Ruth: Moving Forward in the Mother-Daughter Relationship
Lectionary connections
Sunday, November 10
Ruth 1:1-18
Placing In Context
When Naomi’s world disappears quickly, she announces her plans to return home and asks her daughters-in-law to do the same, saying, “Go back each of you to your mother’s house.” Sending them to their mother’s house suggests they can return to look for new husbands. They can try again at marriage. Naomi sees her life as having reached a dead-end as if she is in the final stages of her life. No longer can she bring anything new into the world, which might be fine for her but not for Ruth and Orpah, who she still sees as so young.
Orpah returns to her mother’s house, but Ruth refuses to let Naomi go. Ruth clings to Naomi, unaware of how she is moving forward, but she is committed to journeying alongside this woman, who she claims has her mother now. There is no going back. They cannot erase the tragedy they have faced.
Beliefs that Endure
When life takes a turn we didn’t expect, we face a choice. Do we return to what we knew as children? Or do we go forward with those who share in our tragedy, standing shocked and grieving around the same loss? Does Ruth stay because she didn’t love her biological mother enough to return? Or, could Ruth have learned something from her biological mother about solidarity with the brokenhearted and creativity when the path forward has disappeared?
Ruth believes that the mother-daughter relationship is not just a safety net for trouble or a tool for stability. This unique relationship is about care-taking and accompaniment born from love and covenant, whether through biology, marriage, or friendship.
Moving Forward
Naomi sees that Ruth will not relent, forcing her to reimagine the mother-daughter relationship. This connection between Naomi and Ruth makes a way forward possible for both of them, despite all the grief that weighs them down and the cultural limitations that hem them in as widows. Who is someone in your life whose care-taking and accompaniment have blossomed in times of grief or uncertainty? Who in your life could use that kind of support?
