Rembrandt: Boaz and Ruth
Pen and brush, ca.1637-40, Berlin
Christ Carol
Perhaps the people who await the Lord’s return -
To deal with sheep and goats, and think he’d sinners spurn -
Should take a look at such a text as this and note,
Salvation comes to those who wait! The antidote
To fear and sin is Christ who saves, who does not hate,
Who is, for all of us, the certain advocate!
So put off fear of what’s to come in death - and life -
And put away the worry that provokes the strife
That some create o’er immigrants, or even Jews;
Because in Christ we have the sure and certain news
That no one is outside what Christ for all has done,
So, say with Tiny Tim: God bless us, every one.
Scott L. Barton
For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a
mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in
the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself again and again,
as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not
his own; for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the
foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end
of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is
appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, so Christ,
having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time,
not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
+ + +
Not Ruthless!
Beware of those who like the part,
who like the way they look in robes,
perfecting every day their art.
This is the same all o'er the globe.
If I forget, pull out this text;
remind me of the widow, poor,
who gave - not knowing what came next -
from trust that, on her, love still poured.
An earlier widow used her wits
to snag a man for Ruth (and her!)
while knowing all along, grace is
the gift of what could be, conferred.
Thus, Obed, David's grandpa, born
to one who served Naomi dear,
was named for service, like that sworn
by One who, in his line, appeared.
If Boaz didn't bite, the Christ
we know might never have been born;
This widow's trust in God sufficed;
Not ruthless, we're by love adorned!
Scott L. Barton
Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, I need to
seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you. Now here is our
kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is
winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Now wash and anoint yourself,
and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing floor; but do not
make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. When
he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet
and lie down; and he will tell you what to do.” She said to her, “All that you
tell me I will do.”
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came
together, the Lord made her conceive, and she bore a son. Then the women said
to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without
next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a
restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who
loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.” Then Naomi took
the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse. The women of the
neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They
named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.
+ + +
As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to
walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces,
and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets!
They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers.
They will receive the greater condemnation.”
He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd
putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor
widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he
called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has
put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of
them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has
put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
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