When Full Is Empty And Empty Is Full (III of III)

In prior posts I reflected on the unsettling reality that God brings trials our way, and that they can last decades. So where do we go from here? How does this turn into good news? Easy answers. I don't know and I'm not sure.

Joking aside, I'm serious, too. I don't know where we go, because I'm like Naomi, not Jesus. I don't know how this turns into good news, because I'm like Naomi, not Jesus.

Naomi, like us, is human. She has to plod through her trials, and so do we. We don't have the luxury of seeing the great ending that might be several decades in the coming. Jesus, on the other hand, is God. He knows in advance that the blind man will regain his sight because Jesus himself is about to heal him.

But before we gripe that Jesus has an unfair advantage, let's stop and reflect upon his unenviable situation. Yes, he possesses divine knowledge and power, but that's no blessing if your stated mission is to die on a cross without putting up a fight.

Let that thought sink in for a minute. Jesus saw his own trials coming, and he had the dubious pleasure of walking toward them all at a steady, resolute pace. There is certainly some truth to the old saying that ignorance is bliss. My recent hand injury came blissfully quickly. A shard of glass passed by so fast that the job was done before I even felt the pain. I cannot tell you how often I've relived that moment since then. And in my mind's eye? I avoid that trial. I avert the disaster. I do things differently at that kitchen sink. Trial escaped.

Jesus, in contrast, saw his death coming decades in advance–the most painful form of death known to the Roman world. And he made sure it happened. Who of us can even begin to imagine what force of will is required to do that? And though that was surely the hardest trial Jesus faced, it was not the only one.

Here's another. It's a safe bet that Jesus outlived his father, since there is no mention of him beyond Jesus' early childhood. What does that mean? It means that Jesus was around when is earthly father died, and I'd hazard a guess he knew when and how it was coming long before the moment arrived. He neither prevented his father's death nor reversed it. He walked alongside that casket, but he never reached into it.

Again, We have no capacity to imagine what Jesus went through. To let your earthly father die when you know you can restore him to full health? No one else on earth has face that trial. No one except Jesus. Omniscience and omnipotence wrapped inside a human frame with a limited mission is certainly not always all that it's cracked up to be.

So we grant that we are human and that Jesus is God. Fine. Next move? How does this help us? Here I can only turn to the book of Ruth and say, "I may not know how my story turns out, but it sure is encouraging to see how things turn out for Naomi." Let's recall what Naomi had to say in her darkest hour:

Ruth 1:12
Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons...

Yes, we know what Naomi does not: there is a baby boy in Naomi's future. But in loving memory of dear old Naomi, let's savor this dish slowly. Hold off on the good news. What else did Naomi say in her darkest hour?

Ruth 1:20-21
“Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”

Naomi has despaired of life itself. She has thrown in the towel. But the irony is that she has gotten her life's story completely wrong.

Naomi remembers the past imperfectly, to state the matter rather charitably
I went away full... What?? Naomi did NOT go away full. She and her husband went away hungry. Empty! It was a terrible famine that forced them to moved to Moab. It's almost humorous to see how Naomi is remembering the past with rose-tinted glasses, but we're all guilty of the same habits. A major campaign claim in this year's presidential election is that today is awful, yesterday was great, and that tomorrow (if I am elected) will be great once again. And people are eating it up.

Naomi sees the present imperfectly, to state the matter rather charitably
By "full" and "empty" Naomi probably speaks of having left Israel with a husband and two sons and having returned without them. Fair enough. But even by this understanding Naomi has NOT returned empty. She has returned with priceless cargo–with Ruth, someone she never would have known had not God sent her on an unwelcome journey so many years ago.

Naomi sees the future imperfectly, to state the matter rather charitably
Let's have a hearty, long and loving laugh, because Naomi died celebrating only the first fruits of a harvest with no end in sight even today, 3,000 years later.

Ruth 4:14-15
The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”

Let those words sink in. What are they celebrating? They are celebrating the fact that Naomi has a grandson named Obed. That's it. That's all. Naomi probably didn't live to see her great-grandson David play with his first slingshot, let alone ascend to the throne.

The author of Ruth sees the future imperfectly, to state the matter rather charitably
The irony unfolds in waves, my friends. Ruth's author lovingly ends his narrative by unfolding the genealogy of Obed down to David in the belief that the punchline has been delivered. But the true punchline is another thousand years in the coming.

Matthew 1:5
...Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth...

The woman who thought she'd die alone without an heir is still celebrated all over the world. She will be forever remembered as a beloved ancestor of the Christ child himself. Jesus himself is part of Naomi's story. Or should we say that Naomi was part of His story? And this is the point these rambling reflections lead me to.

We see the past, present and future imperfectly, to state the matter rather charitably
We, today, are part of God's story. Hardships past, present and future are part of that good story. Hard to imagine? Naomi understands. But now it's Naomi, with the benefit of a better perspective, who is laughing at us. The question before us is this: Can we, in faith, laugh along with her?

Omniscience and omnipotence are morsels best left on God's plate. Let us feast instead on faith, trusting in the one who lays the table. May these crazy, crazy thoughts be an encouragement to all of us as we face our trials. Even the ones that last for decades and tempt us to despair of life.

Hang in there, friends. The story is still unfolding. The punchline has not yet arrived.