Boaz answered her:
"I have had a complete account of what you have done for your mother-in-law after your husband's death;
you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know previously."
"I have had a complete account of what you have done for your mother-in-law after your husband's death;
you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know previously."
Ruth gives the Bible a spirit of obedient, ready trust in the Goodness of God. She accepts and seems to live on small kindnesses given to her; and when she is given the worldly advice of leaving to begin elsewhere, she stays with what she knows. Why risk the loss of a small good for the sake of something that might be better? Her heart has found blessing in the presence of her grieving mother-in-law; in loyalty and love she must remain with her even as Naomi returns to her husband's family.
The childless women cannot know if that family might accept or despise their son's and grandson's widows. Fortunately, they return to a devout Jewish family. Boaz, a wealthy farmer, apparently treats his workers fairly, for he salutes them with a liturgical greeting, "The Lord be with you." And they respond with an equally generous, "The Lord bless you."
Boaz soon learns of the lovely young woman's fidelity to her mother-in-law and assures her of a rightful place among his workers. And he makes an extra provision for her when he warns the local young men to leave her unmolested. We can suppose he said something like, "Mess with her, you mess with me!"
Christians must find in Ruth the story of Mary, the Mother of God. She will follow her husband from Galilee to Bethlehem to Egypt, and back to Galilee. But Joseph is not following his family to another place, or a job opportunity. He moves, and takes his family with him, in response to dreams; that is, to premonitions in the night which he recognizes as warnings about things to come.
Mary, whom we deem the holier of the two, is not given those dreams. Rather, she is given the preeminent spirit of obedience. Anyone, it seems, can be a prophet, only some obey the word of God. As the Lord said, "Many are called; few are chosen."
It is that spirit which holds us firmly within the bosom of the Church, where we encounter the Lord's Sacred Heart and Mary's Immaculate Heart.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.