Title: Freedom from Suffering/Ruth 1:19-22
It is Naomi who appears in today's text. We need to focus on how a woman's life is confessed in today's text and how we find ourselves in that confession.
1. Be honest with yourself (Ruth 1:20)
Naomi was a woman who had lived a tumultuous life. When there is a famine in Bethlehem, she puts all her possessions aside and emigrates to Moab, where she does not serve God at all. After losing her husband in Moab, she loses her sons in turn. And now Naomi, now living with her two daughters-in-law, begins to look back on her life and find out where she went wrong. Naomi hears that Bethlehem is now free from the famine. Naomi discovers that she had a major problem with her behavior when she went to Moab for her own good, where she saw worldly abundance from her brothers and sisters of the same culture and values as her religious background. And in the process, we see a conversation with 'Ruth' that touched our hearts. Now, returning to Bethlehem with Ruth, Naomi meets her former faith companions.
On the spot, Naomi says about herself: "Don't call me Naomi, call me Mara." Mara means "pain, sorrow" in Korean. We need to note how Naomi speaks of herself. Naomi does not run away from her shame. Rather, she honestly confesses her shame to the point of embarrassment to everyone. We see the happiness of Naomi and Ruth later in the Bible. The first thing that appeared in her search for joy was that she honestly acknowledged her reality. If we want to experience God's care and restoration, we will have to accept our shame and the pain that exposes our sins. Naomi did not glorify her pain and the reason for her pain.
2. The source of suffering must be found in faith (Ruth 1:20)
3. The choice to return to the first place (Ruth 1:22)
In Naomi's life, we find the same common sense of faith that our confession and a new resolution are needed to restore the lost joy. The Bible records Naomi's choice as follows. “He returned with his mother-in-law, Ruth, the Moabite woman.”
Naomi's new decision to return to where she should have been may have been more difficult than when she left for Moab. Naomi's family returned to Bethlehem in Judah. True repentance is found and experienced not only in confession of repentance, but in the fact that we have returned. To truly turn around means to be right where you need to be. If we remember when Adam and Eve sinned before God, they hid from God. And God asked them: "Adam, where are you?" It's back to where it should be! This choice is exactly what we need. We can boldly run towards abundance that is irrelevant to us just because we are not rich now. And we can be in embarrassment and losing a lot of things for various reasons that cannot be with us. If such a painful moment comes to us, we will need to remember Naomi's life and her decisions.
And she now experiences her own life in abundance. According to the text, “they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.” Of course, Naomi does not enjoy all the abundance. Naomi, who did not share difficult moments with her, did not deserve the harvest's abundance. However, she is now free from hunger with the attention and help of those around her. She is now out of crisis in her life. There is no reason that we should look out for each other and share love. But in order for us to share with each other, there must be a personal change that must be preceded. It is a new check and confirmation of one's relationship with God. The changes in Naomi's life can be seen by reading the book of Ruth. Her repentance and determination are now shown by God as a reason for intervention. As much as she suffers, God gives her a wonderful blessing. That is, her name is mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.
Dear brothers and sisters!
When my children make a mistake and do not realize it, I mercilessly strike that little calf with a stick. The children resent their father when they hit the small and delicate calf while swallowing the pain of their hearts as much as the crying of children. The children do not know the heart of their father, who has no choice but to beat him because of love, and only remember the sadness he felt at his father.
God loves us more than I love my child. Dear brothers and sisters!
Because of that love, we will have to look back and acknowledge that we can love each other. Let that love overflow to us now in the name of the Lord.
Let's pray together for our enlightenment and mature love.