Whose Are You? (Ruth 2:5)

 

Thursday, June 12, 2025

Psalms 99; 100

Ruth 2

Acts 2:37-47

Whose Are You? (Ruth 2:5)

Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”

It’s not a bad question that Boaz raises, and it’s not a bad question we should ask ourselves. “Who am I?” is a question that seems to confound the modern thinker; and the modern answer seems to be “whoever you want”.

Yet I would like to keep thinking about how this book of Ruth tells us our family history. Because our family often defines who we are. Think about your own immediate family: are you the type of person who hugs? That is a family tradition. How do you use cutlery? Do you scoop your rice with your fork, or do you push rice onto the back of your fork with your knife? That is a family tradition. Do you consider coarse language a sign of ones social class or intelligence? That is a family a tradition. All these little things we pick up from our family all add together and define who we are as a person.

It would seem, then, to define ourselves by ourselves is a tremendous effort. We would have to identify every little thing we picked up from our upbringing and then critically analyse them each one by one and decide if that is truly who we are – and then define who we are by some arbitrary metric pulled out of the ether.

What if we were to instead lean into who we are as defined by our family? We then become aunties or uncles, brothers or sisters, the cousin that is good with their hands, or the cousin who knows the secret to a good pork crackling. We fit in much easier when we are defined by those around us. And as Christians, those around us are God’s saints.

Ultimately, the question “who am I” becomes “whose am I”. Defined by those around us, we belong to those around us. And the one common thread between all of God’s saints is God – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. One common Father, redeemed by one Redeemer of us all, comforted and supported by the one Holy Spirit who has been given to all.

What are some traditions you hold that are specific to your own family upbringing? What are some traditions that are common to every member of God’s family?

Lord of the ages, who calls people from every language and tribe and nation into your one holy family: give us eyes to see our fellow Christians for the family they are, and the grace to serve them as you have served us.