Duncan Perry

Along the Danish coast there was a dreary fishing village called Norre Vosburg. A small church gathered there, pastored by an aged widower who had two lovely, musically gifted daughters.

The pastor preached often of God’s grace. However, as familiar as the village was with the concept, they knew little of grace in their living. They wore no color. They did not laugh or eat flavorful foods.

The two daughters were sought by suitors — one a rising military officer, the other a French opera singer. Both were rejected and left town. Years passed, and the pastor died. The two daughters, now aged spinsters, gathered the remaining toothless congregation every Sunday to sing of God’s grace and to eat gruel.

This continued until an unexpected knock upon their door revealed an unfamiliar face: a French woman who spoke no Danish holding a letter from the former suitor, the opera singer. The letter noted that she was a refugee and then ended succinctly: “Babette can cook.”

This illustration from Karen Blixen’s 1958 short story captures what many of us experience. All of life reveals God’s grace: undeserved, unearned favor, which we often miss. If this is your experience, you will find a friend in Ruth, the next woman found in Jesus’ genealogy (Matthew 1:1 – 17). We will see that traveling the unfamiliar territory of grief produces opportunities for God’s grace and growth.

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First Ruth traveled the unfamiliar territory of grief. In Ruth 1, during the dark days of Israel’s judges, Elimelech moved his family — his wife Naomi and two sons —* *away from Bethlehem to Moab because of a famine.

In the Old Testament, physical famine was often accompanied by spiritual famine, or “each man [doing] what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). This action revealed sinful desperation as Elimelech moved beyond the borders of God’s blessing and settled in that unbelieving land, allowing the boys to marry Moabite women.

In a span of five verses, we learn that Naomi’s husband and two sons died, leaving her a widow in a foreign land with two pagan daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth. Again desperate, Naomi decided to uproot and return to Bethlehem where there was food.

In a sorrowful scene, Naomi urged her daughters-in-law to remain and remarry in Moab. Orpah obeyed, but Ruth refused (Ruth 1:16 – 17). When the women arrived in Bethlehem, the streets buzzed with whispers. Sin-wrought grief is always an opportunity for God’s grace to abound.

Second, Ruth traveled the unfamiliar territory of God’s grace. The widows relied on the grace of the Bethlehemites. Acting on Naomi’s behalf, Ruth began gleaning in nearby fields. By God’s sovereignty, the field was owned by a certain man named Boaz. He showed Ruth kindness, protecting her from the workers and providing extra grain for her.

In easily overlooked ways, Boaz sought Ruth’s blessing without benefit for himself in mind. There can be no grace apart from the suffering of the giver. Such was Boaz’s love; such is God’s love. Naomi explained to Ruth that, of all the men she could have met, Boaz was a “kinsman redeemer,” one who could rescue them from shame and renew their lives. Boaz was pleased to do this, and God’s grace gave way to the unfamiliar territory of growth. Ruth’s story, which began with sin and death, ended with grace and growth in the form of a genealogy — a snapshot of Matthew 1:3 – 6 (Ruth 4:18 – 22).

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After 12 years of laboring in Norre Vosburg, Babette received a letter that she had won the French lottery. The spinster sisters assumed she would never return. Much to their surprise, she returned, asking for a favor. She wanted to cook a meal for them in honor of their father’s 100th birthday in December.

They agreed and Babette went to work. When the day arrived, the sullen crowd gathered in the familiar place but was met with an unfamiliar scene: grace.

As the party went on, the people loosened up — divisions were mended; silence gave way to singing; old bitterness bubbled into laughter and reeling fights to reminiscing of past Christmases. Forgiveness flowed as if from a bottle. And when the military officer and former suitor — now a general — tasted the main course, he said, “Ah! I have only had this one other place … in France,” in the kitchen of a renowned chef, named Babette. All her winnings were spent on the celebration. Grace came to Norre Vosburg the way it comes to everyone who would receive it on God’s terms: free and overflowing.

May God’s grace meet you this Christmas, friend. May you recognize the ways you have missed Him. May you treasure our Savior, trusting Jesus in your place at the cross and in the resurrection. May the grief of your sin become opportunities for His grace to invade your life for His glory.

Duncan Perry is an associate pastor at Bethany Bible Chapel in Conway.