Uncertainty. This is a word I know all too well, I write it often, and I see it more frequently than I see most words when pages of a book are laid before me. I feel it in my movements, I fear it in my reflection. In today’s day in age the only thing that is certain is that nothing is ever certain. Outside forces threaten our very stability, and they force our progression. Fear for what is ahead is a commonality anymore, not the exception.
In today’s reading we learn about the story of Ruth, who bravely left her birth home to explore, to harvest the fields of others. She travels far and wide with nothing but uncertainty, and faith in God. She comes across Boaz and the clan of Eimelech who assure her that she will be taken care of. A story so strongly rooted in the reality of harvesting grain, becomes a story that parallels current day and a generation’s commitment to constant movement, always looking for progression, and always trying to figure out, “is the grass really greener on the other side?”
I have been guilty of this mindset, as many my age have been. When I graduated from High School, which seems like such a long time ago, I was eager to move out of my parents house and start my own life. Only problem is, that I wasn’t ready to be on my own. My first two years of college were a constant struggle to find my way, and even semi-regular church attendance only barely kept me above water. Failing grades and the constant college party were pulling me down like a current that was stronger than anything I had experienced. As I neared the end of my sophomore year, I began to feel the buoyancy of wanting something more, I wondered if there was something more, I began to seek out my Naomi.
Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi,
“Let me go and glean ears of grain in the field
of anyone who will allow me that favor.”
Naomi said to her, “Go, my daughter,” and she went.
I heard my Naomi on a cool fall morning. It was different in the sense that I didn’t know who it was that was telling me that this opportunity that I had come across was what I needed, but in my heart I knew it was what my soul needed to be fulfilled. I ventured off into an unknown land to begin my journey back to myself, and back to the person I never even knew I yearned to be. It wasn’t always easy, and at times I thought I would never pull through, but I learned more about myself than I would even had; were to I stay put in the disaster my life had become before I took that leap.
As I entered into this new journey that I had come to own, I worried that I had no identity; and without any identity that I would not thrive, nor would I be able to withstand temptation, or an unfaithful life. Just as Boaz ordered the men not to harm Ruth, did my God stay with me throughout my journey. I cannot say that the road was ever perfect, and there were potholes of temptation that often became unbearable to avoid, but I look back through my journey and see where God offered me a drink from his vessel of holiness, and allowed me to continue my harvest.
As we near the end of the story we see Ruth, blessed with a child, her ultimate goal. The progeny that branded her legacy symbolizes the progeny that brands me, steadfast in my faith for the first time in my life. A faith that has allowed me to focus less on the fear of uncertainty and more on the opportunity of the unknown. A faith that has pushed me to stay strong in my identity and not look for a way out of it, but continue to allow me to look up and ahead in an always progressive nature.
The gospel continues to reassure the burden that comes with choosing the “road less traveled” is a burden to be taken in excitement, rather than being taken in distress. It is a burden that God calls us to be grateful for and travel with trust in his saving grace. We travel the road with an end destination, but we never summit, we always continue to strive to be pure in God’s name. When all is said and done, we take our success in humility, and never in pride.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
What we have in life is a chance to take steps forward without the restraint of fear to hold us back. The divine nature of our lives allow us to harvest experiences, gather intellect, and build a community of faithful friends in Christ. With the fog of doubt inevitable we reach for the vessel that is the Holy Spirit who guides us past the uncertainty, and leads us to hope.
