Call Me Mara
Welcome to Part 7 of a brief study of The Book of Ruth.
Ever overhear something that hurt your feelings?
What did you do about it?
Would it make any changes to any vows of love and loyalty you may have made earlier to this individual?
The timing of Ruth’s beautiful vow of loyalty to Naomi (considered last time in Part 6) is followed immediately by Naomi wishing to have old acquaintances back home call her by a different name. It’s easier to have you read this account than explain it.
So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem.
And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them.
And the women said, “Is this Naomi?”
She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”
So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab.
And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
Ruth 1:19-22 (ESV)
So imagine you are Ruth and you pour your heart out to Naomi that you will be forever by her side until death parts the two of you. Next thing you know she is meeting old friends in the Bethlehem town square and telling them she has been so harshly treated by God that she believes Mara (meaning “bitter”) is a better description of who she is over Naomi (which means “pleasant one”). Furthermore she states she is returning home completely empty. This is where we expect Ruth to say, “What am I, chopped liver???”
And what potentially makes it even worse for Ruth is that she is a foreigner coming from people who for the most part are considered Israel’s enemies.
Would it be acceptable for Ruth to take offense at Naomi’s behavior?
My answer is NO.
People in grief need others who can listen to them without taking offense. In grief we can say things in the moment we will later regret.
As readers, we also must factor in time. Just because actions in a story show up next to other statements or actions doesn’t mean they followed each another immediately. In fact we know this journey took some time and also encounters in Bethlehem also likely occurred over a period of time.
But let’s put these events in their worse possible light.
Let’s say Ruth was right by Naomi’s side when she said what she did, it still should hold no weight with Ruth. In fact her not responding in any negative way reinforces Ruth’s commitment and loyalty.
Our Takeaway Lesson
There is great wisdom in not caring what others say about themselves or about us. Let them brag or complain. It will usually eventually be seen for what it is and that it has really nothing to do with us. Sure it sometimes seems important to “defend” ourselves, but it is a losing proposition.
On the other hand, when we are quiet and simply go about living our lives as Ruth will demonstrate, good unexpected things often happen.
