“I am your handmaiden . . . all that you say to me I will do.” Ruth

“Make it a great day for Jesus.” Ruth Koenig

Who do you know that is a handmaiden of The Lord?  A living example of Christ?  A person who in their words, their actions, and in their very spirit embodies the person of Jesus?  A person who, without any intention or efforts of their own seems to reflect the image of what it means to be united to Christ.  Ruth Koenig is that person for me.

I first met Ruth in 1988.  She was the secretary at the first church I served, Bethel Lutheran in Chicago.  Standing a shade over five feet tall she was a small, almost frail looking woman.  She was 76 years old and still serving as secretary for the church and the elementary school, which she had been since the death of her husband thirty years earlier.   The office was on the first floor of the school, tucked away in a corner.  It wasn’t the kind of office you see now with computers and cubicles.  In fact, computers were just starting to become more common, so Ruth didn’t have one, and never would.  All of her correspondence and the weekly worship bulletins were plunked out on her old manual typewriter.  There were a lot of filing cabinets and a copy machine, of course.  She was a guardian of that machine, claiming that she was the only one who knew how to operate it.  The only time Ruth and I ever had a spat was when I had made copies while she was out of the office, and of course something happened to the computer.  She wasn’t happy with me.

Over the one hundred years of its existence the neighborhood in which the church was located had changed.  Originally populated primarily by the working class children of German immigrants, when I arrived it was a neighborhood in decline, with a hodge-podge of people representing a variety of cultures, but all of them sharing the common denominator of poverty.  The school reflected the diversity of the neighborhood, with students whose parents were trying to scrape by to make enough money to pay the meager tuition being charged. 

Ruth loved them all the same.  Each day before school many of the children would file into the church office where Ruth would be waiting to embrace them.  She would call each one by name, giving them a hug, and send them on the way with the salutation, “Make it a great day for Jesus.”  It was heartwarming to see the smiles on the faces of these children, who quite possibly only received such warmth in those few moments with Ruth.

I was also the recipient of her warm heart and her Christ-like spirit.  We would have frequent conversations throughout each day.  She became my confidant and counselor, providing wisdom, guidance, and love.

I only stayed at Bethel for a little over three years.  Leaving Ruth was one of the most difficult aspects of my departure.  When I left to go overseas, I gave her the pectoral cross that I wore on Sundays.  She put it on, and from what I’ve been told wore it every day. 

Ruth and I remained in touch over the years.  She was faithful in her letter writing, always providing words of encouragement in addition to updates on the goings on at the church and school.  During an especially difficult time in my life Ruth shared one of her favorite portions of Scripture, Psalm 91.  The words “He shall give his angels charge over you to guard you in all your ways” were especially reassuring. 

Not long after I left, she suffered a serious accident which made it much more difficult to do her job. In time she retired, leaving her beloved Bethel, where she had been such a faithful fixture for so long.  It was heartbreaking not only for her, but for the countless numbers of students past and present, for whom Ruth had provided a living example of what it means to be a modern-day handmaiden of The Lord.

I made it a point to visit Ruth when we returned from overseas, and on a few occasions throughout the years following.  The last time was when she was living in a care community in Michigan, near her daughter, also named Ruth.  Even in her advanced age and poor health she provided the same comfort and encouragement that was her hallmark.

Ruth went to be with her precious Lord, in whom she had an unwavering faith, on January 29^th, 2008.  Her funeral was held in her beloved Bethel church. I had the privilege of preaching her funeral homily.  It was one of the most difficult messages I’ve ever preached, for I was wracked not only with grief but guilt for having left her and the beautiful church which had been her spiritual home for so long.

Aside from my own mother, Ruth was the most incredible woman I’ve ever known.  She was a living icon of Christ.  She exemplified what it means to be a humble and faithful servant.  She never did anything great, at least not according to the standards set by the world.  But in the eyes of God she did, for with her kind heart, warm words, and loving embrace she made many days great for others.