Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.This study posits that a narratological reading of Ruth will elicit responses to grief. This study acknowledges that loss and grief are part of life, and that those who are grieving often need to make sense of their loss in order to regain hope and meaningfully reconstruct their lives. Within this context of loss and grief, Naomi and Ruth manage to rediscover hope in God and find ways to reconstruct their lives. The study argues that even though Naomi and Ruth suffer major losses in their lives, they are able to cope, find meaning and hope, and have faith in God. This study shows that life-restoring hope is possible after loss, and that lives can be meaningfully reconstructed.
Through Contextual Bible Study (CBS), congregants can begin to work through their grief in a meaningful way. Ministers ought to be agents of hope to those who are grieving. As such, minsters should be able to help those who are grieving to move forward with God, and with hope. This, with the intention of enabling the one grieving to be able to meaningfully reconstruct their life, such that they can both see and believe in potential solutions. To be the agent of hope is what ministry is inherently and ultimately about
