Ruth and Boaz in Salvation History

Homily for Saturday in the Twentieth Week of Ordinary Time

Today we hear a wonderful story of faithfulness and devotion!  What starts as a story of two widows, who by definition are the voiceless of their society, is followed by a story of how the Lord shows His love and mercy by rescuing Ruth and Naomi from a difficult situation and incorporating their faithful lives into salvation history.  We must also not forget that Boaz was also blessed by the faithfulness of a stranger, who warmed his heart and showed what love looked like, opening a door to the gift of a family that would bless him forever. Love does that quite often. It is amazing!

Today’s Gospel text provides a wonderful counterpart to this story.  Our Lord warns his disciples against those who “preach but do not practice.”  It was not that the rules were unimportant. Indeed, Jesus tells us to follow their teaching, but not to follow their bad example. By putting burdens on others without lifting a finger to help them, they were neglecting love and mercy.  Moreover, in their pride, they could not see that they needed kindness and mercy, too.

Hypocrisy, in which one merely poses as virtuous or pious without a genuine belief, is particularly inimical to us. At the same time, we must admit that often we simply fail in the execution of what we know to be true or right, whether out of ignorance, weakness, fear, or other infirmity.  In that sense, we are not hypocrites but merely common sinners.

Love covers a multitude of sins. We can all do with more practice in loving, forgiving, and living upright and holy lives in the manner to which we are called. Ruth and Boaz gave us wonderful positive examples to follow. Faithfulness, kindness, mercy, and generosity often return to us in blessings beyond our wildest dreams. This is particularly true of the sacrament of the Eucharist, for in it we find the example of Jesus gives his life for us and provides his own body and blood as nourishment for our pilgrimage to heaven.