12th Sunday after Pentecost

Year 4: August 12, 2018

Preaching Text: Ruth 4:1-22

Tops & Bottoms by Janet Stevens

(Written for ages 4-8)

Comment: When Boaz meets with the unnamed relative at the city gate, the man is excited at the prospect of purchasing Elimelech’s land. His feelings shift when he realizes the full requirement of receiving this land will also include marrying Ruth. With this, Boaz finds himself free to marry Ruth; soon they have child and where there was once sorrow and emptiness, joy and abundance overflow. Tops & Bottoms shares two of the themes in this text. It has a trickster vibe like that of Boaz and the relative at city gate. When Bear learns the full extent of Hare’s deal, he realizes it’s not what he bargained for or wanted. Likewise, this tale includes the shift from famine to harvest for Hare and his family. This text and story invite us to share our own experiences of moving from sorrow and emptiness to joy and abundance.

Thanks to Union Presbyterian Seminary alumna Noell Rathbun for writing the Year 4 Narrative Lectionary Links.

Lectionary Links (NL): August 12, 2018 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.