Rev. Debbie Cato
Fairfield Community Church
July 2, 2023
Holy God, we know that you are always speaking— through strangers and friends, through sunrise and sunset, through random acts of kindness and feelings that stir hope in us. We know that you speak through dreams and prayer, through still, small voices and bursts of overwhelming joy. We know that you are always speaking, but we also know that we are inclined to miss it. Settle our spirits now to fully hear your word. We want to be part of the conversation. Gratefully we pray, Amen.
Where Do We Go From Here?
This is
the last Sunday we will be asking questions around the idea of “I’ve been
meaning to ask…” So far, we’ve asked,
“Where are you from?”, “Where do you hurt?”, and “What do you need?”. These are all questions that help us go deeper
in our relationships. They help us be
authentic with one another. They help us
really get to know one another. Help us
be there for one another. Whatever that might look like.
Today, this final Sunday in this series, we ask the question “Where do we go from here?” Where do we go from here? This question is a prompt for us to think about what we are going to do with what we’ve learned from this sermon series. Are we just going to walk away without learning anything? Without being changed? Or have we learned something that is going to make our interactions and our relationships different than before we thought about these questions? Of course the hope is that we keep cultivating curiosity, we keep asking questions, we continue to have conversations, and we keep seeking connection in order to humanize and care for each other. Ultimately, this final question, “Where do we go from here” invites us to foster hope and imagination.[1]
After the disruption the loss of their loved ones causes in their lives, Ruth and Naomi create a new covenant with each other, choosing to be in a relationship across their religious, cultural, and generational divides. As women, they build power together in a system where they have little power, especially as widows.[2]
Cornelius, a pious Roman centurion and Gentile, and Peter, a Jew, are brought together through visions they each receive. Peter and Cornelius meet face-to-face and Peter says: “I really am learning that God doesn’t show partiality to one group of people over another.” Through their courageous conversation, their narrow perceptions of others expand, the Spirit descends upon them, and they share in community and hospitality.[3] Faith in Christ is opened up to a whole new culture – the Gentiles.
Our first story today is a lesson in grief, grace, and growing together. While a few verses mention the death of a husband and two sons, there are likely thousands of unwritten pages of pain, emotion, grief, and loss in the lives of Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah that we will never know.[4] There always is when there’s grief and trauma. From the outside we only know a little bit of the pain and suffering. We never know the full extent. The whole story.
Naomi carried an additional burden, knowing her daughter-in-laws would have to navigate as single women within a patriarchal society. Women didn’t have a lot going for them during this time in history. Naomi’s natural response to the pain she is experiencing is one of fear, anger, and isolation. One daughter-in-law respects Naomi’s wishes and returns to her own family. The other daughter-in-law, Ruth, does not. Ruth’s response echoes the unending and far-reaching love of God. Ruth’s response is not one of fight or flight, but is rooted and grounded in being bound to another. In the face of loss, these family ties are deepened through a spiritual bond of connection, commitment, and community. Ruth is willing to live, worship, work, advocate, walk alongside, and find her earthly resting place with Naomi from this day forward.[5]
Both these women were hurting but Ruth knew that Naomi was hurting more. She had lost her husband and two sons. Ruth knew that Naomi needed her, but she knew that she also needed Naomi. Out of their crisis, develops a relationship between these two women that is both heart-warming and beneficial to them both. The Book of Ruth is a short book and I encourage you to read it and see how things work out for them. Find out how the question “Where do we go from here?” works out for them.
The story of Peter and Cornelius is completely different than the story of Naomi and Ruth. It isn’t centered around a crisis of grief and loss. But there is a crisis. A crisis of belief and tradition.
As a devout Jew, Peter had been raised to follow spiritual and ritualistic laws passed down from generation to generation. These rules were established to set apart the people of God. The rules were set to create space and rhythm around work, worship, and daily living.
And then there was Jesus. Peter followed Jesus in his earthly ministry. Jesus was known to take rules and redefine what it meant to embody those rules. Jesus healed on the Sabbath. Jesus dined with tax collectors and sex workers. He touched the untouchable. Jesus spent time with the poor and those on the bottom of the social scale. Peter was a first-hand witness to Christ’s ministry of inclusion and the incarnational ministry of drawing the circle wide.
In Acts, we find Peter established as the pioneer of the first church. Peter was a rule follower, not perfect, but passionate about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Passionate rule followers must participate in the spiritual practice of worshiping the One who makes the rules and not the rules in and of themselves.
I’m a rule follower. Some of you may not believe that because I do like to push the envelope. I do like to push things as far as I can. But if there’s a rule, I like to follow it. After all, it’s a rule! So, I can imagine Peter’s reaction to his vision of a sheet filled with ritualistically unclean foods. Foods he had been taught his whole life he should not eat. I can imagine Peter’s thought process of being asked to kill and now eat these unclean things. I can only imagine the struggle of digesting this divine message declaring, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.[6]
Peter may not have even known that the question “Where do we go from here?” was hanging there before him. But God wanted to teach him that there were no barriers to anyone learning about Him and being brought into the community of faith. The prior thinking that Jews and Gentiles could not eat together or socialize together was debunk. Everyone was welcome into the Kingdom of God, and something as small as food would not stand in the way.
What an eye opener! Where do we go from here? Thanks be to God that there is a wideness in God’s mercy. There is hope for the faithful rule follower. God will draw the circle wider to include everyone to receive God’s message of grace, justice, and love. God will open our eyes, show us what is in our sheet, and give us new ways to proclaim the lifesaving, world-changing, transformative power of the gospel of Jesus Christ to all.[7]
Who knows if either Ruth or Peter asked themselves “Where do I go from here?” Yet that was essentially the question they both answered as they responded to the situation they faced. They were both guided by God in how they responded.
And I guess so are we! Assuming we are open to recognizing God’s presence in our life and His movement in how we respond to the situations around us – particularly when we are prayerful and seek his help. When we have asked him to prompt us to ask mindful questions to deepen our relationships and step into people’s lives, he will certainly direct us “where to go from here,” just like He did for Ruth and Peter.
Let’s be curious, creative, and caring people who move forward with intention and purpose. Let’s be people who make a difference in the lives of others. Let’s continue to ask questions like “where do you hurt?” What do you need?” and Where do I go from here?” Amen.
[1] Sanctified Art.
Theme Connections. “Where Do We Go From Here.”
[2] Sanctified Art.
Theme Connections. “Where Do We Go From Here.”
[3] Sanctified Art.
Theme Connections. “Where Do We Go From Here.”
[4] Sanctified Art “Where Do We Go From Here.” Rev. Aisha
Brooks-Johnson (Brooks-Lytle).
Commentary Ruth 1:1-22.
[5] Sanctified Art “Where Do We Go From Here.” Rev. Aisha
Brooks-Johnson (Brooks-Lytle).
Commentary Ruth 1:1-22.
[6] Sanctified Art
“Where Do We Go From Here.” Rev. Aisha Brooks-Johnson (Brooks-Lytle). Commentary Acts 10
[7] Sanctified Art “Where Do We Go From Here.” Rev. Aisha
Brooks-Johnson (Brooks-Lytle).
Commentary Acts 10
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