But Ruth said, “Do not press me to leave you, 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. Ruth 1:16
Ruth was a Moabite, an outsider to the Hebrew people. And yet, she commits herself to following her relative, Naomi, to Israel and becoming a follower of God. This incredible act of trust brings blessings not just to her and her family, but eventually the entire world as her great-grandson will be King David and her lineage will include Jesus.
Ruth’s story is one of an outsider, someone who should not be welcome according to tradition and culture, challenging division and being brought into a community. In our lives, we are challenged to welcome outsiders and open ourselves to what they may bring to us.
The devil’s work in this world is often focused on dividing us, on setting us up against each other. People “on the other side of the aisle” become our enemies, instead of our neighbors. Yet scripture calls us to seek reconciliation, which transforms our relationships. It doesn’t mean we simply give in, but it means we forge a new way of living together in community, and the Holy Spirit gives us strength to do this.
I spent time in South Dakota, with many Lakota people as my neighbors. The racial divisions and historical tension runs deep in many places there, yet God was already at work. I quickly learned a Lakota phrase, Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ, that can often be translated as “we are all one” or “all my relatives.” In a Lakota congregation, this phrase was used as the “amen” at the end of prayers, reminding us all that God’s family is larger than any social or cultural divisions we may have in this world.
This Lakota congregation, Woyatan Lutheran Church, worked to make space for strangers, as Naomi and other welcomed Ruth into the land of Israel. Facing some of the worst divisions I have encountered in the United States, this group of faithful people made space for outsiders, for those outside the Lakota people, to be part of their community. In wonderful acts of trust and reconciliation, the Holy Spirit was forging new relationships.
In this Advent, let us remember that God makes a place for us, and the Holy Spirit opens our hearts to welcome strangers. In this work, the love of Christ is embodied, as people are able to see the reality of Immanuel, that God-is-with-us, making us one.
Lord of all peoples and nations, of all tribes and cultures, of all times and places, come and be with us. Break down divisions where they exist, and stir in us the compassion for others that you have for us. Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ.
The Rev. Jonathan Steiner is associate pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Lansdale, and serves on SEPA Synod Council.
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