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Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17
Proper 27B
Commentary on Ruth 3: Sunday School may not have given us exactly the right idea about what is going on in Ruth chapter 3. In our Sunday School imaginings, Ruth may seem to have more in common with a Disney princess than a desperate and resourceful Moabite widow in Israel. Her first day in the…
Ruth 1:1-18
Proper 26B
The next two Sundays create a wonderful opportunity for reflection on harvest, on reliance on God in the hard times and gratitude to God who provides — wonderful themes for the Thanksgiving season. Illustration The Bechdel Test is a way of evaluating film content named for its creator, Alison Bechdel. It is an informal way…
Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17
Proper 27B
The Lectionary has us skip the drama of Ruth 2 and then dips in briefly to Ruth 3 for the connection with Boaz and then zooms ahead to the very end of Ruth 4 for the “happy ending” of the tale and how it all points forward to King David. As preachers, we are either…
Ruth 1:1-18
Proper 26B
To my mind stopping the reading of Ruth 1 at verse 18 is the narrative equivalent of ending the movie Field of Dreams just before the moment when Ray encounters his long-dead and estranged father on his magical Iowa baseball diamond. Why stop short of the scene that brings the whole thing together!? So trust…
Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17
Proper 27B
As the old church year comes to an end, the lectionary is already ramping up for the new year. With its stunning conclusion, our reading in Ruth anticipates Advent in an unmistakable way. As we prepare to welcome the coming of the long promised King of Israel, our reading tells us the surprising story of…
Ruth 1:1-18
Proper 26B
As we near the end of Ordinary Time the lectionary lessons begin to lean into Advent with a focus on three faithful people, two of them in the genealogy of the Christ. The end of the book of Ruth reminds us that Ruth, against all odds, was part of the family tree of David and,…
Ruth 2
There is a well-known plot device in modern romantic comedies called the meet-cute. In fact, one primetime show, The Mindy Project, had almost an entire season based on the protagonist’s attempts to interpret every one of her encounters with a new man as a meet-cute. Meet-cutes are those moments in the book or scenes in…
Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17
Proper 27B
Comments and Observations: The Lectionary has us skip the drama of Ruth 2 and then dips in briefly to Ruth 3 for the connection with Boaz and then zooms ahead to the very end of Ruth 4 for the “happy ending” of the tale and how it all points forward to King David. As preachers,…
Ruth 1:1-18
Proper 26B
To my mind stopping the reading of Ruth 1 at verse 18 is the narrative equivalent of ending the movie Field of Dreams just before the moment when Ray encounters his long-dead and estranged father on his magical Iowa baseball diamond. Why stop short of the scene that brings the whole thing together!? So trust…
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