Friday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 423

Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, 
and she was left with her two sons, who married Moabite women, 
one named Orpah, the other Ruth. 
When they had lived there about ten years, 
both Mahlon and Chilion died also, 
and the woman was left with neither her two sons  nor her husband.

In some cultures of the world a widowed woman is considered damaged goods. She is not welcome to return to her family, which gave up a significant dowry to be rid of her; nor can she expect a new husband, perhaps because she has no dowry. If she is left childless and grand-childless, there is no one to care for her. Those are the cultural norms and many people have neither the imagination nor the courage to defy them, especially if the culture is very violent. She will have to fend her herself as best she can, perhaps finding a market for whatever skills she may develop.  
     But human nature has its own resources to challenge convention. We're not animals, after all; we are not slaves of instinct. We can with courage, imagination and the grace of God cause unexpected, even delightful, things to happen. 
     Such was the plight of Naomi and her two widowed daughters-in-law. Orpah elected to return to her people and take her chances with them. Ruth, however, had a particular affection for her mother-in-law and refused to leave. 
     The author of the Book of Ruth saw the hand of God in what followed. Naomi, Ruth, Boaz, the unnamed "other redeemer," and the elders of Bethlehem carefully navigated the shoals of custom and law to reintroduce the women into their society. As a result, Boaz begot Obed, who begot Jesse, who begot David the King. 
     Christians, with the vision of Saint Matthew, see beyond David and recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit working among the ancestors of Jesus, even a thousand years before the Child was born. 
     The incident in Ruth is hardly a cultural or historical earthquake. Husbands die, women are left widowed, they remarry, children are born: that's all pretty normal. But the Book of Ruth invites historical nonentities like you and me to consider the mysterious, unforeseeable consequences of our behavior. Who knows but a word I speak to a Veteran in the VA hospital might change the course of history? Who knows but your gracious word to a stranger might ease her suffering and release her from the grip of isolation? 
     God speaks no word in the Book of Ruth; no prophet appears to speak for him. He is equally silent in other stories and books. I think immediately of Joseph's tale in Genesis; and the books of Tobit, Judith and Esther. But God's presence in these histories is manifest. 
     Ruth and the others remind us of God's abiding concern for each of us, in our public and private lives. We pray that God's Spirit will guide us even when no one is watching.