Photo by Steven Su on Unsplash
Good morning! It is wonderful to be here with you, once again, and to have the opportunity to share the Good News with you, especially on a day where a woman has a central role in fulfilling God’s plan.
When Caro+ asked me to preach, she told me this is a different service where we only have two readings, and a slightly longer time for the sermon (lucky you). The Gospel, of course, is non-negotiable, so it was between this first reading from First Samuel, or the continuation of our lessons from the Letter to the Hebrews. When I saw, though, that Hannah was the central figure in the first reading, it was an easy choice for me. I didn’t know what I was going to say, and I didn’t necessarily immediately recognize or remember this story or its significance, but I just sensed this was where we needed to go (or at least where I wanted to go), and so I chose this one.
So let’s situate ourselves in First Samuel for a moment. Actually, this is a pivotal story, Samuel of course is a key figure, and First and Second Samuel are really important books in the overall history of Israel and more specifically, in the establishment of the Davidic monarchy, so let’s be mindful of that as we proceed this morning.
Actually, this realization, as I was preparing, caused me to get a bit more involved in the overall story than I was expecting; so I’ll do my best to tell the story as efficiently and comprehensively as I can, and if you get confused or have any questions along the way, please feel free to let me know and I’ll do my best to get us on the same page.
Part of the reason we have to dig a little to figure out what’s going on, though, is that the lectionary redactors, in their infinite wisdom, have left out the first three verses and have started with verse four. Of course, the first three verses only introduce the characters and set the scene, so in other words they’re not important at all….
In the first three verses, we learn that there was a certain man of Ramathaim, whose name was Elkanah. Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah, Peninnah had children but Hannah did not. Elkanah used to go up to Shiloh each year to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were the temple priests. So just a few minor details.
Because we do have Eli this morning as the one in the temple who observes Hannah, right? And this should trigger some memories for us. For instance, the memorable story that occurs a few chapters later, where Samuel is in the temple with Eli and Samuel is lying down and hears the Lord calling to him; and remember he thinks it’s Eli calling him so he goes to Eli but Eli says “it wasn’t me,” and tells Samuel to go back and listen again, and so Samuel does this and the Lord calls to him again and Samuel says, I am listening, and the Lord speaks to Samuel about how upset he is with Eli and his sons; and then Eli forces Samuel to tell him what the Lord has said to him, and Samuel has to tell Eli that the Lord is displeased and is going to overthrow him and his descendants.
And then you will recall it is Samuel who ultimately goes to the house of Jesse to find and anoint the new king from among Jesse’s sons, and it isn’t until David is finally brought in from tending the sheep in the fields that God again discloses to Samuel that David is the one, and Samuel anoints David.
So, now we see that this whole trajectory, this pivotal story in Israel’s history, is all set in motion this morning by a distressed woman’s prayer. So let’s look at that.
First, Hannah gets up, faithfully, and goes to present herself to the Lord. It says she was deeply distressed, and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. Note that it says that Elkanah loved her dearly, but that in fact it was her rival, Peninnah, who provoked her severely, and irritated her.
Then she makes her vow, which she will keep, that if the Lord grants her a son, she will offer him as a Nazirite for all time. In other words, her prayer for a son is so that she can offer him to the Lord.
Eli then observes her mouth – that her lips are moving, but he cannot hear her – so he presumes she is drunk, and he says to her “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.”
And I love this response from Hannah: “No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.”
Wow. And I have to pause here, and as we let those words from Hannah sink in, I’ll share a story from early on in my campus ministry where we were doing Bible study and one of our students, Rosie, identified a similar passage, at the end of Luke, where the women discover the empty tomb and two men in dazzling clothes tell them that Jesus has been raised, and they go back and tell the eleven, but it says “these words seemed to them an idle tale and they did not believe them.” And I’ll never forget Rosie’s remark: “Ah yes, because it was the women, the men presumed it was an ‘idle tale’.”
A drunken spectacle, an idle tale…I give thanks to you women, all of you, who have persevered through our dismissive nonsense not only to participate, but in many cases, inaugurate and change the course of history. For, as we see this morning, it is through your prayers, pleadings, petitions, intercessions and witness and, let’s be honest, your act of giving birth, that these stories can be told, and that God’s salvific plan for humankind has been enacted and has come into the world.
So yes, getting back to Hannah, what do we have?: deep distress, bitter weeping, misery, a vow to the Lord – a woman, deeply troubled, pouring out her soul, praying, as she says, out of her great anxiety and vexation – it’s all there, we just need eyes and ears, we just need to stop and focus, and let our hearts and minds absorb, for a moment, the enormity of what is transpiring, in order to grasp it.
And in that moment, Eli, fortunately, is also able to recognize what is happening and he answers her: “Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.” And she says, “Let your servant find favor in your sight.”
And note, this is when her countenance changes, for it says she “was sad no longer.”
In other words, it was the act of being able to pour out her soul to the Lord, that brought her peace, not the answering of her prayer. And I think that is significant as well. Yes, Hannah goes home and conceives and bears a son; but her countenance changes, the healing occurs, as a result of her deep lament, and her being heard, before her prayer is ultimately answered.
And let’s not overlook one final piece of this: it says they went back to their house and Elkanah “knew” his wife Hannah (and I think we all “know” what that means), but look at it closely – it says “and the Lord remembered her.” Part of Hannah’s prayer above is also that the Lord remember her, “if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant…”
So yes, this prayer, this deep lament of Hannah’s, is so powerful it causes the Lord to remember her and it changes the entire trajectory of the history of Israel, from Eli and his sons, Hophni and Phinehas – who we learn a little later are making a mockery of the sacred oaths, duties, and position accorded and bestowed upon them, by acting in all manner of perverse and evil ways – to Samuel, who becomes the messenger to Eli of the change that is coming, and is the one who finds and anoints David, thus inaugurating the royal lineage and establishing the covenant from and through which Christ will eventually come.
Now, I don’t know about you, but to me that’s some pretty amazing stuff going on there.
So, how does this all relate to the Gospel and those large stones that are so impressive, but which Jesus tells them, are going to be thrown down? Where, as I like to ask, is the Good News in all this?
I think it’s just this: God is not impressed with the grandeur, God is not aligned with the wealthy or the powerful (remember the offering of the poor widow from last week); rather, God pitches God’s tent with the lowly, and hears, remembers, and answers, the cries of the despondent.
Jesus’ admonition in this passage? “Beware that no one leads you astray.”
When our prayer is finally answered, when we are remembered by the Lord, let us not only fulfill the vows we have made, as Hannah did, but let us return to the Lord to offer thanks. It’s not in the readings for today, but Hannah’s song, which begins chapter two of First Samuel, does just that. It’s a precursor, no doubt, to Mary’s Magnificat, which also turns conventional wisdom on its head and speaks powerfully to this notion that the lowly will be lifted up and the mighty cast down. So let’s listen to what Hannah has to say in response to her prayer being answered (remembering her tormenter, Peninnah, as Hannah has a few choice things to say to her in here, apparently, as well):
Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in my God. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in my victory. 2“There is no Holy One like the Lord, no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. 3Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. 4The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength. 5Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry are fat with spoil. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. 6The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. 7The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low, he also exalts. 8He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them he has set the world. 9“He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness; for not by might does one prevail. 10The Lord! His adversaries shall be shattered; the Most High will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king, and exalt the power of his anointed.”
Almighty God, may we, in our own day, pray as Hannah did, beseeching You to hear us and remember us as we pray for our own needs and the needs of others. May we be nourished at Your table and remember always to give You thanks in all things, through our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
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