The Community Faces Pain and Joy

April 4, 2010

Background Scripture: John 13:21 – 30; 16:16 – 24; 20:11 – 16
Lesson Passage: John 16:16 – 24; 20:11 – 16

“One of you cannot be trusted. Although I selected each of you and have been teaching you for three years about a new way of living, nevertheless, one of you is going to turn against me. You are going to turn against me and become my enemy. Don’t be sad but I will be leaving you soon. When you look for me you won’t be able to find me. Later on you will be able to find me and it will make you very happy. When I am away, the people of the world who do not follow me will be exceedingly glad but you will be in tears. When I return, then your tears will be turned into happiness. If you need something, you won’t be able to ask me for it but you can ask it of my Father and, because of our relationship, He will accommodate you. You have not had to do this before but that will be the only way you will be able to receive later. When you learn to ask and receive in this new way, you will be happy about it.”

What a shocking conversation this must have been. Now that the disciples were finally starting to understand Jesus better and were getting comfortable in their roles as his assistants, Jesus lays this truly depressing conversation on them. “Why can’t we just continue doing like we have been doing for these pass three years? Why are you now talking like this? Can’t we just avoid trouble and continue to go about doing good things for people? If you are going to leave and go somewhere else, then tell us where you are going and let us know how to get there. You keep talking about the Father so let us see the Father and that will be sufficient to satisfy us.” No matter how confused the disciples might have been it was not going to stop Jesus from doing what he was telling them about. What they did not understand was that this was not Jesus’ personal plan but it was his mission and reason for being born into the world. He was going to have to suffer shameful public torture and die. It was not Jesus’ desire to die. Jesus’ desire was to do the will of his Father and to make him happy. In fact, Jesus prayed and asked for another way to make his Father happy without going through this but this was the only way. Not only would Jesus’ suffering and death be painful for Jesus but it was going to cause great emotional pain for his followers as well. Jesus was informing them to help them brace themselves for it and Jesus was also speaking future facts to them so that after these things were over, they could go forth and declare the truth of this good news. As the disciples listened intensely to the words concerning his going away, they were not paying attention to the words that he was coming again in the midst of their sorrows and they will be made glad by his presence. Jesus was assuring his disciples that there would be joy on the other side of their pain. Just as they would feel despair, they will later experience a joy that would be stronger that anything in this world. The community of faith that followed Jesus would endure a rollercoaster weekend of extreme pain but it would end in unimaginable joy.

Robert C. Hudson
March 23, 2010

Acceptance in Community

March 28, 2010

Background Scripture: Ruth 2, 3
Lesson Passage: Ruth 2:5 – 12; 3:9 – 11

This week’s lesson continues the historical account of Ruth the Moabite. Some time after she and Naomi arrived in Bethlehem, Ruth requested permission of her mother-in-law to go into the field and glean grain behind the reapers so that the two of them would be able to survive. Naomi granted Ruth’s request and addressed her as her daughter. Although Ruth was from the land of Moab, her reputation concerning her kindness to her Jewish mother-in-law had become known in the region of Judea. Ruth’s past reputation would prove to be a present blessing for her and Naomi. God ordered her steps so that she would end up in the field of a kinsman of her deceased father-in-law, Elimelech. When Boaz saw Ruth, he asked who she was. When he was told that she was Ruth the Moabite, he had already heard about her. Ruth did not know Boaz but Boaz knew of Ruth. (It’s not always who you know; sometimes it’s a matter of who knows you.) This was the beginning of Ruth’s blessings and as a result, it was also the beginning of Naomi’s blessings as well. In spite of Naomi’s lamentation that she had left Bethlehem full and came back empty, God still had blessings in store for her through the daughter-in-law that she tried to send back to the Moabites. Boaz ensured that Ruth would receive a blessing as recompense for her extraordinary kindness to Naomi. Boaz used the occasion of blessing Ruth to give all credit to the sufficiency of the Lord God of Israel. Boaz instructed Ruth to only glean in his field and he ensured her that his servants were instructed to not bother or harass her. Furthermore, he instructed his servants to drop some extra grain on purpose so that Ruth could reap a bounty without having to do much gleaning. When Ruth brought her bounty home, Naomi knew right away that there was something unusual about the large amount of grain that Ruth had. This amount was not typical for gleaners. When Naomi understood that it was Boaz who had provided for Ruth, she knew that it was God’s intervention that had made it possible. Not only had God brought them in contact with a near relative of Naomi’s deceased husband, Elimelech, but God had previously provided a law through Moses that required the near relative to redeem the widow of his kinsman so that offspring could be provided and the family would not be cutoff because of the death. Naomi taught Ruth the proper way to approach a Jewish man so he would behave towards her according to the Law of Moses. Ruth obeyed and Boaz accepted his role as a near kinsman and redeemer. Although he considered himself to not be Ruth’s first choice because of the difference in their ages, he still expressed the honor he felt in being selected as the kinsman redeemer of Elimelech’s family.

Through these actions that were no doubt orchestrated by God, Ruth became the physical salvation for Naomi that she had given up hope of finding. Ruth’s reputation as a virtuous woman had preceded her and she became accepted in the community of Israel.

Robert C. Hudson
March 22, 2010