When Kindness Grows into Justice

When Ruth invites Boaz to marry her, Boaz responds with what is usually sentimentalized as a sweet and romantic statement. It couldn’t be further from the truth. Boaz refers to her kindness - which is a synonym for her heart for justice. Read the passage and below we’ll work through the cultural context:

“The Lord bless you, my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character. - Ruth 3:10-11

Here in Ruth 3, for the second time Ruth comes to Boaz and makes an audacious ask: that he follow the Spirit over the Law one more time.* This time she pushes to the breaking point the Law in Deuteronomy 25:5 about marrying a brother’s widow. Instead she appeals to what the Spirit was saying underneath the Law - namely, that Boaz wasn’t ‘off the hook’ for caring for Ruth and Naomi because they weren’t married to his biological brother, because God wanted them cared for nonetheless.

Boaz realized that taking in both Ruth and Naomi was what Ruth was requesting in her bid to marry him - and that it was indeed a remarkable act of kindness on her behalf. She was actually caring for Boaz’s biological family more than he was (or the other men in the family) by providing for the elderly and abandoned Naomi even though Ruth was not technically required to do so. This is true kindness. It looks a lot like caring for those on the margins even at great personal cost. Or to quote Cornel West, “Justice is what love looks like in public.”

So this week we’ve been thinking a lot about kindness. Do you let your your kindness become robust enough to turn into justice? What do you want to say to Jesus about these things?

*The first time was back when Ruth first arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the story. She pushed the limits of the Law in Leviticus 19:9 to appeal to what the Spirit of God was saying - namely, that it wasn’t enough just to leave a few leftovers for the poor. No, that’s not it. What God wanted was for us to see underneath the Law to the value of providing for those in need. Ruth’s request inherently asked Boaz to listen to the Spirit above the Law… and he responded to her leadership.