When Naomi heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. – Ruth 1:6

Today's Scripture Reading (April 29, 2025): Ruth 1

Ralph Klein (1942-2013) was a Canadian politician who lived most of his life in Western Canada. He was the Premier of the Province of Alberta from 1992-2006. But before that, Klein was the mayor of the City of Calgary in the southern portion of the province. Maybe one of the things we need to remember is that Klein was born in Calgary and died there. His allegiance was to the West of the northern country. I am not sure if he had any national ambitions, but the truth was that his love and defense of the Western provinces would have made any national aspirations impossible.

Klein was the Mayor of Calgary during a time when the economy of the Canadian West was booming, and the economy of the Eastern Canadian provinces was severely depressed. As a result, many easterners were moving west in a desperate attempt to find jobs. The economic growth in the Canadian West had been greeted with increased crime, something about which the political officials were deeply concerned. 

It was at this moment in time that Klein made one of his most famous speeches. In it, he had called the Eastern immigrants "creeps" and "bums." Klein invited the eastern immigrants to enjoy his city for a couple of weeks, but if they overstayed their welcome, he would instruct his police to round them up and imprison them. And lawlessness would not be tolerated. 

The migration of people from economically depressed areas to more prosperous ones is nothing new. It has been a fact of life throughout history. People migrate from one location to another, often chasing the things required for life. And so, Abraham went down into Egypt, voluntarily leaving the land that had been promised him in search of better living conditions. Jacob and his sons retreated from Canaan to Egypt because of a famine and stayed there for over four centuries. 

Naomi and her family left Israel for Moab to escape a famine generations later. But after the death of Naomi's husband, Elimelek, and her sons, Mahlon and Kilon, and following the restoration of food in Israel, Naomi decides that it is time to go home. Israel is where her extended family is, and it is there that she will find the support that she needs to make the most of the days she has left to live.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ruth 2