Courage for the Unknown: Choosing Love

Our scripture passage opens this week in uncertainty. Ruth and Naomi are grieving, vulnerable, and trying to survive. They do not know how things will turn out. They simply wake up one morning and take the next faithful step. 

And somehow, in the middle of an ordinary day, grace begins to appear. Boaz notices Ruth and chooses generosity over fear. Ruth chooses courage by entering an unfamiliar field as a foreigner and widow. Naomi begins, slowly, to rediscover hope after deep despair.

Again and again in scripture, God’s work happens this way: through ordinary acts of courage that create life where death-dealing forces threaten to take over. I’ve seen this courage move among us at Bethany. Through meals shared in Luther Hall, in quilts stitched for strangers we may never meet, in opening our building to community groups, in showing up for Pride events and neighborhood gatherings, and in the simple choice week after week to keep making room for one another. 

In our world, cruelty is often rewarded. We learn that scarcity is inevitable and compassion is weakness. But our reading from Ruth offers another vision for the human community altogether. The kingdom of God looks like fields where people leave enough behind so others can live. It looks like strangers being protected. It looks like courage expressed through generosity. It looks like people refusing to become numb to each other’s humanity.

This summer at church we are exploring “Courage for the Unknown,” and Ruth is helping guide us there. Sometimes courage is simply continuing to love, to trust, to show up, and to care for one another when the future feels unclear.

As summer unfolds here in Crystal Lake with gardens growing, kids riding bikes through neighborhoods, lake days, cookouts, and slower evenings, I hope we also pay attention to the sacred opportunities around us. Every ordinary interaction becomes a chance to practice mercy, hospitality, and hope.

And beginning this Sunday, we’ll gather together for one summer worship service at 9:30 AM. In a season that can feel scattered and busy, I’m grateful for the chance to come together as one community. Let’s have a summer of prayer, song, rest, and remembrance of God’s work among us. 

Check out my song of the week to go along with the text! I Seek to Change These Habits by The Crossing

Peace,

Pastor Katie