Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost; 31 October 2021; Proper 26B (RCL); Ruth 1:1-18; Psalm 146; Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 12:28-34.
All of these readings seem to struggle with the heart of religion under changed conditions: what does it mean to be faithful to God in new circumstances?
The story of Ruth is a perfectly lovely story, but surprising for its time. Although scholars have trouble dating Ruth, it seems to me to fit best in a post-exilic context, as a counter-point to the book of Ezra. Any crisis forces a culture to reassess its assets, and to commit what is important to long-term memory. The crisis of the Exile forced a look back at the long period of the monarchy, being honest about both its strengths and shortcomings. Deuteronomy probably achieved its final form sometime after the crisis of exile, and sees the exile itself as God’s punishment for Israel’s and Judah’s unfaithfulness.
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