Greetings on this the Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Readings: Isaiah 26:7-9, 12, 16-19; Psalm 102:13-14ab and 15, 16-18, 19-21; Matthew 11:28-30
Summary
[Of the Lord] For your dew is a dew of light, and you cause the land of shades to give birth. [Boaz to Ruth] May you receive a full reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge. [Jesus proclaims] Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest, says the Lord (ISA 26:19b; RU 2:12b; MT 11:28).
The sacred text of Isaiah 26 is often used as a predictive description of the resurrection and rightly so. However, there is a more pedestrian understanding and one that speaks well to the daily worry of people the world over, that is, the desire and ability for women to have a husband and raise children. During the time of this Oracle, the population of the people was severely diminished – exile, war, and enslavement by the Assyrian Empire.
I inserted the story of Naomi and Ruth to help bring about a warmer understanding of the purpose of the story. Wherever and whenever it was told, its claim of God’s universal concern for humankind and the attractiveness of caring human responsibility shines forth (see https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ruth/0).
Isaiah saw a rebirth (or birthing – birth rate – of a new people) later made explicit by the young women of Boaz who were free and protected. Boaz expresses the divine care: It is by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.
Reflection
The sacred text today brings together personal loss (and advanced age), national decimation, racial discrimination, and famine. All these things weigh heavily on people and in particular women who wish to have families. But Boaz, speaking to Ruth, brings into focus the meaning of Jesus’ words most specifically. Come to the Lord, the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.
Jesus knows. Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. The Lord’s promise is certain; the time and form of its fulfillment remain in his hands.
Personal Reflection
For the women of the world who long for love, marriage, and children: The Lord knows. Rest in the arms of a loving God. Be blessed regardless of the worldliness of the powerful.
Sacred Readings full text: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071626.cfm
Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry