UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST in SIMI VALLEY
Twenty-second Sunday After Pentecost - November 9, 2003
Anne G. Cohen
Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17
For Our Reflection:
Ruth had the straightforward part:
to empty out her past,
turn from her own gods,
give herself without a thought,
fall into the arms of that safe woman,
and ask to be held for ever.
But Naomi, burnt out and battered by God,
with no resources but her brokenness,
took into her body that deep well of need,
touched her with tenderness,
led her into a strange land,
and asked her to let go.
- by Janet Morley, All Desires Known
p.108
Finding Refuge
One faith is bondage. Two
are free. In the trust
of old love, cultivation shows
a dark graceful wilderness
at its heart. Wild
in that wilderness, we roam
the distances of our faith,
safe beyond the bounds
of what we know. O love,
open. Show me
my country. Take me home.
- Wendell Berry "A Homecoming" The Country of Marriage p.33
Ruth would not leave Naomi. So Naomi took her home with her - to
husband had inherited and would have given to their two sons, had they
lived. And there they were - two impoverished widows who found refuge
in one another.
Page Two
Ruth, perhaps wanting to prove to Naomi that she was an asset, not a
burden, then took the initiative. She insisted that she work as a
gleaner in the fields of Naomi's relatives so that they would have
food. As an immediate, short-term solution to starvation, this worked
well.
Naomi, able then to take the long view, reciprocated by initiating a
chain of events that, relying on family loyalty, would bring long-term
security to them both. Ruth, although a foreigner, was brought to the
attention of Boaz - the owner of the fields she is gleaning - and a
kinsman to Naomi.
Boaz, a man of faith and honor, noted that she had taken refuge under
the wings of the God of Israel. (
God of Israel - as well as her marriage into the family - Boaz was able
to see her as more kin than foreign. When Ruth asked him to "spread
his
cloak over her" (3:9) - asking for refuge under HIS wings in the form of
marriage - Boaz did the right thing. He sorted out the land rights
issues with another relative who had prior claim. Then, with legal
permission, he took ownership of the land, married Ruth, gave her a son,
provided protection from poverty and predators, and secured the present
and future well-being of both Naomi and Ruth.
And they lived happily ever after in
kind of way.
Ruth and Naomi DID have a child to raise and a house to keep. It is
likely that Boaz, a rather well-to-do landowner, put them in charge of
servants and meals and cleaning and clothing and the kitchen garden and
nursing sick relatives and entertaining guests and myriad other tasks.
But they also had loving and supportive neighbors - gleaners Ruth had
worked alongside of - friends of Naomi - extended family. There was a
whole village to raise Ruth's son, Obed, which is
probably why he turned
out so well and ended up being grandfather to King David.
Naomi and Ruth had suffered greatly - through famine, exile, widowhood,
child loss, homelessness and poverty. And because of this, they
appreciated all the more the REFUGE they found in each other, under the
wings of God, under the cloak of Boaz, in the arms of their community.
And it is with the eyes of Ruth and Naomi that Elena and Roberto - Helen
and Bob Wrightson - come to the occasion of their
60th wedding
anniversary. Both Helen and Bob experienced disabilities and miraculous
Page Three
healings in their childhoods. They were both artists and met in Helen's
hometown,
hand-painted designs onto plates and bowls. For Bob, it was love at
first sight - and, with dogged determination, he won Helen's heart.
Their life together has been carved into a wooden quilt by Bob's
restless and eager hands... the houses they lived in, the churches they
attended, their five amazing children (four sons and a daughter - three
of whom live in Alaska), the seasons they've lived through, their
extended family, the beauty of the world that has framed their years
together.
For 60 years, in the face of world wars and hard times, sickness and
health, for better and worse - Helen and Bob have found refuge in one
another. Their deepest roots appear to be in the soil of Simi Valley -
in their home that is cooled by orange trees and vines, a piece of land
that looks across an open field to the hills beyond, a home where
children grew old enough to leave and become visitors, a place that
enfolds those that enter with comfort and welcome, love and laughter.
Their deepest roots appear to be embedded in the City Seal (which Bob
designed), in the stories of the old-timers, the patchwork of houses
that has become a series of neighborhoods, the Christian faith that has
brought Bob and Helen to THIS community of faith and bound them to us in
Christ for all time.
But, as deep as these roots appear to be, their deepest roots are
planted and intertwined in each other's hearts - now and always. And
their very real, very deep, very human love is fed by the tap root of
their very being - a tap root that goes deep into the God of All - our
Creator, our Sustainer, our Refuge.
Whatever happens in the coming days and months and years, the love that
brought and kept Helen and Bob together for 60 years will never be
lost. Their love has found refuge in the eternal memory, the boundless
heart of God. Whatever life may serve up to us - beauty or suffering,
famine or feast - we may find refuge in the love of God - which can be
seen shining in the eyes of loved ones, felt in the firm grasp of a
neighbor's hand, sensed in the spirit of our faith community, known in
the perseverance of human affection over time - right here - under the
warm dome of the sheltering sky.
In the words of Pablo Neruda:
Page Four
The earth has known you for a long time now:
you are as firm as bread, or wood;
you are a body, a cluster of absolute substances;
you have an acacia's gravity, the weight of a golden vegetable.
I know you exist, not only because your eyes fly open
and shed their light on things, like an open window -
but also because you were molded in clay, you were fired
in
Beings: they dissolve like the air, or water, or the cold.
And they are vague, they vanish when time touches them,
as if before death they crumbled into dust.
But you will fall with me like a rock into the grave:
thanks to our love, which will never waste away,
the earth will continue to live.
...asi por nuestro amor que
no fue consumido
continuara viviendo con nosostros la tierra...
- Pablo Neruda 100 Love Sonnets / Cien sonetos de amor, translated by
Stephen Tapscott pp.34-35
***********************
Bulletin
WE GATHER FOR PRAYER AND CELEBRATION
Music for Gathering
Welcome and Perspective on the Day
Musical Preparation for Worship - A Time for Centering
+ Call to Worship (One Voice)
Like the sudden rain upon the grass
and like the sunlight
my God is come to me;
as the footfall of a child who was lost,
as the rhythm of an unremembered song.
Your coming is like freedom to the prisoner,
like the return of those long captive.
You are the movements of the dance I had forgotten,
you are the face of satisfied desire.
My soul is stirred for you, my beloved,
I cannot contain my heart;
for you have seen my longing,
and your eyes are dark with love.
Your love is stronger than death,
your passion more relentless than the grave.
You will but speak the word,
and I shall be healed;
though your touch is the touch of a stranger,
yet is your voice my home.
+ Hymn of Love When Love Is
Found Hymnal # 362
A Prayer of Praise (responsive)
One: I will praise God, my Beloved, for she is
altogether lovely.
Many: Her presence satisfies my soul; she fills my senses to
overflowing so that I cannot speak.
One: Her touch brings me to life,
the warmth of her hands
makes me wholly alive.
Many: Her embrace nourishes me, body and spirit; every part
of my being responds to her touch.
One: The beauty of her face is more than I can bear; in
her
gaze I drown.
Many: When she looks upon me I can withhold nothing;
One: When she asks for my love all my defences crumble;
my pride and my control are utterly dissolved.
Many: O God I fear your terrible mercy; I am afraid to
surrender my self.
One: If I let go into the whirlpool of your love, shall
I
survive the embrace?
Many: If I fall into the strong currents of your desire, shall I
escape drowning?
One: But how shall I refuse my Beloved, and how can I
withdraw from the one my heart yearns for?
Many: On the edge of your abyss I look down and I tremble;
but I will not stand gazing for ever.
One: Even in chaos you will bear me up; if the waters
go
over my head, you will still be holding me.
Many: For the chaos is yours also, and in the swirling of
mighty waters is your presence known.
One: If I trust her, surely her power will not fail me;
nor
will she let me be utterly destroyed.
Many: Though
I lose all knowledge and all security,
yet will my God never forsake me;
One: But she will recreate me, in her steadfast love,
so
that I need not be afraid.
Many: Then will I praise my Beloved among the people,
among those who seek to know God.
+ Our Common Prayer (unison)
Creator God who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,
on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts
As we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil,
For Thine is the kingdom and the power
And the glory forever. Amen.
Time for Silent Reflection
One: My soul
waits in silence.
All: God is my rock and my fortress. I will be at peace.
Silent
Reflection
The
Assurance of Good News (unison)
God recreates us in his steadfast love, we need not be afraid!
Sung Response "Hallelujah. God be
praised!"
(CSB #5 Refrain)
WE TEACH, REFLECT AND PROCLAIM
Conversation with Our Children
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partidge
by Mem Fox
Reading from the Hebrew Scriptures
Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17
Sermon Finding Refuge
WE RESPOND TO GOD'S INVITATION
Intercessions, Celebrations and Encouragements
Call to
Prayer Be still and know that I am
God
Hymnal #743
Time for
Silence
Our Joys and
Concerns and an Offering of Prayer
Sung
Response In SolitudeHymnal #521 vv.
1 & 2
We Offer Our Gifts So That Our Lives May Be Our Prayer
A Steward's
Story
Offertory
Prayer of
Dedication (unison)
God took our extravagance and asked for passion;
God took our self-absorption, and created insight;
God saw our need to give, and called forth charity;
God accepted charity, and made us long for justice. Amen.
+ Family Hymn God Made From One Blood Hymnal #
427
+ Commissioning (unison)
May the God who dances in creation,
Who embraces us with human love,
Who shakes our lives like thunder,
Bless us and drive us out with power
To fill the world with Justice. Amen.
+ Sung Response (we gather in some semblance of a
circle)
Hymnal # 526
We are marching in the Light of God, We are marching in the Light of God
We are marching in the Light of God, We are marching in the Light of God
We are marching, Oo, We are marching in the Light of
God
We are marching, Oo, We are marching in the Light of
God
+ Postlude
WORSHIP NOTES
Call to Worship is by Janet Morley, All Desires Known:
Inclusive Prayers for Worship and Meditation (Episcopal
Church) p.102
A Prayer of Praise Ibid. pp.91-92
Prayer of Dedication Ibid. p.78 adapted
Commissioning Ibid. p.88 adapted