Yesterday we began our readings from the Book of Ruth, which started off like a fairytale …
“Once in the time of the judges, there was a famine in the land;” We hear of a man from Bethlehem departing with his wife and two sons to live on the plateau of Moab. The man’s name was Elimelech and his wife was Naomi. After moving to Moab, Elimelech died, leaving his wife and two sons, and the boys each married Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth.
About 10 years later, both of Naomi’s sons died and she prepared to head back home to her own kinsfolk. She planned to release her daughters-in-law to stay with their own Moabite people, but while Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, Ruth instead asserted that she was going to stay by Naomi’s side. She wanted to remain a part of Ruth’s family and history, saying “Wherever you go, I will go…. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God”.
Boaz
In today’s reading, Naomi and Ruth are now back in Israel, and the story continues with Naomi’s kinsman named Boaz. He owned a field of barley that Ruth entered to glean what she could after the harvesters were done, so that she and Naomi could have food to sustain themselves. Boaz caught sight of Ruth salvaging grain in his field and went up to her, telling her to remain in his section of the field for her requirements and to stay with his women servants and drink from their vessels.
Boaz had heard of Ruth and was very impressed with her faithfulness in remaining by Naomi’s side and not abandoning her, and he took Ruth to be his wife. Shortly thereafter, she conceived and bore a son whom they named Obed. He became the father of Jesse, who became the father of David. The future King himself!
What more can be said of this beautiful biblical story other than the responsorial psalm “See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.” The faithfulness of Ruth was rewarded a hundredfold.
Testing Jesus
Moving on to the Gospel readings of Matthew, we heard how one of the Pharisees, a scholar of the law, tested Jesus by asking him “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
And Jesus answered “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Criticism
Today, Jesus continues speaking to the crowds and His disciples, criticizing the scribes and Pharisees for relishing their positions of authority and exercising their power on the citizenry. Jesus calls them out for parading in their fine garments, sitting in places of honor, and lording it over everyone.
It’s easy for us to nod our heads and condemn the Pharisees, noting their hypocrisy of imposing burdensome laws on the people, and not doing anything to help. We should take care not to be Pharisees ourselves, in our behavior and demeanor.
The finest line is the last one … “The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Be Humble
Let us strive to be humble and put others first, and be careful in pointing fingers at others, because when you do so, there are four other fingers pointing back at you. We should emulate the humility that Jesus Himself demonstrated when he took a towel and bent down to wash the feet of his apostles. Such great love!
Go out and be disciples for the Lord.
