Ruth Part 2: The Rom Com?
Genre matters.
We know this. Almost instinctively, we know this. Genre helps determines what we expect from a story and how we understand that story. We read and react much differently to, say, an issue of National Geographic than we do to an issue of a superhero comic.
Sometimes it only takes a few words for us to instantly know with what type of story we are dealing. e.g. “Dateline Chicago, August 31, 2018” or “Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away” or “Once upon a time…” We have vastly different expectations for news stories and fairy tales. Yet, many different kinds of stories — that is, many different genres — can interest us, excite us, teach us, or inspire us.
The bible is no different. Biblical stories contain a multitude of genres. Sometimes we forget that. Or worse, sometimes some of us feel we aren’t even allowed to admit that. But it remains true.
This Sunday our sermon series on the book of Ruth continues, focusing on Chapter 2 of this short story.
- What do the relationships between the main characters seem to be telling us?
- What was going on in the life of the people of Israel that necessitated this story?
Could it be that the book of Ruth is meant for just such a time as 2018 in the United States of America?
Series Information
Spend the next few weeks in the company of Naomi, Ruth, Boaz, and the other cast of characters we find in the delightful — and delightfully complex — book of Ruth. Many are familiar with the story of Ruth, or at least familiar with its most famous line . Not unlike our Jonah series from last year, Ruth is short enough that we can pretty much read the entire book and still take our time getting through it.