Ruth

 “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.  Your people will be my people and your God my God.”(Ruth 1:16)

                                                           

“Ruth”

Sons and husbands laid to rest

Three widows turn towards Canaan.

One chooses home in her mother’s land,

The other forfeits her freedom.

Bound by love they journey through,

Uncertain of life over Jordan.

Tragedy’s victim, Ruth labours in grain

Gleaning wheat in the fields of a kinsman.

Ruth’s virtue shines through, her loyalty’s praised,

Naomi seizes the moment.

Casting their fate at Boaz’s feet,

They are saved by the kinsman-redeemer.

Tears of the past are wiped clean by the birth

Of hope and the promise of ages.

The foreigner’s love embraces a king

Her lineage smiles in a manger.

“Our Gracious God, we know the importance of love and loyalty in families.  We are part of a lineage that extends from Adam, including all who have been redeemed.  May our branches flourish, rooted in the soil of faith.”  Amen