Word to the Wise
Friday, August 23, 2013 - Friday in the 20th Week in Ordinary Time
[Ruth 1:1, 3-6, 14b-16, 22 and Matt 22:34-40]Do not ask me to abandon or forsake you! For wherever you go, I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge, your people shall be my people, and your God my God. [Ruth]
FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2013 ST. ROSE OF LIMA, O.P.
These words from the Book of Ruth have been heard at many a wedding! They reflect both the love and loyalty of the one who says them, but they also show the pain of separation. Naomi had lost her husband and her two sons, one of whom had married Ruth. So, both Naomi and Ruth were widows, with Ruth being the daughter-in-law of Naomi. Naomi intended to go back to her family. Her other daughter-in-law, like Ruth from a different tribe of people with its own religion - Moabites - did return. But Ruth decides to stay with her mother-in-law, and become part of the Jewish community. It is there that she meets Boaz, marries him and becomes part of the ancestry of Jesus! [Matt. 1:5]
In preparing a couple for marriage, I have occasionally asked the question, "Who is marrying into whose family?" I ask this when I see highly contrasting personalities, especially when one is an introvert and the other an extrovert! Is someone truly "leaving" their family to marry another? In Ruth's case, it would be an interracial marriage! Will one of them remain an "outsider" no matter what? Ruth takes a great risk, based on her love and attachment for her mother-in-law, and thereby becomes part of God's plan of salvation. It seems that Jesus has a great many courageous women in his background! Ruth offers us much to consider about love and courage! AMEN