The purple decree

Naomi and Ruth

The purple decree

“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!” 
(Ruth to Naomi, The Book of Ruth 1:16-17)
 
Long years my cousin followed her church,
a true Christian, simple and clear.
Love one another.  Care for the poor.
Heap not up treasures upon this Earth.
Never one to be silent, she posed her good question:
“I am not black, but I marched for civil rights.
I am not a soldier, but I marched to bring them home.
I'm just an old white-haired woman.
Who am I to say that any human love is wrong?”
My cousin asked her questions in Sunday school.
She was asked to refrain.
Then came the purple decree.
In each parishioner’s mailbox, the purple paper
stating homosexuality is a sin.
My cousin gazed unblinking, 
steadfast, as her spiritual home,
her bedrock of belief and support,
fell away from her true center, her Self.
“I quit my church on Friday,” she messaged to me.
“This is NOT MY GOD!”
Now my cousin’s days are lavished
on the church of God’s nature,
days spent with the water, the trees,
the quiet of her thoughts and prayers,
in the places where Love lives.


“Whither thou goest I shall go.” 
(Ruth declaring her love for Naomi, The Book of Ruth 1:16-17) 



Annelinde Metzner
August 30, 2013



The above quote from the Old Testament is from the Book of Ruth, the story of two women, Ruth and Naomi, and their undying love for each other.  In the passage, "Ruth clung to Naomi," (chapter 1 verse 14,) the Hebrew word for "clung to" is the same as the verb describing the feelings of Adam for Eve.   Many couples married in Christian churches have used the above verses, Ruth's declaration of love for Naomi, in their wedding ceremonies.

Naomi and Ruth

Naomi and Ruth

My cousin Mardy