1. Middle Ages ( AD) Radical Kindness Ruth 4:13-22 (p. 248)

Introduction - The Middle Ages  Tolstoy, the Great Russian writer, was passing along a street one day when a beggar stopped him and pleaded for alms. The Great Russian searched through his pockets for a coin, but finding none he regretfully said, “Please don’t be angry with me, my brother, but I have nothing with me. If I did I would gladly give it to you.” The beggar’s face lit up, and he said, “You have given me more than I asked for. You have called me brother.”

Introduction - The Middle Ages  History Tutorial Sessions: Rule or Withdrawal  Pros and Cons of Papal power and Monasticism

Introduction - The Middle Ages  Church in a place of dissatisfaction, confusion, and chaos.  The Avignon Papacy.

Introduction - The Middle Ages  The Avignon popes had named many French cardinals. When these cardinals became discontent with the policies of the pope in Rome, they simply declared that his election was not valid, and elected another pope who was more to their liking. Thus it happened that there were two popes at the same time, one in Rome and another in Avignon. Since upon their deaths both of these were succeeded by other pretenders, there were two parallel lines of popes, each declaring the other illegitimate. This is the “Great Western Schism” ( ). Justo Gonzales, Church History, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), 61.

Introduction - The Middle Ages  Spiritual confusion and chaos.

A Similar Period in Israel (The period of the Judges)  Otheniel, Deborah, Ehud – all led Israel to victory and ruled Israel peacefully and productively for a time.  Spiral Downward  Gideon, Abimelech, and Samson had sacrificed their commitment to Yahweh for power and false idols.

A Similar Period in Israel (The period of the Judges)  “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” (Judges 21:25, NIV).

Ruth  Ruth is the shining light of hope in the story of the Judges.  In Ruth we see a faithful remnant of an apostate nation.

Ruth  Act 1 – Emptiness and Sorrow, “Call me “Bitter”  Naomi – “Pleasant” or “My Delight”

Ruth  Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the LORD show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead and to me. 9 May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband. (1:9, TNIV)

Ruth  "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me." (1:16-17, TNIV)

Ruth  Act 2 – Providential Serendipity

Ruth  May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.(2:12, TNIV)

Ruth  Boaz  "The LORD bless him!" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. "He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead." (2:20a, TNIV)

Ruth  Act 3 – A Risky Plan and Kindness upon Kindness  Obedience - “I will do whatever you say”.

Ruth  “I am Ruth, now spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a family guardian.”(2:9)

Ruth  Act 4 – The result is Redemption – Israel had its king coming soon.

Ruth  May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. (4:11, TNIV)

Ruth  18 This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron,  19 Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab,  20 Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, [c]c  21 Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed,  22 Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David.

Ruth  Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth (Matt 1:5, TNIV)

Application  Hesed, loyalty, loyal-love, loyal-loving-kindness. True kindness, the kindness that God offers to his people and that God’s people offer to one another.  The theme of a people, or of a family.  Theme of redemption.

Application  Even in the midst of spiritual confusion and chaos, God is working through his faithful people to continually offer redemption through acts of obedient kindness.

Application  John Wycliffe  Thomas Kempis  Julian of Norwich

Application  “Whose people are you?” “What family are you a part of?”

John Wesley  Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.

Tolstoy  The Great Russian searched through his pockets for a coin, but finding none he regretfully said, “Please don’t be angry with me, my brother, but I have nothing with me. If I did I would gladly give it to you.” The beggar’s face lit up, and he said, “You have given me more than I asked for. You have called me brother.”