Ruth, accompaniment, and the church's voice

Last Tuesday was Lutheran day at the Capitol in Harrisburg. Its a day when Lutherans from PA gather as advocates for the most vulnerable, most marginalized, and the most suffering neighbors among us. We seek to call attention to those people living in poverty, without health care, with hunger and food insecurity. We seek to invite governing powers to practice biblical justice stewardship by devoting budgeted state monies to broaden the social safety net. This is not bleeding heart liberal politics. This is biblical justice. The God of the Bible is on the side of the oppressed, the poor, the disadavantaged, the refugee, the sick, and the imprisoned. The church bearing witness to this GOD is called to speak out in the face of injustices that cause suffering for so mnay people. And we are called to be generous in our own stewardship as well.
Bishop Kusserow from Southwest PA synod started the morning with a bible study on the Book of Ruth. He said Ruth's decision to accompany her widowed mother-in-law back to Judah, which would make her an undocumented foreigner seeking to sojourn and work in Judah, is an incredible example of the biblical call to compassionate justice. She could have returned to her family of origin and remianed in her own country, a move that would have been supported in that culture. Although she would have created an economic hardship on her own family, which had likely benefited from her marriage. When Ruth's husband died her economic status deteriorated. And then she chooses to honor her mother-in-law and go with her to Bethlehem in Judah.
It is there that she meets Boaz, who also offers a vision of economic justice by welcoming her to glean his fields. He also gives her a significant amount of grain and wine for her and Naomi. His generosity is an example of what it means to care for the immigrant refugee among us.
Lutherans need to tell the stories of how we already accompany people in their poverty and suffering. Lutheran World Relief and Lutheran disaster response are broader global efforts, but many of us practice this kind of accompaniment locally too.
We were able to meet with three members of the general assembly on Tuesday afternoon to practice advocacy. When the issue of stewardship is complicated, as it is at a state level, it is easy to lose a sense of biblical integrity and to write off our capacity to do the right things. I support decision-makers who are willing to wrestle with these difficult funding issues. And I especially laud those people who hear the cries of the most vulnerable among us and are seeking to improve their lives by offering them a better system of public supports. I am of the mind that there are some people in community who are dependent, some who are independent, and the vast majority who are interdependent. We rely on government regulations and government controls of some things to create a culture that is conducive to public health and the common good. Education is one such area. Public health could become another area. And I believe that public financial assistance for the most vulnerable and the unemployed is necessary. The church can offer a particular voice on such complex matters, despite opposition. We are called to speak for the one's who are not being heard, to be voices crying in the wilderness. Exalting and humbling through the call to biblical justice. I am convinced that the church cannot abandon these ministries of advocacy and accompaniment.