Scripture Text (NRSV)
1:1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land,
and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of
Moab, he and his wife and two sons.
1:2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi,
and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were
Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of
Moab and remained there.
1:3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with
her two sons.
1:4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the
name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years,
1:5 both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left
without her two sons and her husband.
1:6 Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the
country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the
LORD had considered his people and given them food.
1:7 So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and
her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the
land of Judah.
1:8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back each of you
to your mother's house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have
dealt with the dead and with me.
1:9 The LORD grant that you may find security, each of you in the
house of your husband." Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud.
1:10 They said to her, "No, we will return with you to your people."
1:11 But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with
me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your
husbands?
1:12 Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a
husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should
have a husband tonight and bear sons,
1:13 would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain
from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me
than for you, because the hand of the LORD has turned against me."
1:14 Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but
Ruth clung to her.
1:15 So she said, "See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people
and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law."
1:16 But Ruth said, "Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from
following you! Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
1:17 Where you die, I will die-- there will I be buried. May the LORD
do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from
you!"
1:18 When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said
no more to her.
Comments:
In this reading, Ruth, a foreign (Moabite) woman, goes beyond duty to
stay with her Israelite mother-in-law and expose herself to life in a
strange land by accompanying Naomi to live in Bethlehem.
Ruth is a woman of Moab,a region and people who had a long history of
strife with their Israelite cousins (Deut 23.3-4). Ruth had married
the son of Naomi, marking her as one of those "foreign wives" whom
Ezra and Nehemiah railed against in the era many believe generated the
book of Ruth. When it comes to demonstrating the sort of
all-encompassing love and commitment of which Jesus would later
summarize as the greatest commandments and the Psalm will attribute to
the working of God, Ruth the Moabite excels. Her pledge to Naomi
declares there is no part of her life she is unwilling to withhold in
standing by her widowed mother-in-law which a love that will not turn
back, including her taking upon Naomi's God as her own. May Ruth's
tribe increase!
What an awesome, almost sacrificial love Ruth possessed. In a far
flung way, it would seem that Naomi could be a type of Jesus in this
instance and we [should] follow the example of Ruth, denying all that
we know and walking into the unknown committing our whole self ("all"
of our self) to our Lord. I feel the longing of Ruth for my Savior. I
would cry too if He ever told me to leave Him. What an awesome "love"
prayer: Don't press me to leave you, [Jesus] where you go, I'll go,
where you dwell I will dwell, your people shall be my people, Your God
will be my God. That's making love the main motivation. WOW! Micah in
VA
This Sunday is confirmation Sunday in my church, and I'm sensing that
"your God will be my God" will be central to the sermon. At
confirmation, the young people are publicly professing the faith of
the church saying to the congregation, in effect, your God is my God.
That, of course, puts pressure on the congregation: just who is the
God this congregation serves? If these young confirmands see their
elders serving the gods of Mammon, greed, popularity,
self-satisfaction, etc, then that's who they will likely serve.
Preacher/lawyer
this sunday builds up to our consecration/stewardship sunday. the
leaving of her homeland and taking of the God of Israel will be
central to my sermon as well. do we leave everything we know and have
to follow our Lord? Is 10% asking so much, when Ruth left everything?
just pondering early in the week. jen in pa
I remember my first sermon at Seminary, when I preached on this
passage, and took at different approach. I now understand why! I find
it more congruent with my faith to not use any character in the
Scriptures as a scapegoat. Thus my sermon was on "The other one."
Orpah chose to return to her homeland. Im sure her relatives were glad
to see her. There has been women (and men) in my life and they have
not been my parents, but they were "The other ones." In that sermon I
used my Godmother, and the influence she had on me and my faith.
Shalom
Bammamma
Bammama: my spine tingles when I read your post. I think I may want to
go that direction too. do you have anything more you can share about
that sermon? REv. Helen
Ruth is the hero, but Orpah is not necessarily a washout. Scripture
neither praises or criticizes Orpah for returning home. Though I
strive to be a Ruth, sometimes my actions are more like Orpah.
Orpah returns to her parents' home so that she could remarry, and have
children. She would care for her family and bless them with stories
about Ruth and Naomi's God. She represents the pew-sitters of the
church -- good people but afraid of risks. They are the keepers of the
budget and tradition. They send up warning flags when others rush
forward into unknown territory. Without Orpah, Ruth would not have
realized the price of her devotion.
Orpah, and others like them, love God with all their minds, but not
yet with all their bodies. They do not know yet the blessing that
comes when God is no longer compartmentalized. They do not yet know
what it feels like when God fills not only your head, but also your
whole body, your whole strenght, and your whole soul.
Karen
Karen, thank you for your words and i like the tie to the gospel
lesson as well. Our human nature is to want to empathize with Orpah,
but we aren't called to look back. Ruth says I will not turn back from
following. A good hymn to tie to this passage is I Have Decided to
Follow Jesus. The refrain is no turning back, no turning back. It was
written by tribespeople in India, who once converted, live their lives
apart from all they have known. They are shunned by everyone for their
conversion. In response they wrote the hymn saying the true claim that
once deciding to follow, there is no turning back. Jen in PA
Date: 10/31/2003
Time: 7:01:41 AM
Comment
Wesley has a great point about Naomi and the decision she places
before her daughter-in-laws. He says, "But did not she (Naomi) wish to
bring them to the worship of the God of Israel? Undoubtedly she did.
But she would have them first consider upon what terms, lest having
set their hand to the plow, they should look back."
In a society of consideration for the terms and conditions, this could
make an interesting illusion. Do we consider the cost and cling to
Naomi, or do we kiss her and turn away. Jen in PA
Life is like a grindstone: whether your polished or worn away by it
depends on the stuff you’re made of.
Seems like an appropriate thought to ponder in the
Pleasant-Bitter-Pleasant cycle of Naomi's life, and Ruth's as well.
Craig in Naples,FL
Rev. Helen I just read your response to my remembering my sermon at
Seminary. I am retired now, and the notes for that sermon are in my
seminary archives, so I'm doing this for memory. I agree with others
that Orpah is not critiqued in the story. She is part of the details
of the story. If I recall, my point was reflection on "the other ones"
in my life. I described my godmother who was not my mother, but
nurtured me in another way. Sh taught me the importance of service to
God. She worked on my singing voice (hers was gorgeous!), but she was
not the same denomination as my home church. She was "the other one."
And I thank God for those special gifts. I pray I not become too
judgemental of others, that I miss special blessings God sends my way.
Shalom
bammamma
