Honoring Ruth

The Biblical Ruth of pre-monarchic Israel is a foreign woman who binds her future to that of her mother-in-law Naomi with a fierce loyalty after they become destitute by the deaths of their menfolk. She is a refugee, who cannot advocate for herself or her mother-in-law because she is a woman. Only men can take care of the business at the city gates- business like claiming Naomi’s husband’s land. As a woman, Ruth is permitted to work the harvest. All hands on deck when there is grain to get in! Ruth is permitted to glean grains for herself and her mother-in-law according to the laws of the land. In the midst of the harvesting work in the rural areas, boundaries break down. Ruth meets Boaz (thanks to the strategizing of her mother-in-law Naomi) and he becomes her husband. And they give birth to Obed, who is King David’s grandfather. The story celebrates working in the fields, fertility, kindness towards foreigners, loyalty, and family. Ruth is mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew as one of the ancestors of Jesus. She is one of only four female ancestors mentioned in that long and otherwise patriarchal genealogy. Her story is timeless.

The Supreme Court Justice Ruth of our time came of age in a time when women could not have a credit card or mortgage in their own name. Like Biblical Ruth, men were needed to conduct any important business in society. This Ruth navigated bigotry and misogyny with a fierce loyalty to justice and to the rights of those who were treated as other, foreign, alien, less than.

I am writing this as I wait in line to honor Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Her body lies in state in the Supreme Court Building. Together with my fourteen year old daughter, and our friend Lisa Marie, I will give thanks to God for Ruth, and give thanks for the ways she bound her advocacy to that of those most in need of justice.

In response to her faithfulness, in gratitude for her leadership and brilliance and integrity and fierce loyalty, hundreds of people form a long line of mourners, waiting to pay their last respects.

There are grandmothers and grandfathers in line.

There are toddlers and teenagers.

Some carry flowers, others carry a homemade sign.

We carry rocks. Small and strong rocks, just the right weightiness.

I’ve been to these steps before- when my college best friend Heidi was a law student. It was like a religious pilgrimage for her. And now I approach the building for my own pilgrimage, honoring a saint. Thanking God for her life and lessons and justice and courage.

We turn the corner to the front of the Supreme Court building and there is her casket, draped in the flag, guarded by two women, honored with white roses and magnolia leaves. I’m never really ready for this type of a moment. Even after waiting over an hour in line - I feel some shock. I begin to tear up, and I feel an emptiness wash over me- like I’m exposed and unable to protect myself now that this advocate is in that casket.

As we leave the area, I sense my daughter’s grief, too. We hold hands.

She leaves two stones in remembrance. A simple, physical way to say we will miss her bright light.

In that space, around the corner where flowers, rocks, signs, friendship bracelets are piling up, I begin to feel better. Grateful. Her faithful life has ended, and we’ve got to take it from here.

I feel inspired to strategize carefully about the ways I bind myself to causes and issues. And today I seek to strategize around GETTING OUT THE VOTE. I have volunteered to work the election polls on Election Day. We are helping to write postcards encouraging voters to turn out in Kentucky. What else can I do to encourage voter turnout?

Let the strategizing begin.