Friday 12th December 2025
David Bradwell
“A son has been born”
Ruth 4:17 (NRSV)
Neighbours not strangers
The book of Ruth ends with a baby being born. Ruth and Boaz welcome Obed, and the women tell Naomi, “A son has been born.” It looks like an ordinary family moment, but in God’s story it’s huge—this baby becomes the grandfather of King David, and many generations later, part of the family line of Jesus.
What makes this even more striking is who Ruth was. She wasn’t an insider—she was an immigrant, a Moabite woman who left her own land to live among strangers. At first, she was vulnerable and dependent on the kindness of others. Yet through her, God brought blessing not only to Naomi, but to Israel, and ultimately to the whole world through Christ.
That should give us pause. In our own day, conversations about migration are often filled with fear and suspicion. Political debates can stir up hostility and even xenophobia. But the story of Ruth reminds us that God often works through the outsider, and that the blessings of the stranger may only become clear long after we welcome them. To shut our doors in fear is to risk missing the very gifts God longs to give us.
Jesus summed it up simply: love your neighbour. Not just the neighbour who looks like you or thinks like you, but the stranger, the newcomer, the one who may seem different. Advent asks us whether we are ready to make room not only for Christ, but for those he identifies with—the stranger, the migrant, the overlooked.
Naomi’s empty arms were filled again. Ruth’s faithfulness and courage brought hope to a family, a community, and ultimately to the world. God is still at work in such ways today, if only we are willing to welcome and to love.
Shall we pray?
God of welcome and belonging,
you wove Ruth the migrant into the story of salvation.
Open our hearts to see your face in the stranger and your love in the outsider.
Give us courage to resist fear, and grace to offer hospitality with joy.
May our lives reflect the welcome we ourselves have received in Christ.
Amen.
David Bradwell is a member of Lammermuir Parish Church. He works at the Church of Scotland national office in Edinburgh.
Thinking it through:
Who are the “Ruths” in our communities today, and how might God be at work through them?
What does it mean for me, this Advent, to make room for Christ by showing love to my neighbour—especially the stranger?