Reflection:
Ruth is one of only two books
in the Bible named after women (three if you count the Apocryphal Judith). It
is a story that features not one, but two female protagonists, Ruth and her
mother-in-law, Naomi. When Naomi’s life turns upside down with her husband and
sons’ deaths, she decides to return to her homeland in Judah. Having lost her
male family members, Naomi recognizes that she will no longer have status much
less the ability to take care of herself in a patriarchal society. Though she
obviously loves her sons’ wives deeply, she thinks about what is in their best
interest and tells them to return to their homes so that they may remarry.
Initially, neither Ruth nor Orpah want to leave Naomi despite knowing that they
would become foreigners with few options in Judah. Eventually, each chooses
their own path, Orpah choosing to become a wife and Ruth choosing to remain a
daughter. Neither woman is condemned for her choice because as widows they face
the similar difficulties and struggles. Ruth’s story, therefore, is a story
about claiming an identity. Whether that identity is wife, husband, son,
daughter, mother, father, Moabite, Israelite, Jew or Gentile, Ruth shows us
that identity may begin with the circumstances of our birth, but is shaped by
the decisions that we make throughout our lives.
Reflection Questions:
Morning: What identities have
you claimed from your birth?
Noon: What identities have you
grown to claim as your own through decisions you’ve made?
Evening: What identities do
you claim through your faith and belief in God?
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