Brave

As we reflect on the life of Ruth*, one of the “scandalous and scandalized” great-grandmothers purposely named in Jesus’s family tree, there’s no doubt that she was brave. She just kept doing the next right thing, even when it was risky, scary, or even just boring. At one point Ruth is described as “a woman of noble character” because of all the ways she took risks to care for her aging mother-in-law. Take some time today to think about her bravery and to lean into the Spirit to find more for yourself.

There will be days when you do not feel fearless, by Morgan Harper Nichols

There will be days when you do not feel fearless

and you choose to get up

and go out to sea anyway.

And my friend,

let me tell you,

that is what it means to be brave.

It is that gentle shove toward the water that says “I will go,

and I will go afraid.”

It is not a feeling.

It is not a thought.

It is that inward wind that pulls you out of sleep and says “I will go forth,

with all I have now:

a breath, a dozen steps,

and a pocket full of fears,

but no matter what tries to pull me back,

I will find the strength to be here.”

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*If you’d like to dive deeper into “The Gospel of Ruth,” we did a series on her in the summer of 2020, beginning with this sermon.