“I’ve been meaning to ask…where do we go from here?”
Preached Sunday, February 9, 2025
“I’ve been meaning to ask…where do we go from here?”
This is our final week of our four week sermon series, “I’ve been meaning to ask..”
A Sanctified Art, the creative team behind the series says this about the theme:
“In creating this series, we started by asking ourselves questions: ‘How can we listen to one another? How do we find connection[...]? How do we create space for compassionate dialogue and for seeking the holy in one another?’
While the challenges of becoming beloved community to one another are endless, these questions are simple. We quickly recognized that all courageous conversations begin with simple questions and the curiosity to truly listen. …The main objective of this series [is]: to cultivate courageous conversations—and to keep having them…these questions aren’t surface level; they invite us to share our pain and seek ways to care for one another.”
And so I have chosen to preach these questions over the last couple of weeks. And I do think we’ve encouraged each other to be courageous community to one another. Over the last couple weeks I have overheard or engaged in conversations with many of you about who you are, about what you’re going through, about how you’re supporting each other and showing up for one another… I am only getting a small glimpse into this. I pray and hope you are finding other, unknown to me ways, but known to God, as to how you are showing up and being community to one another…
And so today we are rounding out our sermon series with “Where do we go from here?” While this is the end of this sermon series, I pray it is only the beginning of the ways we show up for one another and move forward as beloved community together…
Which brings us to our Scripture from Ruth today. The story of Naomi and Ruth actually brings together all the questions we’ve asked ourselves and one another so far:
“Where are you from?”
Naomi was from Bethlehem in Judah but lived many years as a foreigner in a foreign land, as an immigrant. There was a famine in the land of Judah and Elimelech thought that moving to Moab would have a better life for his family. And then, when their fate turns in Moab, they seek to return to Judah. And yet, Naomi has been irrevocably changed by place and the experiences she had as an outsider in another land. And now it is time for Ruth, the Moabite, to be the foreigner. There is no doubt that Naomi and Ruth and this whole story is shaped by place.
“Where does it hurt?”
Naomi has experienced the death of her husband and two sons. Ruth has experienced the loss of her husband as well. Naomi has said goodbye to her home twice - only to return to a place that was once home but she has been changed beyond recognition by loss and grief. She says, no longer call me Naomi but call me Mara which means bitter. Ruth has now also said goodbye to her home, has lost her husband young, and is leaving behind everything she’s ever known. Where does it hurt? In the story of Naomi and Ruth a better question may be - where doesn’t it hurt? They have known acute loss. Acute grief. So much death and loss. And the particular pain of saying goodbye to one's home and one’s country in hope of a better life elsewhere.
“What do you need?”
As widows without husbands or sons, both Naomi and Ruth are on the outskirts of an extremely patriarchal society. Later in their story, we find them gleaning the fields. The Law in Leviticus 23:22 says, “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the Lord your God.” This protection was to ensure that no one went hungry. That there was always food available for the picking for the last and the least - that included Naomi and Ruth. There were also other needs - Ruth and Naomi needed each other. Friendship. Companionship. They needed a path forward as well.
Which brings us today: “Where do we go from here…?”
And it’s kind of a trick question - and I don’t mean it to be - but the answer to where do we go from here is not a place, it is not a destination, it is a state of being and that is - together as a community.
We see the first part of this today where Ruth pledges herself to Naomi. Where do we go from here? Wherever we go, we go together. Ruth says,
“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,
and there will I be buried.
May the Lord do thus to me,
and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!”
The Scripture says that Naomi says no more to dissuade her. And through the rest of the book, Naomi calls Ruth “my daughter.”
Where do they go from here? Whatever the future holds for them, they will be together.
They also need a wider community. They need the community to leave the harvest in the fields for them. They need a wider community to care for the last, lost, and least. Where do they go from here? They only go forward with the support of a wider community that cares for their needs.
Where do they go from here? Whatever the future holds for them, they will be in community.
Ruth is only able to glean as much as she does because a man, Boaz, took notice of her and he instructs others to not reproach her and to keep her safe. There are risks for a young, widowed, foreign woman. Thankfully, the community and honorable people respond with protection. They only go forward by looking out and protecting those who need help.
Where do they go from here? Whatever the future holds, they look out for one another.
Which brings me to us here today, the people of Boardman UMC, where do we go from here? We go forward together. We go forward in community. We go forward looking out for each other and the last, the lost and the least.
When we ask ourselves and one another, “where do WE go from here” - the emphasis is on the “we.” It is a recognition that we are called to continue to be community to one another, as we get to know each other better, as we share pain, and care for one another. It is not a journey that ends today - it is just a continuation of being community, it is a challenge to better be community to one another and all we meet - letting the love of Christ guide us all to better love one another.
Rev. Aisha Brooks-Johnson says this about the book of Ruth and Ruth’s pledge to Naomi to go forward together:
“We have experienced a lot of death, grief, and loss in the midst of a global pandemic, racial brokenness, economic disparity, and political division. Can you imagine a world in which we took spiritual oaths like the one we find in the book of Ruth? What if we resisted the temptation to fight or flee in the face of grief, pain, and oppression? What if we took these vows with members of our human family? Imagine a member of the human family before you and speak these words aloud to them: By the mercy of God and because of God’s grace, we are bound to one another. Your pain is not your own but is now my pain. The plight of your people is held in my hands and my heart as if they were my own. Where you journey and work, I too, will journey and work alongside you, with God’s help. Where your bones are buried, may I too, find a resting place and declare every earthly resting place sacred in the eyes of God.”
There is no doubt that we are living in divisive times. There is no doubt that we are living in times where the question of “Where are you from” is a loaded one and the answer often influences how much dignity a person receives. There is no doubt that we are living in a time where there is so much pain and the question of “Where does it hurt?” is a risky one to ask because it will push us to empathize with one another and stand in solidarity with those in pain. There is no doubt we are living in a time of great need. When asking each other, “what do you need?” may require commitment and sacrifice from ourselves and our own desires to put the needs of others first.
So how do we as Christians who are seeking to live out the love of Christ in community - how do we counteract the divisiveness, pain, and needs of the world? We ask each other the hard, courageous questions, we open our ears and hearts, we listen, we learn - we change our hearts and minds to conform to the heart and mind of Christ, and we go into the future together - leaving no one behind.
And we do that by being community to one another and to all of our fellow human beings.
We learn each other’s stories. We empathize with pain. We show up for one another. We envision a future - for our church, our country, our world - that sees all human beings as beloved, reflecting the Imago Dei, the divine image of God, in each and every one of us.
When discerning where to go - together - there are a lot more courageous conversations to be had and what to ask. As a church community, bounded together by love, we may ask ourselves and one another:
What energizes or excites you?
What is something you deeply long for?
We might ask: What’s something in your life, in the Church, or in the world that desperately needs to change? How do you want to be part of that change?
And, allow me to make it real concrete for us here at Boardman UMC for a moment, show you part of the roadmap for what lies ahead of us.
Our leadership has approved moving forward with a Capital Campaign for renovations and repairs for building and ministry. We are titling this campaign: “Today, Tomorrow, Together” - and I and key leaders will be sharing and you all will be hearing a lot more about this campaign and endeavour in the near-ish future… but the whole question of that campaign is really “where do we go from here?” And the answer is: Together. We are making changes and improvements for a better today and for a better tomorrow - and we will do so together.
And again, there is no denying how much pain, confusion, fear, anxiety is out there in our world - and perhaps also, in our own lives. And our own congregation. Here, among us today. And so, for all of us who want our world to look more like the Kingdom of Christ - we all have a lot of work to do. Together, how can we make the world a more loving place? We start with the questions.
“In creating this series, we started by asking ourselves questions: ‘How can we listen to one another? How do we find connection[...]? How do we create space for compassionate dialogue and for seeking the holy in one another?’
While the challenges of becoming beloved community to one another are endless, these questions are simple. We quickly recognized that all courageous conversations begin with simple questions and the curiosity to truly listen. …The main objective of this series [is]: to cultivate courageous conversations—and to keep having them…these questions aren’t surface level; they invite us to share our pain and seek ways to care for one another.”
And so I have chosen to preach these questions over the last couple of weeks. And I do think we’ve encouraged each other to be courageous community to one another. Over the last couple weeks I have overheard or engaged in conversations with many of you about who you are, about what you’re going through, about how you’re supporting each other and showing up for one another… I am only getting a small glimpse into this. I pray and hope you are finding other, unknown to me ways, but known to God, as to how you are showing up and being community to one another…
And so today we are rounding out our sermon series with “Where do we go from here?” While this is the end of this sermon series, I pray it is only the beginning of the ways we show up for one another and move forward as beloved community together…
Which brings us to our Scripture from Ruth today. The story of Naomi and Ruth actually brings together all the questions we’ve asked ourselves and one another so far:
“Where are you from?”
Naomi was from Bethlehem in Judah but lived many years as a foreigner in a foreign land, as an immigrant. There was a famine in the land of Judah and Elimelech thought that moving to Moab would have a better life for his family. And then, when their fate turns in Moab, they seek to return to Judah. And yet, Naomi has been irrevocably changed by place and the experiences she had as an outsider in another land. And now it is time for Ruth, the Moabite, to be the foreigner. There is no doubt that Naomi and Ruth and this whole story is shaped by place.
“Where does it hurt?”
Naomi has experienced the death of her husband and two sons. Ruth has experienced the loss of her husband as well. Naomi has said goodbye to her home twice - only to return to a place that was once home but she has been changed beyond recognition by loss and grief. She says, no longer call me Naomi but call me Mara which means bitter. Ruth has now also said goodbye to her home, has lost her husband young, and is leaving behind everything she’s ever known. Where does it hurt? In the story of Naomi and Ruth a better question may be - where doesn’t it hurt? They have known acute loss. Acute grief. So much death and loss. And the particular pain of saying goodbye to one's home and one’s country in hope of a better life elsewhere.
“What do you need?”
As widows without husbands or sons, both Naomi and Ruth are on the outskirts of an extremely patriarchal society. Later in their story, we find them gleaning the fields. The Law in Leviticus 23:22 says, “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the Lord your God.” This protection was to ensure that no one went hungry. That there was always food available for the picking for the last and the least - that included Naomi and Ruth. There were also other needs - Ruth and Naomi needed each other. Friendship. Companionship. They needed a path forward as well.
Which brings us today: “Where do we go from here…?”
And it’s kind of a trick question - and I don’t mean it to be - but the answer to where do we go from here is not a place, it is not a destination, it is a state of being and that is - together as a community.
We see the first part of this today where Ruth pledges herself to Naomi. Where do we go from here? Wherever we go, we go together. Ruth says,
“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,
and there will I be buried.
May the Lord do thus to me,
and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!”
The Scripture says that Naomi says no more to dissuade her. And through the rest of the book, Naomi calls Ruth “my daughter.”
Where do they go from here? Whatever the future holds for them, they will be together.
They also need a wider community. They need the community to leave the harvest in the fields for them. They need a wider community to care for the last, lost, and least. Where do they go from here? They only go forward with the support of a wider community that cares for their needs.
Where do they go from here? Whatever the future holds for them, they will be in community.
Ruth is only able to glean as much as she does because a man, Boaz, took notice of her and he instructs others to not reproach her and to keep her safe. There are risks for a young, widowed, foreign woman. Thankfully, the community and honorable people respond with protection. They only go forward by looking out and protecting those who need help.
Where do they go from here? Whatever the future holds, they look out for one another.
Which brings me to us here today, the people of Boardman UMC, where do we go from here? We go forward together. We go forward in community. We go forward looking out for each other and the last, the lost and the least.
When we ask ourselves and one another, “where do WE go from here” - the emphasis is on the “we.” It is a recognition that we are called to continue to be community to one another, as we get to know each other better, as we share pain, and care for one another. It is not a journey that ends today - it is just a continuation of being community, it is a challenge to better be community to one another and all we meet - letting the love of Christ guide us all to better love one another.
Rev. Aisha Brooks-Johnson says this about the book of Ruth and Ruth’s pledge to Naomi to go forward together:
“We have experienced a lot of death, grief, and loss in the midst of a global pandemic, racial brokenness, economic disparity, and political division. Can you imagine a world in which we took spiritual oaths like the one we find in the book of Ruth? What if we resisted the temptation to fight or flee in the face of grief, pain, and oppression? What if we took these vows with members of our human family? Imagine a member of the human family before you and speak these words aloud to them: By the mercy of God and because of God’s grace, we are bound to one another. Your pain is not your own but is now my pain. The plight of your people is held in my hands and my heart as if they were my own. Where you journey and work, I too, will journey and work alongside you, with God’s help. Where your bones are buried, may I too, find a resting place and declare every earthly resting place sacred in the eyes of God.”
There is no doubt that we are living in divisive times. There is no doubt that we are living in times where the question of “Where are you from” is a loaded one and the answer often influences how much dignity a person receives. There is no doubt that we are living in a time where there is so much pain and the question of “Where does it hurt?” is a risky one to ask because it will push us to empathize with one another and stand in solidarity with those in pain. There is no doubt we are living in a time of great need. When asking each other, “what do you need?” may require commitment and sacrifice from ourselves and our own desires to put the needs of others first.
So how do we as Christians who are seeking to live out the love of Christ in community - how do we counteract the divisiveness, pain, and needs of the world? We ask each other the hard, courageous questions, we open our ears and hearts, we listen, we learn - we change our hearts and minds to conform to the heart and mind of Christ, and we go into the future together - leaving no one behind.
And we do that by being community to one another and to all of our fellow human beings.
We learn each other’s stories. We empathize with pain. We show up for one another. We envision a future - for our church, our country, our world - that sees all human beings as beloved, reflecting the Imago Dei, the divine image of God, in each and every one of us.
When discerning where to go - together - there are a lot more courageous conversations to be had and what to ask. As a church community, bounded together by love, we may ask ourselves and one another:
What energizes or excites you?
What is something you deeply long for?
We might ask: What’s something in your life, in the Church, or in the world that desperately needs to change? How do you want to be part of that change?
And, allow me to make it real concrete for us here at Boardman UMC for a moment, show you part of the roadmap for what lies ahead of us.
Our leadership has approved moving forward with a Capital Campaign for renovations and repairs for building and ministry. We are titling this campaign: “Today, Tomorrow, Together” - and I and key leaders will be sharing and you all will be hearing a lot more about this campaign and endeavour in the near-ish future… but the whole question of that campaign is really “where do we go from here?” And the answer is: Together. We are making changes and improvements for a better today and for a better tomorrow - and we will do so together.
And again, there is no denying how much pain, confusion, fear, anxiety is out there in our world - and perhaps also, in our own lives. And our own congregation. Here, among us today. And so, for all of us who want our world to look more like the Kingdom of Christ - we all have a lot of work to do. Together, how can we make the world a more loving place? We start with the questions.
I’ve been sharing poems from The Rev. Sarah Are throughout this sermon series, I have one more that I’d like to end with:
“Flashlight”
I wish I could draw you a map
of the next steps—
the next conversation,
the next brave truth,
the next fumble,
the next apology.
Wouldn’t it be nice to know
what’s coming?
Wouldn’t it be nice to
prepare our hearts?
But I don’t know where to go from here.
I am a child with a flashlight—
deeply hopeful and a little nervous,
all at the very same time.
What I do know is I don’t want to go
anywhere without you.
So I’m hoping that you will
take my hand.
See this truth.
Trust my voice.
Look for the good.
And day by day,
we can go from here,
because we were never meant
to go alone.
And maybe we’ll get lost;
but then again,
maybe we’ll be found.
So if you’re willing,
if you’ll just say yes,
I will let you hold the flashlight.
We can find our way,
step by step,
light in hand,
abolishing shadows
together.
Who needs a map
when you have
the light, anyway?”
I’ve been meaning to ask…where do we go from here? We go together and with Christ. Amen.
“Flashlight”
I wish I could draw you a map
of the next steps—
the next conversation,
the next brave truth,
the next fumble,
the next apology.
Wouldn’t it be nice to know
what’s coming?
Wouldn’t it be nice to
prepare our hearts?
But I don’t know where to go from here.
I am a child with a flashlight—
deeply hopeful and a little nervous,
all at the very same time.
What I do know is I don’t want to go
anywhere without you.
So I’m hoping that you will
take my hand.
See this truth.
Trust my voice.
Look for the good.
And day by day,
we can go from here,
because we were never meant
to go alone.
And maybe we’ll get lost;
but then again,
maybe we’ll be found.
So if you’re willing,
if you’ll just say yes,
I will let you hold the flashlight.
We can find our way,
step by step,
light in hand,
abolishing shadows
together.
Who needs a map
when you have
the light, anyway?”
I’ve been meaning to ask…where do we go from here? We go together and with Christ. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment