for another. That the very work of God, the Spirit of God is given shape and form and substance in our life together, in our devotion one to another, in our love for the other. God’s love made manifest here and now. Our love for God given hands and feet here and now. The blessing and kindness of God here and now.

            I can’t remember which teacher first taught me about the importance of showing my work. Mrs. Whettle in 3rd grade. Mr. Reynolds in 4th grade. Mrs Jackson in 5th grade. Some early math class, I’m sure. Long division. Word problems. Beginning algebra. I can’t remember when exactly, that I learned that difficult lesson that you could have the right answer on the test, but if you didn’t show your work, you would be marked off. You could say the right thing, but if you couldn’t tell how you got there, you could still lose a few points. You may have the exact answer a bit wrong, but if you work the equations and follow the sequence, you can still gain quite a few points. You could figure it out all in your head, but if you didn’t take the time to show your work in a way that others could see and understand and  read your writing and follow your logic, you would still be missing important lessons to be learned. At some point, showing your work became part of the exam.

            In our gospel lesson for the morning, Jesus is given an exam question from one of the scribes. “Which commandment is the first of all?” With his answer Jesus refuses to pick just one. “‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength’. The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.’” Love of God. Love of neighbor. Devotion to God with every part of your being: heart, soul, mind, strength. And devotion to neighbor. The great commandment. Love of God and love of the other. Or as Augustine called it, the rule of love.

            And it is best when you answer the question, to show your work. Jesus healing the sick. Feeding the hungry. Eating with sinners. Touching the outcast. Welcoming the children. Loving his enemies. Embracing the world with his outstretched arms there at the cross. Unconditional, self-emptying love. Willingly accepting the death that defines what it means to be human and not God. Where you die, I will die. Or as recorded in the Gospel of John, “having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them until the end. Jesus answered, “the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” And Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, they record the homework. They show the work. Jesus on the rule of love.

            Years ago in seminary, one of our classmates could go on for a long time telling the rest of us stories about the formalities of the family dinner table growing up. Everyone was dressed up for dinner, not just on Sundays. Proper manners were a must, as was proper posture. Mother would resort to a yardstick down the back of the shirt at the table to teach the children how to sit up appropriately. The conversation around the table was directed by their father, as if he happened to be conducting a concerto of some sort. He would lead with questions, sometimes about school, about the day, about the bible, about just about anything. At the meal, after the blessing, the only conversation came in response to a question.

            There are many table rituals that people share at mealtime. Hopefully, most are less formal, not so oppressive, and contributing to more positive memories about family and relationships to be carried along the way. For some, it’s a conversation about hi’s and lo’s of the day. Others start with the simple question “how was school today” and depending on the age and gender of your children, you might get a conversation going. All too many of us know and lament when the table opportunities overflow with the tensions that come with life together. Table rituals and table blessings at the center of life and devotion and commitments one to another. Like the family that sits long after the meal and shares memories through tears about the one whose chair is now empty. Or the grown-ups who happily give up on adult conversation at dinner for a season of life. Or the one who finds the courage to make the phonecall to a friend or go to the dining room with others so as not to eat in silence. Or the folks who commit to having everyone at the table at least once a week or once a month.

            Everyone can think of some table rules and practices that have little to do with a yardstick down the shirt but have everything to do with devotion, companionship, family ties, faith, and future. Here in the community of faith, when we come to this table, it is the rule of love that comes to the fore. God’s love. The love of Jesus. And our love. “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Here at this Table we enact, we embody the breadth of our love of God in a way that we can taste and see and smell and feel. Here we express our devotion and feast on grace. Knowing that it is only by such grace, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, that our lives will show our work. Show God’s love. The very work of God given shape and form and substance in our life together. Our love for God given hands and feet here and now.

            Most of us, I think, have been taught that the experience of Holy Communion is rather private. Indeed, it is the church’s celebration but there is a spiritual privacy in all of the prayer and silence and formality that define this table. There is that sense that communion is about God and you. But like every other meal that we share, don’t forget the conversation. This meal ought to take place surrounded by a  web of conversation. Conversation  about the rule of love and showing our work. The conversations, not just here in the liturgy, but the conversations in our life together. Discerning the rule of love and showing our work. It’s what it means to be the church.

            The rule of love and how we treat one another. At home, on the playground, at school, in the office, in our politics, in our sharing of resources, at the voting booth this Tuesday, with those we love and those no one loves. The rule of love. God’s love made manifest here and now. At the border, in the neighborhood, on campus, with our enemies, around our tables, at this table, with children in worship, with those in the church who may disagree with us, when singing a hymn we don’t like but someone else probably does. The rule of love. When crying out for peace and calling for an end to war, when speaking for those who have no voice, when welcoming all sinners and saints, when challenging the worlds priorities of wealth and success, when speaking out against acts of violence or racial hatred or state sponsored torture. If we don’t talk about the rule of love here and showing our work here at the church, where else will you have the chance?

            The blessing and kindness of God here and now!

            Come to the Table and make sure you show your work.

 

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