40 Days of Faith--Day 7

Ruth 1:1-18

I wrestled with this passage about six months ago.  Here it is again.  The Lent devotional interprets the narrative thus:

"Ruth begins with a series of epic tragedies.  Insecure economic conditions force a family of four to migrate to a foreign land, where both sons grow up to marry foreign women.  Afterwards, the father dies, then both sons also die, leaving three widows alone, with no children.  In the culture and economy of the Ancient Near East, childless widows were by definition destitute.  The elder widow, Naomi, hears the economy back home has rebounded and plans to return, hoping to find help and mercy from her hometown relatives.

Naomi reacts to tragedy with bitterness.  She takes it as a sign that God has abandoned her.  Orpah takes Naomi's advice to start life over, abandoning both Naomi and Naomi's god for a happier future elsewhere.  Ruth, though, has hope in her circumstances despite all odds.

Despite Naomi's current bitterness, Ruth has seen something in Naomi and in Naomi's God that draws out of her both love and loyalty.  Ruth makes what the Ancient Near East would recognize as a covenant.  It's a solemn promise, at the level of seriousness and sacredness that we see in marriage vows.  Something in Naomi's or her late husband's lives or in the stories they told about God has given Ruth optimism and hope that life will go well for her if she stays loyal to this God."

The reflection to go along with this passage says:
Faith can be nourished by experiencing God in another person.  Think of someone you deeply love, respect, or otherwise admire.  What do they seem to know about God that you would like to experience?  Ask God to experience this yourself.  What about God does this person reflect to you?  Express directly to God that you love that God is the source of this goodness.

Destitute and despised.  That is a fear I have.  I don't want to end up destitute and despised.

I care a lot about stratifications of power dynamics and am always hyper-aware of what notions of class and status run through the fabric of society and its smaller microcosms.  Thus, what is "good" at Yale Divinity School is different from what is "good" at The Newman School.  What my friends at Bible Study Fellowship in San Gabriel value is different from what my Elm City Vineyard friends strive for.    Thus, I can never win in the comparison game.

What I do tend to do is to drive myself crazy over these endless mental aerobics.  I'm sure to crash and burn if I keep this up.

Pastor Steve at Reservoir and I spoke on the phone this week, and we also exchanged a facebook message.  I have always admired the ease with which he seems to navigate his spirituality.  There is a lightness with which he moves, yet he is a strong and prophetic voice in a forward-thinking and Jesus-centered movement that seeks to engage fully with today's society while remaining faithful to the essentials of faith.

I want to be like that, and the fact that this kind of leadership exists give me hope--and an example of faith.  Whoever knew that I would be able to look up to a straight white male after all my theological education at Yale?