Clingdom Come

Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. – Ruth 1:14 (NRSV)  

It wasn’t so long ago that a woman in the U.S. couldn’t open a bank account or sign a mortgage without a man’s permission.   

I think of this every time I read the Book of Ruth. 

The story begins with famine, migration, and loss. Naomi is left with no husband, no sons. This means, too—according to the rules and customs of her time—that she has no access to land, wealth, or protection. Ruth and Orpah, Naomi’s daughters-in-law, face a terrible choice: Will they return home and hope to marry again? Or will they follow Naomi into a future that guarantees nothing?  

Naomi urges them to go. That’s what the system expects. “Find a man. Secure your survival.” Orpah listens and leaves. I can’t blame her.  

But Ruth? Ruth clings. She chooses love and loyalty over law and legacy. She would have never known it at the time. But there was reward to come. Through her exercise of agency, she walks herself right into the lineage of David (she’s his grandmother) … and Jesus. 

Ruth’s Rules said: You’re nothing without a man. Ruth’s Courage said: I’ll make a future with what I do have—my will, my love, my God. 

Thousands of years later, systems are still trying to roll us back to Ruth’s Rules. But they forget (or, perhaps, never even knew): Ruth rewrote them. And so will we. 

Prayer
Holy One, when the rules are ruthless, give us Ruth’s courage. Remind us that even when the road is uncertain, love is still a way forward. Amen.

About the Author
Kaji Douša is the Senior Pastor of The Park Avenue Christian Church, a congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ, in New York City.