The Sum of a Thousand Loves (Ruth 1)

There are a lot of reasons we end up feeling alone. For some, it’s taking pride in self-reliance. For some, it’s a lack of trust. For some, it’s a trust issue. Trust has eroded in recent years while fears have multiplied. All of that fear can seep into our relationships: we keep others at a distance, we establish boundaries, we reject them before they have a chance to reject us. Plus, the pandemic made isolation our status quo. Trust plummets when we don't see each other consistently. It becomes a vicious cycle. Life gets hard, we feel threatened, we push others away. Life gets harder, we then feel more threatened, we push others farther away. This is Naomi’s cycle in the book of Ruth. Having suffered titanic loses, she tries hard to push away the last two people in her life. Ruth, however, will not leave. In this sermon we look all the small, seemingly insignificant connections that produce the kind of love that won’t let go.