Through Stained Glass: Advent Word of the Day-I Will Go

Day 11:  I Will Go

“Where you go, I will go…” [Ruth 1.16]

Lately the days have been long. This news is nothing out of the ordinary for a pastor during Advent.

Late nights and early mornings, and despite many days at the church, I feel like I’ve lived a life on the go lately.

Recently I’ve lived between the emotions that come with Advent.

The joy of what is to come.

There is something holy in the hesitation that accompanies the waiting.

But also, I’ve experienced the feeling of sadness that comes with short days and long nights.

Indeed, reflecting on the last 48 hours, I’ve encountered all that Advent can through at you emotionally.

Which is why I find the Ruth text comforting. Without out getting too complicated and with a little help from a former professor of mine, “The speeches of Naomi and Ruth in this chapter are unique.  In all of Scripture, this is the only dialogue between two women that concerns not a man -- a father, a husband, or a son -- but one another's welfare.” [Patricia Tull, Working Preacher]

God isn’t worried simply about God. That would be selfish. What Advent reminds us is God’s commitment to God’s people—God’s concern for God’s beloved. The care expressed between Ruth and Naomi is the type of care we need to express to one another, regardless of our particularities and differences.

Advent is about the breaking in of something new. It is about the reign of God being made known to all peoples. It is about the reminder of God’s covenant to Israel. It is about God with us.

What this will look like ultimately, I don’t know. What it looks like now is friends and strangers, neighbors and lovers, walking each other home.

It is saying to one another, where you go, I will go.

As you go, a blessing for you: