You May Not Like This Episode
Or you'll love it. That's how the favorites go...
Hello! Hope you’re well. Here’s the latest:
Everybody Loves Ruth
This week I released the latest episode of Holy Ghost Stories: “The Alchemist, the Strangers, and the Volunteer (part 1).” It tells the beginning of Naomi & Ruth’s story (up to their arrival in Bethlehem. Because of its length and richness, I’d originally planned to tell this story in in two parts. I may, though, end up devoting 3 episodes to it—there’s so much good stuff and I’ve noticed that Christian folks love them some Story of Ruth.
I get it.
There’s so much good storytelling in the text—a shifting spotlight, fabulous foreshadowing, dynamic pacing. The Biblical text continues to remind me of that fact that God wanted these stories told, not just taught.
BITS AND BOBS
I was disappointed by the visual art depicting/exploring this text. I just couldn’t find anything focused on this one that I loved. Interestingly, Marc Chagall seems to have been fascinated by Ruth’s story—he painted a whole series inspired by it. You can check them out, but I’m not a fan.
Here’s a 17th century piece I thought wasn’t too bad. (I liked this piece of analysis I came across: “The bridge behind the two women is the road leading west, back to Bethlehem where Naomi comes from.”)
Ruth and Naomi, Pieter Lastman, 1624 Geographically speaking, Moab was not far away from Judah. (Just east across the Dead Sea—maybe 30 miles as the crow flies.) In light of their proximity, it’s strange that a famine would have been wreaking havok on Judah while Moab remained untouched. I’ve wondered if either Judah’s famine or Moab’s exemption were divinely ordained, to provoke the events of this story. What do you think?
As Naomi counts the cost of leaving Moab, I mention her realizing she’ll never be able to lay flowers beside the graves of her loved ones. If you’re wondering whether that kind of thing would have actually been done in the cultures of the Ancient Near East, the answer is yes. Here’s an interesting article sharing evidence of flowers being used in funerary practice in Canaan long before the arrival of the Israelites.
I’d always pictured Naomi as an older, almost elderly woman when she heads for Judah with Ruth (many painters have portrayed her as such). But Naomi probably would have been around 40, maybe 45.
You could read Naomi’s character/personality/posture a couple of different ways, but I’ve chosen to depict her as warm toward Ruth—wounded, certainly, but loving enough to inspire this young woman to leave her own mother and homeland in order to stay with Naomi. In my opinion, this is where the text leads us. As I indicate in the episode, I think Ruth was compelled not just by Naomi’s character, but by her faith (and its Object).
And how about the last verse of chapter 1? “So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.” Ugh—such good storytelling. 👏🏼👏🏼 It was such a joy to meditate on that detail for a bit and find myself drawn into what I wrote for the last scene.
Been a minute since you’ve seen an actual barley plant? They’re beautiful. Here’s one not quite ready for harvest, a little greener than Ruth and Naomi would have seen it on their way into Bethlehem:
And if you’ve never harvested, threshed, and winnowed a bit of barley yourself, here’s a quick glimpse into the process. Now you’ll be able to picture it when we get to the next part of Ruth’s story.
Naomi’s anger/disappointment/heartache toward Yahweh are unmissable in Ruth chapter 1. We often point to the Psalms (and rightly so) as evidence that there’s room for human beings (with all of the feelings they feel) to follow God; we’d do well to point, too, to this text’s unflinching portrayal of Naomi’s grief-stricken state of mind.
You can believe that God is good and also feel that He’s dealt you a tough hand.
I couldn’t pass up the chance to put a David Easter Egg in this episode. Let me know if you heard it.
TRAGICALLY TIMELY
As I was creating this episode, I got a call from a dear friend whose wife had suddenly died. Our family piled into the car and headed east to see him, and I did most of the editing/scoring work in passenger seat of the car as my wife did the ~24 hours of driving it took to get there and back.
The painful overlap between Naomi’s & Ruth’s grief and my friend’s wasn’t lost on me, of course. It certainly added pathos to my telling of this story. I’m grateful we have a God who sits with us in our grief and who is moving us toward a time when death will be no more.
HAVE YOU LISTENED?
Okay—without further ado, here’s “The Alchemist, the Strangers, and the Volunteer (Part 1).”
If you’ve already listened, I’d love to hear your thoughts about this episode. It’s always tough telling a much-beloved story—everyone’s bringing their own impressions of the people, their own feelings about what happens or how it happened. If you love the story of Ruth, I hope I did it justice for you.
Sold Out?!
Well I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Holy Ghost Stories Live is officially sold out. A full two months before the event!
Honestly, I had no idea whether we’d come close to filling a 300-seat space, but here we are. I’m deeply grateful for the enthusiasm you guys have shown and for the way many of you are travelling across the country to attend. This proves my theory: Holy Ghost Stories listeners are the best listeners.
For those of you who are coming, there’s much to look forward to. Not only will Kendall Ramseur provide accomaniment on cello as we immerse ourselves in two favorites from the HGS catalog; we’ll also be joined by my good friend Kara Zimmerman and her gorgeous voice. Oh—and several members of the Midland Symphony Orchestra. Two incredible stories from Scripture, heart-swelling moments of prayer and song, violins, viola, double bass, piano…a glockenspiel for goodness’ sake—I’m telling you: this will be a magical night.
What an honor and a joy.
If you got tickets, I can’t wait to see you in October.
4 Cool Things
Coltrane Visualized - Loved seeing John Coltrane’s iconic “Giant Steps” sax solo charted like this alongside the rest of the quartet.
The Oldest Song - Here’s an attempt to create the oldest song we have complete record of—a piece written to be played on a lyre, created in Canaan around 1400BC.
First Look - Photos of the moment people saw a Icelandic volcano erupt. I love these.
Seascapes - My goodness. The ocean, you guys. Ray Collins is a photographer whose work capturing the wonder of Big Water is just stunning.
That’s the latest! Hope you’re blessed by “The Alchemist, the Strangers, and the Volunteer (Part 1).” Let me know what you think—I love hearing from you.
Gratefully,
Justin
*Know someone who needs this newsletter in their life? Pass it on to them.
**Did someone cool pass this on to you? Subscribe here for free: