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Wherever You Go
During Advent, members of the A Nun’s Life community will be posting reflections on the Jesse Tree and the O Antiphons.
Day 11 :: Ruth written by Marla
I avoid most apps on Facebook, but when “Which Bible Character Are You?” showed up, I had to have a go. I took the quiz meant to determine my biblical qualities (I guess) and was pleased when the result came up: “You are Ruth.”
I could only hope. Ruth is the very personification of loyalty in the Bible. She is meant to be. “Ruth” means friend. Whenever I have been asked to describe myself I have always said, on the plus side, that I am loyal to a fault to anyone I call a friend.
The beautiful words that Ruth speaks to Naomi in this book of scripture are often sung at weddings, too: “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried.” What husband or wife wouldn’t want those words included in their marriage rite?
But when I look at the world today, I see that Ruth has a bigger lesson for everyone in 2011: Inclusivity. Ruth unhesitatingly embraced Naomi’s people and culture, despite very obvious differences in every aspect of life. There was no fear, there was no judgment, there was only acceptance and an understanding that all people, in the end, are God’s people and all people are one.
When church and state turn their backs on people because of gender or sexual orientation or skin color (boy—and I thought we were done with that! http://abcnews.go.com/US/kentucky-church-bans-interracial-couples/story?id=15065204#.TuNZyGMr27t), Ruth’s great lesson—and therefore, God’s—is that we are all the same.
My Christmas wish is that a few more people “get” that great truth soon and that hurts of exclusion will finally be done with for good.
* * Want to revisit the other symbols of Advent? Click here on Jesse Tree. * *
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I didn’t know that “Ruth” meant “friend” Marla. It’s one of my favourite stories too. Thank you, and I too hope the day comes when our hearts are open and loving enough to include everyone.
There are many musical settings for this passage from the Book of Ruth, and you have chosen one of my favorites – from the Monks of Weston Priory. I have it on my iPod with other favorite selections from Weston Priory.
I love this passage. It speaks to me on so many levels – of my marriage, of my friendships, especially with older women, which have been so significant in my life. I love the way you have rolled in inclusivity into your reading of the passage, Marla. Here was Ruth, leaving the familiar and known to adopt an unknown family, an unknown culture. I think it is especially significant to those who are in religious discernment, because they, too, will be leaving a familiar landscape to invest themselves totally in a new place, new people, and new culture. Takes courage to be a Ruth.