Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“But Boaz answered her, ‘All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, October 15, 2019
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
This is where the courtship begins. It’s an unusual one, but rarely are our lives usual. The young widow, Ruth, catches the eye of the much older landowner, Boaz. At first, Ruth is not much more than a beggar gleaning in the fields of a rich man. But Ruth is more than a beggar, and Boaz is more than a rich man. Boaz falls for Ruth’s loyalty to her mother-in-law. Ruth falls for Boaz’s kindness. (And yes, although it may seem like a marriage of convenience, there are indications that they had feelings for each other.) A relationship begins to form, and it is one that will have everlasting effects, not only on Ruth and Boaz, but on Naomi, their descendants (Jesus), and all of humanity.
While we certainly would not call this a love triangle, all three (Ruth, Boaz, Naomi) were dependent on one another for the miracle of Jesus’ birth to happen. Naomi needed Ruth for her basic needs (food), and she needed Boaz for his wealth. Ruth needed Naomi for her guidance in seducing Boaz, and she needed Boaz to have a baby. Boaz needed Naomi to be matchmaker, and he needed Ruth to be his wife and mother of his child. It was a match made in heaven (not literally, but—almost).
I love that these relationships are all a bit messy. That’s what life is really like, after all. Messy. Complicated. Unpredictable.
And despite it all, miracles occur when we surrender to love.
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