Where You Go, I Will Go
She said to them, “Call me no longer Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.” – Ruth 1:20-21 (NRSV)
We love the story of Ruth and Naomi for its poignant embodiment of faithful love: Ruth, recently widowed, refused to do what was expected of her and go back to her family of origin. She refused to allow her widowed mother-in-law to live out her days with nothing but grief and bitterness for company.
“Where you go, I will go,” Ruth told Naomi. “Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried” (Ruth 1:16-17).
It is a love story for the ages, one that sets a high standard for faithful marriage, family, friendship, and community. It has inspired countless wedding vows. What’s not to love?
And yet: In our celebration of Ruth’s love and devotion, have we ignored Naomi’s grief? Have we romanticized the story by overlooking the inevitability of loss? And what do we do with Naomi’s heartbreaking sense of divine punishment and abandonment?
Even more to the point: How do we treat the grieving ones in our own lives? Do we rush in to fix their pain, or do we offer to witness it and share it? Do we avoid the grieving because their pain makes us uncomfortable? Do we suggest they get over it and move on?
In the grand story of Naomi and Ruth and Boaz, Naomi quickly becomes a minor player. In the grand story of our own lives, how can we draw the grieving ones in the center?
Prayer
God who grieves every loss, grant us a love faithful and courageous enough to accompany the bereaved with undying devotion.
About the AuthorVicki Kemper is the Pastor of First Congregational, UCC, of Amherst, Massachusetts.