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From: Ruth 2:1-3, 8-11; 4:13-17

Ruth is well received by Boaz

[1] Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a man of wealth, of the family of
Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. [2] And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi,
“Let me go to the field, and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose
sight I shall find favour.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter. [3] So she set
forth and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to
come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of
Elimelech.

[8] Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in
another field or leave this one, but keep close to my maidens. [9] Let your eyes
be upon the field which they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged
the young men not to molest you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels
and drink what the young men have drawn.” [10] Then she fell on her face, bow-
ing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favour in your eyes, that
you should take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?” [11] But Boaz answered
her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your hus-
band has been fully told me, and how you left your father and mother and your
native land and came to a people that you did not know before.

Marriage of Boaz and Ruth

[13] So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and he went into to her, and the
Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. [14] Then the women said to
Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next of kin, and
may his name be renowned in Israel! [15] He shall be to you a restorer of life and
a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more
to you than seven sons, has borne him.” [16] Then Naomi took the child and laid
him in her bosom, and became his nurse. [17] And the women of the neighbour-
hood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named
him Obed; he was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

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Commentary:

2:1-17. The Lord richly rewards Ruth. These pages speak of the providence of
God who, very discreetly, as if everything happened naturally, was disposing
events to ensure that Naomi and Ruth would have everything they needed. “The
witness of Scripture is unanimous that the solicitude of divine providence is con-
crete and immediate; God cares for all, from the least things to the great events
of the world and its history. The sacred books powerfully affirm God’s absolute
sovereignty over the course of events: ‘Our God is in the heavens; he does what-
ever he pleases’ (Ps 115:3). And so it is with Christ, ‘who opens and no one shall
shut, who shuts and no one opens’ (Rev 3:7). As the book of Proverbs states:
‘Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that
will be established’ (Prov 19:21)” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 303).

The Law laid down that once a field was reaped, it should not be gone back over
to gather grain that had fallen or been missed by the reapers; this would allow
needy people to pick up any grains that still lay on the ground (cf. Lev 19:9-10
and Deut 24:19). Ruth avails herself of this humanitarian stipulation and follows
the reapers in search of food; this takes her into Boaz’ field. When visiting his
men, Boaz notices Ruth and is kind to her when he hears who she is.

This kindness is a sign of the protection given her by “the Lord, the God of
Israel, under whose wing you have come to take refuge” (2:12), as Boaz will tell
her. The idea of having recourse to the Lord in order to shelter under his wings
occurs often in the Bible (cf. Deut 32:10-11; Ps 17:8; 36:8; 61:5; 63:8; and 91:4);
it is a very poetic way of describing the tenderness with which God takes care of
those who have recourse to him. Our Lord Jesus Christ uses the image to show
how much he loves the Holy City, and yet his love is not returned: “How often
would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under
her wings, and you would not!” (Mt 23:37).

4:13-22. Ruth has benefitted from the redemption performed by Boaz has be-
come a member of the people of God. God blessed their union with a son, Obed,
who in time would be the grandfather of David the king. And so it happened that
this Moabite woman who left her family and country out of faithfulness to the God
of her first husband, was generously rewarded by that God: he made her one of
the great women who played leading roles in salvation history (cf. 4:11-12). Ruth
became a forebear of David (vv. 18-22; cf. 1 Chron 2:5-15).

In St. Matthew’s Gospel the name of Ruth appears as a direct forebear of Jesus
Christ (Mt 1:5). “It is only right that St Matthew should record in his Gospel that
the Lord, who came to call Gentiles to form part of the Church, became man in a
lineage which included foreigners” (St Ambrose, Expositio Evangelium secundum
Lucam, 3, 33).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Matthew 23:1-12

Vices of the Scribes and Pharisees

[1] Then said Jesus to the crowds and to His disciples, [2] “The
scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; [3] so practice and
observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach,
but do not practice. [4] They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and
lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them
with their finger. [5] They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for
they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, [6] and they
love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues,
[7] and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by
men. [8] But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher,
and you are all brethren. [9] And call no man your father on earth,
for you have one Father, who is in Heaven. [10] Neither be called
masters, for you have one master, the Christ. [11] He who is greatest
among you shall be your servant; [12] whoever exalts himself will be
humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

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Commentary:

1-39. Throughout this chapter Jesus severely criticizes the scribes and
Pharisees and demonstrates the sorrow and compassion He feels to-
wards the ordinary mass of the people, who have been ill-used, “har-
assed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).
His address may be divided into three parts: in the first (verses 1-12) He
identifies their principal vices and corrupt practices; in the second (verses
13-36) He confronts them and speaks His famous “woes”, which in effect
are the reverse of the Beatitudes He preached in Chapter 5: no one can
enter the Kingdom of Heaven—no one can escape condemnation to the
flames—unless he changes his attitude and behavior; in the third part
(verses 37-39) He weeps over Jerusalem, so grieved is He by the evils
into which the blind pride and hardheartedness of the scribes and
Pharisees have misled the people.

2-3. Moses passed on to the people the Law received from God. The
scribes, who for the most part sided with the Pharisees, had the function
of educating the people in the Law of Moses; that is why they were said
to “sit on Moses’ seat”. Our Lord recognized that the scribes and Phari-
sees did have authority to teach the Law; but He warns the people and
His disciples to be sure to distinguish the Law as read out and taught in
the synagogues from the practical interpretations of the Law to be seen
in their leaders’ lifestyles. Some years later, St. Paul—a Pharisee like
his father before him—faced his former colleagues with exactly the same
kind of accusations as Jesus makes here: “You then who teach others,
ill you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you
steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit
adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in
the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? For, as it is written,
`The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you’”
(Romans 2:21-24).

5. “Phylacteries”: belts or bands carrying quotations from sacred Scrip-
ture which the Jews used to wear fastened to their arms or foreheads.
To mark themselves out as more religiously observant than others, the
Pharisees used to wear broader phylacteries. The fringes were light-blue
stripes on the hems of cloaks; the Pharisees ostentatiously wore broader
fringes.

8-10. Jesus comes to teach the truth; in fact, He is the Truth (John 14:6).
As a teacher, therefore, He is absolutely unique and unparalleled. “The
whole of Christ’s life was a continual teaching: His silences, His miracles,
His gestures, His prayer, His love for people, His special affection for the
little and the poor, His acceptance of the total sacrifice on the cross for
the redemption of the world, and His resurrection are the actualization of
His word and the fulfillment of revelation. Hence for Christians the crucifix
is one of the most sublime and popular images of Christ the Teacher.

“These considerations are in line with the great traditions of the Church
and they all strengthen our fervor with regard to Christ, the Teacher who
reveals God to man and man to himself, the Teacher who saves, sancti-
fies and guides, who lives, who speaks, rouses, moves, redresses,
judges, forgives, and goes with us day by day on the path of history, the
Teacher who comes and will come in glory” (John Paul II, “Catechesi
Tradendae”, 9).

11. The Pharisees were greedy for honor and recognition: our Lord insists
that every form of authority, particularly in the context of religion, should
be exercised as a form of service to others; it must not be used to indulge
personal vanity or greed. “He who is the greatest among you shall be
your servant”.

12. A spirit of pride and ambition is incompatible with being a disciple
of Christ. Here our Lord stresses the need for true humility, for anyone
who is to follow Him. The verbs “will be humbled”, “will be exalted” have
“God” as their active agent. Along the same lines, St. James preaches
that “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
And in the “Magnificat”, the Blessed Virgin explains that the Lord “has
put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree
[the humble]” (Luke 1:52).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.