“Don’t call me Naomi Call me Mara” (Ruth 1:20): rethinking about God in the face of COVID-19 trauma

Abstract

Since the fall of humanity from grace (Genesis 3:1f), people have forever been struggling with mental illness. In fact, one can say that the Bible as a whole contains much evidence of deep pain both at communal and personal levels. One finds in it struggles for survival, the pain of exile, death, war, accounts of political oppression and various other ills that are weaved together in its narratives. While, in short, it is a story of trauma, it is also a theological and spiritual response to it. Singling out the story of Naomi, this paper takes a life course approach into the story of her life. The intention is to understand her traumatic experience following the death of her husband and two sons and juxtapose that with the lived experiences of women who lost dear ones to COVID 19. While Naomi thought that God had turned away from her, it was rather the opposite as her name came to be captured in the annals of Israelite history as David’s great grandmother (Ruth 1:17). Though her life story is about the long way down, it was equally a long way up as the plan of God began to unfold. It is the same God who continues to open new pathways to women still struggling to grapple with the devastating trauma of COVID -19.