FAMILY

Redemption out of dire circumstances

eejoseph

Ruth 4:22

And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

The conclusion of Ruth’s story (4:22) might leave some people wondering, a huge “So!” filling the thoughtscape. A famine brings a Jewish family to Moab, a land that was no friend of the seed of Isaac and Jacob. Emigration seems to mark every important development towards the unveiling of global salvation. Some of us can pretend we do not see how abominable a racist and homicidal immigration policy is and always was, there is a malingering nod to dire circumstances that open up our most treasured encounters.

Ventilators for the dying

Ruth’s story belongs with the Joseph legacy. We remember that a hated teenager was forced into a new land and from there became the instrument of keeping the Jacob-Israel clan alive, and kept the promise of land and national identity on everyone’s mind. Ruth is no patriarch. She is a matriarch of unparalleled majesty. She left Israel to bring back the woman and the womb that God wanted to separate a household for Christ to be born.

A resurrection is in the mix

Ruth 4:5
Property:
Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.

Ruth 4:10
Marriage
Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.

Stance for this circumstance

In our 2020 first quarter circumstance we see homicide-by-virus bringing the planet to a new level of terror and interpersonal abuse. Fear has been the preferred tool of people carving out religious and politics space for superiority. Our love, that supreme gift, will not allow us to take a dive into the animalistic pools where everything despicable seems to collect. Let us avoid the rumours of war and peace. When the most disturbing events in the time of unprecedented trouble begin to occur we stand resolute on the promise of redemption. Catch up with David’s son!

Hidden Giants Fanclub

eejoseph

It was a mild winter’s day. The day one of my sons shared a video of his family singing in church was January 26. Rain had been washing away the snow that was no longer white. Tracks in the snow showed the grass below and coronavirus had made its appearance in Toronto. It was the day after lawyers perjured themselves in the impeachment trial of the 45th president of the United States saying that he had done no wrong. It was the day Kobe Bryant died. It was a day of hidden giants.

When you start singing about your work your gravitas hits jackpot. Your profession is in high gear and no one can doubt that you are the real deal. Imagine that David never wrote a song. Imagine that Jesus never died. Imagine that your son charts a course that mirrors your life in all the ways that parents think are important and you know history is definitely being made.

Giant heroes are everywhere. They bring you untold records of life’s extremes. The joy and sadness of being a fan of life enrich us with the same sign: tears. I have always felt extraordinarily fortunate to have had a rich set of companions but few situations can rival the discovery of a first class fanclub hidden in plain sight.