August 25 2023

So she (Naomi) said, ‘See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.’ But Ruth said,
‘Do not press me to leave you
or to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go;
where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people,
and your God my God.

From Ruth 1:1,3-6,14-16,22, NRSV

In many of our recent readings we have heard about the repeated infidelities and lack of trust on the part of the people of Israel. By contrast, today we hear the beginning of a story of someone whose love and kindness helped her to go well beyond the requirements of the Law. The reading begins with a man from Bethlehem taking his wife (Naomi) and two sons to live in Moab as a result of famine in their own land. When her husband died, Naomi became the responsibility of her sons. When they subsequently died, Naomi and her two daughter-in-laws were required to return to their original homes where they would become the property of a male relative. Naomi encouraged both of her daughter-in-laws to return to the places they had come from and one did so. Ruth, however would not leave her mother-in-law and chose the perilous life of a stranger in a foreign land rather than abandoning her. Ruth accompanied Naomi on her return to Bethlehem in Judah where, as we shall see in future readings, they were both blessed greatly by God.

• • Why do you think Ruth chose to remain with Naomi?
  • Have you ever been blessed by the loyalty of another against the odds ?

Give thanks for the loyalty and companionship of family and friends whom you can rely on both in good times and especially at times of difficulty.

Image – Ruth and Naomi by Sandy Freckleton Gagon