The readings for the eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost are from Ruth 1:1-19; 2 Timothy 2:1-13; and Luke 171:1-19.
Ruth is one of the very best examples of genuine faith. She was not a Jew according to the flesh but was clearly a daughter of Abraham as demonstrated by her love of God and love of others. Ruth had heard about the God who brought Israel out of bondage in Egypt and had brought them into the promised land. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the only God who gives to us rather than taking from us. God’s grace to Ruth was the power of her humble care for others. Ruth is very much like her descendent, Mary, who would be the mother of Jesus.
Paul reminds Timothy to be strong in the grace of Christ Jesus. Ruth was strong in that grace. Timothy should be singularly devoted to his service as a pastor, just as Ruth was singularly devoted to her mother-in-law and in so doing was provided for by God through Boaz. Paul reminds Timothy that Jesus Christ was born of the seed of David (who, himself, descended from Ruth).
Luke also records a contrast between “Jews” and “foreigners”. Like Ruth, the only leper that was not a Jew according to the flesh was a Samaritan—who showed himself to be genuinely faithful to God. Which is more important, the giver or the gift? Nine Jewish lepers were all too eager to return to their own lives (and understandably so). But the Samaritan knew that the source of his healing was more important than the healing itself.