The Story of Ruth: Liturgy and Dramatic Script

A worship liturgy, with dramatic script, on the story and themes of Ruth.

I imagine that long before it was written down, the story of Ruth emerged as gossip about the origins of their beloved king David: Have you heard the story of David’s greatgrandmother? Did you know she was a Moabite? It’s quite the story, apparently.

And the story is told, embellished, claimed and absorbed into Israelite self-identity:

• How Ruth lost her first husband, how her mother-in-law Naomi had lost her husband and both her sons – total barrenness, worse than barrenness, because what she had was taken away.
• How Ruth, the daughter-in-law, was loyal to her mother-in-law, and grafted herself into a people who were not her own, and to a God who was not her god from birth. Her declaration of loyalty – more than a marriage vow, a whole life pledge to a new nation and a new God.
• How Naomi experienced suffering in Moab, but returned with a blessing of a daughter-in-law.
• How Boaz, through the custom and law of kinsmen-redeemer, restored honour to their family, and made possible the birth of a baby boy, who would become King David.

For some, her story is a tale of an exemplary woman – modest, loyal and good. For some, it’s an example of the goodness that comes when people obey the law, as Naomi, Ruth and Boaz do. It’s a good example of how the poor can be cared for, through gleaning. How the widows are given an inheritance, through levirate marriage or kinsmen-redemption. It’s a story of the outsider brought in, an example of a foreigner being blessed by God, and even included in the lineage of kings. ( 7 actors, 60 min.)