1 Samuel 1:19-28
They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I have asked him of the Lord.” The man Elkanah and all his household went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice, and to pay his vow. But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, that he may appear in the presence of the Lord, and remain there forever; I will offer him as a nazirite for all time.” Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Do what seems best to you, wait until you have weaned him; only—may the Lord establish his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son, until she weaned him. When she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. She brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh; and the child was young. Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed; and the Lord has granted me the petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.” She left him there for the Lord.
1 Samuel 2:1-10
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.
“There is no Holy One like the Lord, no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. Talk 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. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength. Those 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. The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low, he also exalts. He 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.
“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. The 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.”
If you know from whence the theme for this little Advent series comes – inspired, for lack of a better word, by Michael Scott from ‘The Office’ – it may seem more than a little irreverent for these days and this season and for the spirit of what we’re up to on these Wednesday evenings. And that’s kind of the point. As a punchline for any number of really bad – often wildly inappropriate and even offensive – jokes, “that’s what she said” doesn’t exactly lift up women or hold them in high regard a lot of the time. But, neither does the history of Christianity, its interpretation of Scripture and the place of women in it.
So, in addition to being pretty funny, I mean for all of this to be a clever and more serious way to pay some meaningful attention to the role of women in the narrative of the Christmas story. I hope we’ll consider them and learn from them and be inspired by them for whatever they have to teach us about longing for Jesus; about living in hope; about being faithful; about loving boldly; about sacrificing generously; about responding to God in ways that change hearts, lives, minds and the world, even, as each of the women we’ll celebrate do, in their own, holy, abundantly faithful way.
And tonight, we’re going way back – way, way, way back – to Hannah, someone who, I wager, won’t make it into the preaching or teaching for most people this Christmas season.
As we just heard… as some of you know… Hannah was the mother of the prophet Samuel. She prayed to have a child. She hoped for a baby. She begged for a boy.
And it’s meaningful to know that Hannah was one of two wives to a guy named Elkanah. Elkanah’s other wife was a baby-making machine – she had sons and daughters aplenty, though we don’t how many for sure. And Elkanah’s other wife, described as Hannah’s “rival,” was terrible about it. She “provoked” and “irritated” Hannah, as the story goes, which I imagine means she mocked her and made fun of her and shamed her for not being able to have children as easily or as prolifically as her. Having children, of course – back in the day – was confirmation of your worth as a woman; it assured your status and place in a family; it was a very practical source of security (you’d have people to protect and provide for you, should you ever be widowed or alone). Motherhood was an outward, undeniable sign of value for a woman – to her husband, to her family, in her community and culture, too. A woman’s primary job, main goal, solitary aim and objective in life – as far as most were concerned – was to have children.
So Hannah may have wanted a child – and a boy, in particular – because her mothering instincts were in full effect. She may also have wanted a baby because she wanted to make her husband happy. (The Bible tells us that Elkanah loved Hannah, in spite of the fact that she hadn’t given him a child, yet.) But Hannah may have wanted a child – and a boy, in particular – because she longed for affirmation of her worth, of her value, of her esteem, in her own eyes, in the eyes of her God, in the eyes of the world around her … and maybe so she could tell that “sister wife” of hers, Elkanah’s other wife, to take a hike – or something like that.
That’s why Hannah prayed hard – so much so that Eli, the high priest, thought she was drunk or crazy at first. But Hannah prayed to and she bargained intensely with God. She promised God that she would commit her baby boy to a life of sacrifice and service to the Lord. And then it happened. God delivered. And Hannah delivered. And she kept her promise, too – her end of all of that prayerful bargaining she had made with God. She loved, cared for, fed and nurtured her little boy Samuel until he was able to live without her – and she handed him over to the Lord; to live in the house of the high priest, Eli, and to become one of the greatest prophets in all of Israel’s history.
So, much like Mary, Hannah was gifted a baby boy she knew she’d love, cradle and care for – and would ultimately hand over to the service of God, too, for the sake of the world.
And Hannah’s prayer, a poem or song set to verse – was prayed in celebration and with thanksgiving for God’s answered prayer … for the gift of her little boy. And Hannah’s song sounds like the original to Mary’s cover version, so many generations later, in the Gospel of Luke – the Magnificat we just heard and which we will sing over and over again on these Wednesday nights.
In Hannah’s song, her heart exults in the Lord, she smiles at her enemies because she rejoices in God’s salvation. Likewise, Mary’s soul magnifies the Lord and her spirit rejoices in God her savior.
Hannah says, “the bows of the mighty are broken,” and “the feeble gird on strength.” Mary says the mighty are cast down from their thrones and the humble in heart are lifted up.
For Hannah, “Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.” Mary says the same, but more simply, “God has filled the hungry with good things.”
You get the picture.
The undeniable similarities between Hannah’s prayer and Mary’s song of praise – both prayed in response to the news of a promised child – draw a straight line between these two women of faith. I think it shows a profound theological understanding from both of them, about their God – and ours. A God who treasures and cares for the least among us. A God who protects the vulnerable and who challenges the powers that be. A God who uses the least likely suspects to bring justice, to provoke peace, to proclaim grace, to practice mercy, to do hard, holy, brave, beautiful things for the sake of the Kingdom. A God who keeps promises.
And, I think it implies that Hannah and Mary both knew their scripture and the stories and traditions of their faith and that they passed all of this along to their little boys.
(In my childhood, whether I knew it or appreciated it or understood it all at the time – or not – like many of you, I took in the hymns and liturgy of worship, of course. And I hope my boys – and the young people around here over the years – have done the same. And I heard my mom sing in the choir and lead worship in the praise band. And I grew up hearing a lot of John Denver, Anne Murray, Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson, and Dolly Parton, of course, courtesy of my mother, too – which makes for a pretty good playlist, to be honest. And I hope you have similar memories of your own mother’s music from way back when.)
See, I imagine, in those early days of nursing and nurturing Samuel before he was offered up in service to the Lord, that he heard his mother’s prayer a time or two. That she whispered those words into his hear while he nursed. That she sang them around the fire while she cooked and he played at her feet.
That she taught them to her little boy when he misbehaved … “Samuel, the wicked will be cut off in darkness, boy!” “Don’t make me tell you again.”
And that she comforted little Samuel with them, too, when he needed it most: “There is no rock like God, child…” “He raises up the poor, sweetheart…. he lifts up the lowly, baby boy … God guards the feet of the faithful, son. Don’t you ever forget it.”
So, many thanks to Hannah tonight, for her patient faithfulness, for her selfless sacrifice, for her powerful proclamation, for the profound inspiration she must have been for Jesus, even, by way of Mary, who certainly knew something of Hannah’s prayer and her faithful response to God’s kept promises.
Hannah prayed with thanksgiving. She professed her faith. She promised justice. She proclaimed hope. She pronounced God’s grace, good news, mercy and abundance.
That’s what she said. May we do the same as we wait – for Jesus – and in all the days that follow his arrival this Christmas.
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
