Ruth: Week 2

Our reading and homework this week left me with a physical sensation. A mental image. A progression of postures, if you will.

We started in Ruth 1:19-21 where, in my mind's eye, I saw Naomi standing boldly and shaking her fist in the air saying, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?"

I would love to know how you feel about Naomi's raw emotion and her accusations directed toward God. What do you think we can learn from her passionate expression? Do her words make you as uncomfortable as they do me? And why do you think that is?

Then over the course of the week I felt the push-and-pull of opposing feelings and ideas.
- "there's no place like home" versus arriving home bitter and empty
- praying expectantly and sowing with tears
- chuckling at the story's ironic twists and being awed by God's Divine Providence

And then we ended the week with Ruth on her knees (Ruth 2:5-9). This is in a figurative sense because at this point she was busy walking and gathering and lifting and hauling. She was working hard! But again in my mind's eye I can see the bow of her head, hear the respect in her voice and sense the determination in her humility. "Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers," she says. And these few words are reported to the owner of the field, and they are passed along from person to person for years and years, and they are recorded for us. Ruth the Moabite is making quite a name for herself.

What stood out to you about Ruth's character and work ethic? Has she challenged you this week?

Homework for discussion next Thursday: Session/Week 3, Day 1-5

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