It is easy to think of the Bible giving us wisdom and guidance in dealing with the lonely, the broken, and the outcast. And in the book of Ruth, we are not disappointed. I mean, if the church were to look like the field of Boaz, it would be a little piece of heaven in a place. But what we don’t expect to see in the Bible is talk about romance! And yet we find one of the most delicately sensual passages in all the Bible this week. When Naomi is thinking about securing rest for Ruth, she has a plan. Rather than waiting for something to fall out of the sky, she thinks of a person––a redeemer––and suddenly we are in a passage teaming with sexual tension.

If that seems hard for us to get our head around, it may be evidence of bad theology and the fact that we tend to get our ideas of romance from novels and movies, rather than letting Scripture be our guide. But what if romance exists because God is a romantic? As one writer says, The Bible speaks not only of ardent love between men and women, but it presents God himself as a lover and his courting of creation as the Great Romance. (Rodney Clapp, Christianity Today, February 1, 2001)

So, for the next two weeks, we will be at the threshing floor of Boaz. Wonders await. Hope to see you Sunday! And, just a reminder, we have a Congregational Meeting immediately following morning worship to approve our Operating Budget for 2021-2022.

Blessings,

Jim