Explain the scripture:
Boaz goes beyond what is normal, beyond what is expected. He includes her as a part of his family/community and invites her to eat with him. She is a foreigner, yet he incorporates her as one of his own. He protects her and tells his reapers to do the same. He doesn’t just give her access, he gives her privilege, and he makes her an equal with all of his reapers and allows her to take from the best, not just the leftovers. And, he asks others to provide for her as well, he admonishes them to take a handful of their own barley and leave it for her. Interestingly, they aren’t asked to simply hand it to her, like an act of charity, but to leave it, so that she might glean for herself---allowing her to feel pride for what she has done and gleaned for herself and her mother in law.
Boaz is a model for us—he’s giving and generous not out of obligation, but out of a heartfelt desire to care for Ruth. He has no secondary motivation—he’s not looking to make a trade or even to have Ruth pay him back. He is satisfied simply to give. He saw a need and he met it.
There have been only a handful of people in my life who have lived with such a generous spirit. I met one when I was a junior in college. That year, I did a study abroad program. I lived in Costa Rica my first semester and came home for Christmas and my sister’s wedding and then went to live in Spain for the spring semester. Because of the wedding, I arrived in Spain a week later than the rest of the students, which meant I missed their week of touring and had to get myself to Granada. To say it was a long day is an understatement. My flight was 15 hours and had started the day before. I was nervous when I got to Spain and got sick immediately after I got off the plane. From the airport to the bus station, I was swindled by the cabbie (something we were told to expect). And then, though fully fluent, at the bus station I struggled through my fatigue to buy a bus ticket to Granada. After much confusion, I got my ticket and finally boarded the bus. I was tired and hungry as we set out for the 5 hour ride.
We stopped once for bathrooms and food and I struggled to order since there were no lines to stand in. In Spain, everyone just sort of makes a mental note of who’s next and takes their turn when they should—only I didn’t know that. So, I waited and waited and finally ended up ordering a coke and some chips to tide me over.
After a few more minutes we re-boarded the bus and set off again and after 2 more hours arrived in Granada. I caught another cab and he took me to the address on my letter. He rang the doorbell at the apartment for me and no one answered. He rang and rang and still no one answered. Having no other place for him to take me, I had him leave me where I was and I hoped someone would return soon.
I buzzed some more and still no answer. I lugged my backpack and 2 50 pound bags and extra jacket across the street and sat on a bench and watched the door. No one appeared. After 10 minutes or so, hoping against hope (and logic since I had been watching), I rang again. Nothing. But when I pushed on the door to the apartment complex, it opened. So I took my bags in and left them downstairs and climbed to the 5th floor apartment and knocked. No one. So I walked back down and took my bags across the street yet again.
I don’t know if you’ve ever suffered extreme exhaustion or been in a place where you have no resources and no contacts, but it’s emotional. I can’t say that I was scared, but I was definitely unnerved. After another 10-15 minutes outside, I decided I might as well take my bags upstairs since they were heavy and would have to get there sometimes and I needed something to do. So, I lugged them back to the apartment building, rang again, just in case, and carried them inside.
Just then, a woman came downstairs to take out the trash. She asked who I was and what I was doing and I explained. She took pity on me and invited me to her apartment to wait. (Did I mention it was the beginning of January and quite cold outside?) She helped me carry my 50 pound bags up the stairs and had me sit at her table under a heated blanket. She brought me pineapple juice to drink and brought me a warm wash cloth to freshen up and then went to make me a sandwich. She sat with me as I ate and we shared about ourselves. A couple of times we went up and checked the apartment to see if anyone was home—still no one.
Amalia continued to care for me. She brought me more to drink and eat and offered me love and care I could never repay. I was so exhausted and worn, I was ready to fall apart, and yet there was Amalia ready to hold me up.
For me, Amalia is an amazing example of hospitality. She represents Boaz in my journey. She saw me and saw my needs before I said anything or had to ask. She assumed I was hungry and didn’t make me ask for food or help. She gave me a warm place to sit after sitting out in the cold. She welcomed me as one of her own family. She easily could have seen my need and brought me food to eat outside, but instead she invited me in. She made me feel safe, included, and welcome.
To me, that’s a generous spirit. She went beyond what was expected or required and put her whole heart into helping me. Just like Boaz she acted out of love and compassion rather than obligation.
We can each give and do and be what is expected and no one will fault us. As a teacher you can teach all day and grade homework and tests and go home by 3:00 and that is enough. But people will be overwhelmed and changed forever by your generous spirit when you come in early to help a student learn to read or stay late so they can improve SAT scores. Any of us can have a picnic in the park and clean up our trash and we would fulfill our responsibility, or you can pick up the unclaimed trash of others and help make the park cleaner and better for the next person to visit.
We can go through life doing “enough”. We can meet what is required and expected of us as parents, children, students, employees, partners, and bosses. We can meet the mark and there will be no room for complaint. Or, we can allow God’s love to flow abundantly out of us and give generously of ourselves. We have so much to offer: sustenance, protection, inclusion, warmth, and welcome. We can give only what is required of us, but we can also give more. And the reason to give more isn’t because we should, it’s because there is a blessing 10 times greater when we give and do because we can rather than because we have to.
Boaz was only obligated to allow Ruth to pick up the last remnant of barley and wheat. He could have left it at that and she would have had food to eat and he would have complied with the law. Instead, he protected her and ate with her and gave her an equal place from which to glean and then asked others to give her a bit extra. To any of us, his generosity is extravagant, but to a widow, in a strange land, on her own, struggling to survive, he gave her a 10-fold blessing. One that went beyond physical needs but also blessed her emotionally and relationally.
Amalia unlike Boaz, had no obligation to me. Nothing was required or expected of her and yet she gave abundantly and freely—offering food, rest, warmth, care, and love in ways that will stay with me forever.
By giving generously, we have the opportunity to change and shape people. We have the chance to be more than enough to live beyond what is expected and I guarantee you the rewards are great. We will meet many people who are like Ruth—tired and struggling, alone and without help and we have the opportunity to be a blessing, to go beyond meeting material needs and instead give emotionally and offer relationships that matter and make a difference. Fall is the time when we examine the ministries of the church and make a commitment for the coming year. We will see ways people in our community and around the world are like Ruth, and we will be invited to live like Boaz with a generous spirit giving more than what is required. And I promise you, that when you give generously of yourself from a heartfelt desire to help, you will be blessed in ways you could never have imagined.
