In this moving account of Naomi returning home and Ruth leaving her homeland we read some of the most poignant and affecting words in Scripture. The text includes the Hebrew word "Hesed", meaning loving kindness, as God's character which combines the ideas of unconditional love, generosity and enduring commitment. Through Ruth’s commitment and loyalty we see the idea of family being challenged as Ruth disconnects from her family of origin and all that is familiar to her and becomes an immigrant in a land not her own where her own vulnerabilities are magnified. The Hesed of God redraws the boundary lines around family. And in the last verse we see pointers to the redemptive work of God, Jesus showing unconditional love for us, giving his life for us, being committed to us.

The opening verses in this book set the scene for this story we’re embarking on. We learn of the macro-context - the dark days when Israel was ruled by the Judges, the harshness and desperation of a land caught up in a famine, the reality of opposing territories (Moab and Israel). The beauty in the book of Ruth is that it doesn’t stay in the macro - it’s not making a wider social commentary, we’re not dealing with entire nations, tribes or people groups here. We zoom right in. We learn of the micro-context - a small family’s complex situation, the reality of their lives and their history and their decisions. This is where our story begins - in the place of messiness and complexity, grief and suffering and hardship. The scene opens just as a complicated journey is beginning and so we too can ask the question, where is God in our complicated journeys? What would it look like to embrace the God who cares about the big and the little parts of our stories?

Today we look at what it means to be all-in for Jesus, to play our part. In the midst of uncertainty and trouble Jesus offers us peace, when we trust Him. He also offers us purpose as we know, love and and worship Him, the only way, the truth and the life. And as we live for Jesus, he gives us power to do greater works in His name - we can look back with thankfulness and forward with faith and hope.

Two questions posed by this passage are "what does commitment mean to us?" and the second is "what is my part to play?". The counter to disillusionment with the church is to see the church as a body with many parts. It's only together with others, as we learn who we really are, that we learn what it looks like to follow Jesus. Church community is not an optional add-on to our faith - committing to the church family is the natural expression of following Jesus. The way we embrace that commitment is being part of a community of people working through life together and finding a way to serve within the church - we each have a part to play. Jesus gave us the model for this, in identifying the one who serves as the greatest. Our strengths, the gifts given to us, are primarily for the benefit of others, for the common good.

The power of Jesus that raised him from the dead is available for us, the power of God in us. The promises of Jesus were all kept, and in particular he rose from the dead, just as he said. The presence of Jesus leads to worship and sharing our faith - we are invited to encounter the presence of Jesus again and again. He is Risen!

As Jesus follows the path to his crucifixion in Jerusalem, we see in him the King who is in charge, the King who serves, and the King who transforms lives then and now.

There is so much in our society that doesn’t lend itself towards commitment - change your job, go wherever, live like a nomad, move on a whim, the list goes on. Yet the call of God’s people in the world is a call of commitment. Commitment to one another and for the right time, commitment to a place. That doesn’t mean you can never leave Edinburgh but it is a call to reevaluate our desire or fear of commitment. What does it mean to yield to God’s will not our own, what does it mean to commit to a place, to people, to flourishing? Where is there fear of commitment amongst us and where does God want to reorientate us back to his will for our lives in this place?

We are called to lives of faith and of action, not one or the other! Living as Christians in this city means that we get to be faithful and faith-filled people - living with devotion to God, but our devotion doesn’t stop there, it carries on into our actions because we are actually living every day in this city. How can we live lives of faith and action, allowing our belief in Christ to come alive in us in the way we love this city? The example of Abraham is that he was called God’s friend, the invitation is the same to us, friends of God, living faithful lives out loud every day.

As we look to our relationship with the world around us, the call of James here in the light of Christ is a call to fairness and not to favouritism. How easy it is to favour those who we get on with, who we like, who are like us, who have something exciting to offer etc etc etc. Yet that is not the call here at all. We are called to fairness and equality, which means elevating and preferring those who are not elevated and preferred by the world. How can we be those who truly love and honour everyone, living with Christ-like mercy in our city?

These short verses dial-down on something that we began looking at a couple of weeks ago, the power of our speech. These verses specifically talk to us about how we speak of one another and to one another. The gift of God’s grace and mercy in our lives is that he is compassionate and not condemning of us, however we are still called to speak with kindness and to not follow the ways of the world. Is there anywhere where we have been sitting as judge when that is not our place? How can we get down off our thrones and lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus again?