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| Image by A. Herzog |
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A GREETING
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
(Psalm 9:1)
A READING
So she said, ‘See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.’ But Ruth said, ‘Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die— there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!’ When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her. So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
(Ruth 1:15-19;22b)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
Then he said, ‘Bring the cloak you are wearing and hold it out.’ So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley, and put it on her back; then he went into the city.
(Ruth 3:15)
A PRAYER
I should like a great lake of ale
For the King of Kings.
I should like the angels of heaven
to be drinking it through time eternal.
I should like excellent meats of belief and pure piety.
I should like flails of penance at my house.
I should like the men of heaven at my house;
I should like barrels of peace at their disposal;
I should like vessels of charity for distribution;
I should like for them sellers of mercy.
I should like cheerfulness to be in their drinking.
I should like Jesus to be there among them.
I should like the three Marys of illustrious renown to be with us.
I should like the people of heaven, the poor, to be gathered around us from all parts.
- from the Prayer of St. Brigid of Kildare,
found in The Flowering of the Soul: A Book of Prayers by Women
edited by Lucinda Vardey
VERSE OF THE DAY
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
(Psalm 145:15)
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| Image by sjwalking |
In the story of Holy Week, Jesus and those gathered around him journey to Jerusalem to make an offering at the Temple. The offering is a small amount of barley grain, in Hebrew, an 'omer' or measure from the winter crop, in honour of the Passover. Fifty days later, at the Jewish feast called Shavuot, new seed would have been sown and the people would return to Jerusalem to bring another offering, this time the ‘first fruits’ of the season, or bread made from grain that had since sprouted.
At Shavuot, the custom is to stay up all night studying Torah, and particularly the book of Ruth, one of the maternal ancestors of Jesus. Ruth is the devoted daughter-in-law to Naomi, who has suffered the losses of her husband and all her sons, leaving her profoundly vulnerable in her culture. Because she feels she has nothing to offer her, Naomi tries to send Ruth back to her own people so that Ruth can try again to marry and have a full life. Ruth chooses instead to stay with Naomi out of loyalty and a desire to care for her.
The story of Ruth spans an approximately seven week period from Passover to the festival of Shavuot, during which both the barley and the wheat harvests were made. Ruth gleans behind those harvesting barley and is noticed by the man who will eventually become her husband.
Barley in some cultures and traditions is associated with a tradition of making beer that is passed down through mothers and daughters. A year ago, in the Celtic Advent project, we reflected on Saint Brigid, who loved ale and operated breweries in her seventh-century monasteries. There are several paintings that show her changing water into ale, the way Jesus did with wine.
Like coriander yesterday, barley has a long history within the ancient world. The earliest Olympic athletes put themselves on strict barley diets, believing the grain strengthened their bodies. The ancient Greek word for gladiators means ‘eater of barley.’ Barley was significantly used in measurement — even in early medieval England some lengths were calculated by putting barley grains end to end. As you will read below, barley also has a future that is in another world altogether.
In the story of Ruth, barley plays a pivotal role in making relationships: between Ruth and her future husband, between Ruth and the other harvesters and gleaners, and between Ruth and Naomi. What we put into the ground by its nature brings us together to nurture and grow it so that it will in turn nurture us and our communities. How conscious are we of the food we eat and its origins, of the hands and feet that have helped to bring it to a readiness for us to enjoy? How can we become more mindful of that history and journey, from the ground to the table?
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A STORY OF SEEDS
The process of malting is essential to the making of beer. Recently, the company that produces Budweiser beer sent experimental barley into space to see how well it would germinate and malt in micro-gravity. This ancient grain, which has been around for more than 10,000 years, is already thriving on the International Space Station. The barley of Ancient Rome, of Saint Brigid, and of space missions - lives up to its reputed durability and strength. But how does it impact us spiritually to imagine the future of seeds in space, grown in test tubes without the ground or the earth? How does it shift our sense of relationship among the aspects of God's Creation?
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LC† Seeds of Hope is a project of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook, and on Twitter. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!