Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17               Mark 12:38-44                       Hebrews 9:24-28

Everyone here will some sort of reaction to the words “conspiracy theory.” In the last few years, we have heard conspiracy theories about all sorts of things from election interference, to immigration, to Covid drugs, to emergency management organizations, to church politics, and all sorts of other things. Weirder still, some of the things that have been labeled as discredited conspiracy theories turned out to be real conspiracies. All those things make us suspicious of all the news that we see, hear, and read as we move forward and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But this morning, I want you to keep your “suspicion radar” turned on as we read scripture and as I read our first story, I want you to consider why Ruth and Naomi are doing the things that they are plotting to do.

We begin this morning by reading a part of the story of Ruth, in which Ruth, an immigrant widow, has followed her widowed mother-in-law, Naomi, back to Israel. But, with neither of them having male heirs, they do not have any legal access to the family lands to which they might have had access through their Israelite husbands. And so, they have been surviving by following the harvesters and gleaning what little grain they could find that the harvesters had left behind. Until the day that we join the story in Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17 where we hear this:

^3:1 One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, I must find a homefor you, where you will be well provided for. ² Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight, he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. ³ Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴ When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.”

^4:13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴ The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! ¹⁵ He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”

¹⁶ Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. ¹⁷ The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Okay, did you understand the plot that Naomi had hatched? Naomi was smart. She was a Jew by birth, and she understood the law and culture and as such she guided her daughter-in-law Ruth in what to do and how to do it. First, it is important to understand that Boaz was a distant relation to Naomi’s husband and as such, could help them access any lands or wealth that belonged to them. Second, Boaz already had some measure of wealth and land and could afford to hire laborers to plant, tend, and harvest the lands under his control. Third, Boaz had already noticed Ruth and Naomi gleaning behind his harvesters and had already given his hired men instructions to leave a little “extra” behind for them. We might understand this as charity and generosity, but as the story develops, there is also good reason to understand that Boaz had, um, “noticed” Ruth because she was nice to look at.

And so, what happens is that Naomi tells Ruth to take a bath, put on some perfume, dress as nicely as she could, and then go down to where Boaz was working on the threshing floor winnowing his harvest and wait for him to go to bed. Once he had laid down for the night, in the dark, Ruth was to uncover his feet and lie down with him. And that, my friends, is a kind of “stop the presses” moment in the story. This is both sexual and provocative. For an unmarried woman to lay down with an unmarried man was scandalous and shocking. Although it may not sound like much to our twenty-first century sensitivities, this is symbolically the same kind of offer that we understand to be happening when James Bond finds a naked woman in his bed. Ruth’s actions were submissive, sexual, and represented an offer that Boaz clearly understood.

And so, in the part that we skipped, Boaz, who was an honorable man, knows that while he is a distant relation to Naomi’s husband, also knows that there is one other relative who is a closer relation, and legally should have what we would think of as the first right of refusal. But the thing is, although the women didn’t have the kind of rights that we would expect today, the law was written to protect the widows. As such, the nearest relative couldn’t just claim the family land, they had to marry the widow and give her children so that the land would stay in the family. As it happens, the nearest relative of Naomi’s husband was already married, and his wife had no interest in him having a second wife. And so, that man legally, in the sight of witnesses in the city gate, gives his rights to claim the land to Boaz who then invites both Ruth and Naomi into his family and becomes financially responsible for both of them, and also opening the door for Boaz to marry Ruth.

So now that you know the rest of the story, do you see how smart Naomi was and how she planned and plotted? She took Ruth to Boaz’ fields so that he would see her. She knew that Boaz had noticed how pretty Ruth was. She knew that he was a wealthy, eligible bachelor, and she knew throwing the suggestion of sex into the mix might just be enough to get him motivated enough to put a ring on it.

But in our next scripture, we see far more evil sorts of plots being committed by people in positions of power and authority, not just politicians, but leaders of the church. In Mark 12:38-44 we hear Jesus warn the people.

³⁸ As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. ⁴⁰ They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

⁴¹ Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. ⁴² But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

⁴³ Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you; this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴ They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Jesus said that the teachers of the law, who could have been any number of religious and political leaders, loved the deference and respect that people gave them when they walked about in public. They liked being treated as VIPs in the marketplaces, and synagogues, and public banquets. But these leaders who appeared to be both respectable and highly religious, and who made long and loud public prayers, were, at the same time, foreclosing on the homes of widows like Naomi, seizing their lands, selling them, and profiting from them. Oh, I’m sure that it was all nice and legal, but morally and ethically it was as shady as heck. In contrast, Jesus points out some rick folks who showed off by throwing large amounts of money, money that they could easily afford to give away, into the offering receptacles in front of an audience so that they could look good. They made so much noise with their giving that no one even noticed when this poor widow donated two copper coins that represented all the money that she had to live on.

Jesus’ message is clear. Between these two kinds of people, it was the poor that had greater generosity, and it was the poor who had greater faith, not to mention greater integrity. But it was the wealthy and respected, but absolutely phony, religious leaders who obeyed the laws of men while simultaneously violating the laws of God.

In contrast to these phony leaders who put on a show to gain respect while stealing from impoverished widows, Paul, in his letter to a group of Jews who had converted to become the followers of Jesus, writes about how Jesus was the authentic real deal. In Hebrews 9:24-28, Paul writes:

²⁴ For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. ²⁵ Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. ²⁶ Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷ Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, ²⁸ so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Paul reminds us that the priests in the temple offered sacrifices to God for the forgiveness of sins again and again, over and over again, day after day, and year after year. And on top of that, the high priest would offer an annual sacrifice for the forgiveness of the sins of the nation and for any other sins that might have been forgotten or overlooked by all the other sacrifices. And on top of that the high priest also had to offer sacrifices for any sins that he might have committed himself.

But Jesus was different.

Jesus was sinless. There was no need for him to sacrifice for his own sin because there wasn’t any. But Jesus sacrificed anyway and the sacrifice that he offered wasn’t grain, or wine, or the life of an animal. He offered his own sinless life as a sacrifice for the sins of others, for all of us, so that everyone’s sins could be taken away forever. Jesus’ sacrifice was the ultimate selfless act of generosity because he gave the most important thing he had, for something that he had no need of himself, in order to rescue the entire world.

Naomi plotted and carefully maneuvered Ruth through the tangle of culture, law, gender, and marriage to persuade Boaz to rescue the two of them and in doing so, became a part of the story of Israel’s greatest king and eventually bring about the rescue of the entire world. She didn’t know that, of course, but it was all a part of God’s greater plan.

Jesus warned the people that even their respected religious leaders often acted in their own selfish interests and used the legal system to steal from the most vulnerable in their society.

But Jesus was the real thing. Jesus’ gift to the world was completely selfless. Jesus gave up his own perfect life so that all of us, and the entire world, for all time and forever, could all be rescued from sin and death.

As we have watched the news and heard countless conspiracy theories, we have all become so suspicious and cynical that our natural inclination has become one that wants to follow the money or look for who benefits from the conspiracy. But that suspicion and cynicism breaks down with the story of Jesus. Jesus didn’t benefit from his gift. Jesus gave up the most valuable thing that he had s give the world something that we could never afford to purchase on our own. And, in the ultimate reversal of our suspicion and cynicism, Jesus asks, and even commands, us to share that gift with others. Because his great gift to the world can never be bought or sold, it can only be shared and given away, and it can only be accepted as a gift.

And this is where you fit. We tell the story of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And we tell how the story continues through the grand arc of history through Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz, and how their family reached down to King David, and then through a thousand years of history to Jesus and the disciples. And now God is asking you to be a part of his story by sharing the good news and giving away the gift of rescue.

It isn’t a conspiracy. It is (sort of) a plot, and it’s definitely a plan.

God wants you to help save the world.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601.  These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com .  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™