All-Age Worship Resources for November

Resources for Proper 26 and 27: The Story of Ruth

Worship Focus

The story of Ruth comes to life when you understand the subtlety that is embodied in it. For a unique all-age experience, focus on the names. The names in these stories were and are quite significant. They act as catalysts, explanations, and characterizations even. The problem is that, over the years, these names have not been unpacked: they’ve simply been picked up and put down without the significance of them being translated with the story.

Ask if anyone there was named for a particular reason - not for a relative but because of a happening or place or memory or a hope for the kind of person they might become (Joy, Merry, Patience, Grace)? This evokes an immediate response or even expectation from the one who gives the name and those who hear it. In literature this is often used to symbolically link the named person with the meaning. It deepens the story substantially if the hearer makes the connection. Here are some modern examples to share with the congregation. This is an ideal time to let the different generations shine and engage. What might these names signify about the characters?

Modern Examples

Snow White - Snow White, Prince Charming, names of dwarves (Sleepy, Happy, Dopey, Grumpy, Doc, Sneezy, Bashful)

Wimpy and Brutus in Popeye.

Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling gave great thought to the names of her characters, adding a deep layer of meaning to the story for those who pay attention):

Give time to unpack the idea – make the connection that stories can give us so much more - we have not paid enough attention to the importance of name and they have been lost in translation.

“Today, we are going to explore the meanings of these names and how they impact and empower the story. They can help us uncover double meanings, sarcasm, humour and much more. We will explore how they make them more relevant for today while more firmly establishing them into the context of ancient Judaism. But first, let’s look at how this same technique is used in more modern literature and also in the naming of folk today…”

Then move on to the story of Ruth:

The story of Ruth is laced with nuance, and it has a wonderful sense of humour. The names in the story give insight into the mind of the first hearers, they allow you access to sub-plots and even inside jokes. Read the lectionary passages to yourself (or again) with these translations inserted.

I do not want to micro-manage your connections nor disrupt the creativity that these explorations engender; however, a few possibilities to be going on with …

1. The name Elimilech can be seen as a bit of sarcasm, for although the name would make one assume his allegiance to God, he takes his family away from Bethlehem (the house of bread) to Moab. If this is a theme you decide to explore, be careful with it. The tension comes in the move away from God’s space out to a space that depends only on you. It is not the surface move but the symbolic one that is expressed.

The etymology of the word Moab is uncertain, but one intriguing connection is that Moab was the son of Lot and his eldest daughter (the story in Genesis 37 – probably not an all age worship kind of story, but nonetheless interesting). The original hearers of the story would probably have made the subtle connection. The pronunciation of Moab also sounds like a combination of “me,” “what,” and “father” or – who’s your father? (Makes for a wonderful, if possibly inappropriate playfulness!)

2. The sons of Elimilech and Ruth are called “wasting away” and “sickness.” Again, there is a degree of double entendre at work here and a sense of dark humour– surely one would think twice about marrying someone destined for the scrapheap. The hearers would catch this immediately but we completely miss the play on words.

3. Ruth is the friend who stays even though things haven’t worked out as she’d imagined. Orpah (nape-neck) turns her head and walks away. Her name is synonymous with her choice to go back to her people. Although there is no blame in the story itself, there is mention of this name-behaviour connection in other Jewish writings.

We don’t always know what is ahead of us, do we? In the story, the hearers would have a sense of foreshadowing about how the tale would play out, but the characters (especially Ruth and Orpah) would be swept along by circumstance. It is in their response to the life that opens up and the doors that close that the story begins to get us to think more deeply.

4. Ruth (friend) remains with Naomi (pleasantness) even when she becomes Mara (bitter). Her loyalty and determination drive the plot, and there are lessons to unpack in that.

“God made man because he loves stories.” —Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlev

In the story of Ruth, there is an opportunity to engage with the story – to tell it with an authenticity that comes from opening it out. The names are a vehicle for deeper thought. I leave you with the same words from Ellen Davis’ article: “The Bible is rigorously realistic in its representations of human character, the conditions and contingencies of life in this world. Therefore the aim of Old Testament preaching is to invite Christians to grow toward spiritual maturity in circumstances that are always less than ideal. Preaching Old Testament characters and preaching psalms may enable both preacher and hearers to enter into the biblical story in ways that open up a complex and faithful moral vision.”