Call me Mara

Good evening friends,
Some great discussion at South Presbyterian tonight about collaborative ministry. There will be some cool things cooking in Rochester in the coming months. We'll talk more about some of that at the annual meeting, but truly a blessing to be dreaming together.

We read yesterday about Naomi and her husband immigrating to Moab in search of food and about how her husband and sons died in Moab. Not long after that, Naomi heard that the famine in Israel was over, so she got ready to return, but wants to send her daughters in law back to their homes so they can get started making a new life. The heartbreak in the story is powerful, but one thing we learn in scripture is that God can bring beauty out of pain. A big part of the beauty in this story is the relationship among the women.

God bless,
Sam

Ruth 1:10-22

¹⁰They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” ¹¹But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? ¹²Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, ¹³would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.” ¹⁴Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

¹⁵So she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” ¹⁶But Ruth said, “Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. ¹⁷Where you die, I will die— there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!” ¹⁸When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

¹⁹So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them; and the women said, “Is this Naomi?” ²⁰She said to them, “Call me no longer Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me. ²¹I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty; why call me Naomi when the Lord has dealt harshly with me, and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” ²²So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

debts and immigrants

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Much of the Book of Exodus following the Ten Commandments contains other commandments and laws that flesh out the main ten. I've selected some of these sections in the days ahead based on teaching I think is illustrative of God's covenant with Israel or particularly relevant today. My selection is not unbiased, but I hope these readings shed light on God's priorities without bogging down in legal detail.

Today's selection deals with lending money, which in Israel was a method for relief of the poor, not a profit making opportunity. Notice the "pledge" or collateral for a loan to a poor person must be returned because the person will likely have to put up something they need to secure a loan. A good deal of concern in this covenant is given to making sure the vulnerable are protected. Immigrants are subject to similar protection, and Israel is reminded that they were once vulnerable and oppressed, so they particularly should not be oppressing those who seek refuge in their land.

Blessings on your week,
Sam

Exodus 22:21-28

21You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. 22You shall not abuse any widow or orphan. 23If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will surely heed their cry; 24my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children orphans.



25If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, you shall not deal with them as a creditor; you shall not exact interest from them. 26If you take your neighbor’s cloak in pawn, you shall restore it before the sun goes down; 27for it may be your neighbor’s only clothing to use as cover; in what else shall that person sleep? And if your neighbor cries out to me, I will listen, for I am compassionate. 28You shall not revile God, or curse a leader of your people.

success and danger

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Joseph's brothers sold him into slaver in Egypt because they were jealous. Here we follow Joseph to see what happens next. Everything went well for him at first, even in slavery, because God was with him. Before long, a complication comes up in the form of his master's wife. We'll see how this turns out for Joseph. Unfortunately many people continue to face sexual exploitation in their work place. The vulnerability is greater for those who are already vulnerable in other ways: workers with less education, women, minorities and those whose immigration status (in whatever country) makes it hard for them to change jobs or go to the police. As Christ's people we are called to stand up for the vulnerable.

God bless,
Sam

Genesis 39:1-12

Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man; he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3His master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands. 4So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him; he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. 5From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. 6So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge; and, with him there, he had no concern for anything but the food that he ate.



Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking. 7And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” 8But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my hand. 9He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” 10And although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not consent to lie beside her or to be with her. 11One day, however, when he went into the house to do his work, and while no one else was in the house, 12she caught hold of his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.