SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT – DECEMBER 13, 2025
ADVENT 2025
SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT
DECEMBER 13, 2025
Creator of All
Carolyn Matthews
(Carolyn serves as Pastor of Christian Education at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church)
Ruth 4:13-17 (NRSVUE)
So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. When they came together, the Lord made her conceive, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin,[a] and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom and became his nurse. 17 The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.
of Ruth is full of material for reflection and sermons. It is the story of perseverance, of living with grief, of loyalty, of finding family, enduring hardship, and even how following God’s law and direction can make sure that those who are most vulnerable are cared for (law of gleaning).
For our reflection today we consider the last verse of today’s scripture selection. Genealogies can be boring at times but can also be enlightening – which we find here in the story of Ruth. To grasp the significance of this family line, we look no further than Ruth herself. Ruth was a Moabite woman. She was from a people who were foreigners, aliens – not the chosen people. Yet, we find her in the family line of the kings and promised Messiah, the blood line of David.
God never intended for the separation, division, isolation that was a part of that world or culture or what we see in our world today. God’s chosen people were entrusted with imparting the truth of who God is, the Creator, that they might share that news with those around them. They were to spread that knowledge and all people to partake of God’s blessings and salvation that God had/has to offer (see Jonah, Leviticus for example).
As the called people through the salvation provided through Jesus, we too are called to bring love and unity to a divided world. We are to be those who are welcoming of all into the family of God. As we see in Jesus’ ancestry, it included peoples from different nations and tribes.
As it says in Psalm 47:7: “For God is the king of all the earth;
sing praises with a psalm.”
Prayer: Creator God, may we remember that you are the creator and Savior of us all. We thank you that we can come to you “just as we are” and trust that you will help to grow us into the caring and loving people who will be able to carry your love to others. Amen