Word to the Wise
Friday, August 20, 2021 - 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]
AUGUST 20 ST. BERNARD, abbot and doctor of the church
This passage from the Book of Ruth has become the lyrics of a popular "wedding song" by various composers, but most prominently by David Haas. The original words, however, have little to do with a wedding! The story is moving and popular but it also impacts the plan of salvation. Ruth was the daughter-in-law of Naomi, who had lost husband and two sons and was preparing to go back to her family. She urged Ruth to do the same, but Ruth refused and remained committed to Naomi and Naomi's family. Ruth eventually married Boaz and gave birth fo Obed whose name appears in the genealogies of Jesus in the Gospels According to Matthew and Luke! Ruth was not of Jewish origin, but Moabite! This is but one of the many "twists" in the strand of Jesus' ancestry.
Yet, the commitment of Ruth to her mother-in-law is clearly one of love and of risk. She was a widow, a vulnerable person in that time. She faced an uncertain future no matter which way she chose - Naomi and the Israelites or the Moabite clan she had come from. Her choice led to her marriage with Boaz and the birth of Obed who was King David's grandfather!
Choices made long ago are part of anyone's life. Ruth's choice made her a part of Jesus' life (his DNA?). Love and loyalty have a way of shaping our past, present, and future!! AMEN