Year B Proper 28 - I Samuel 1:4-20 I Samuel 2:1-10 Mark 13: 1-8

There is no Holy One like the Lord, no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.

Today’s first reading, the story of Hannah and her great sorrow, touches our hearts. In our world today, the grief and near despair of women and couples of child bearing age who have been unable to conceive is a familiar one. We have all read or heard stories of the lengths to which such folks will go in order to have a child. Sometimes, when IVF fails, adoption becomes the option – and many families happily bring home little ones who would otherwise not have a family of their own. Sadly, the options all require cash flow, so there are still many who suffer their sorrow in silence.

In ancient times there were, of course, no such options as we have today – but Hannah was not a woman to remain silent. Her arms were empty, and she longed to cradle in them a son. Along with the emptiness she felt, there was the knowledge that if and when she might become a window, with no son there would be no one to care for her in her old age. To add to her misery, she is also being daily tormented by her sister wife, who taunts her for having borne no children. Her husband, Elkanah, who loves her, cannot help her, and so she turns to the source of life itself. Hannah presented herself before the Lord.

Thus follows the story of her being seen, but not heard, because she prayed silently, by the priest Eli, who for some reason not explained, thinks she must be drunk and verbally chastises for this. But Hannah clears up that misapprehension and explains her situation to the priest. Eli then speaks the words of promise - Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.”

Scholars tell us that it is likely Eli was a Nazarite, one who had taken the special vows found in the book of Numbers. He is promising Hannah a son – who will indeed be born, and that son will be Samuel, the man we know as the great priest and prophet. There is another place in our Bible where a Nazarite makes a prediction. That man was John the Baptist, he who foretold the coming of our Lord.

In verses following today’s first lesson, verses not included in our reading, Hannah bears a son, and his father, Elkanah, goes to the temple to offer sacrifice and thanksgiving. Part of Jewish tradition is to offer the priest a fair payment, to buy back the baby boy from God’s service. Interestingly, there is no mention of this happening for Samuel.

When the baby is weaned, Hannah takes him to the temple, and there, she tells Eli,

As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.

Our next reading, also from the book of Samuel, and read in place of the Psalm, follows immediately after Hannah makes this amazing offering of her child to God. In her place another person might be bitter or heartbroken, but not Hannah. Having made the sacrifice, having given her son to God, she sings for joy.

In our New Testament another mother will sing for joy over the upcoming birth of her Son, another child who will be totally dedicated to God. Hannah’s song is reflected in the Magnificat, the joyous song of Mary the mother of Jesus.

As Jesus came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!”

The disciples are like any out-of-towners coming for the first time to a huge city. “Wow! Look at that”, they say to their friend and leader, Jesus. They are a rag tag bunch, living in poverty, always on the road, so on occasion they marvel at the permanence and beauty of the world around them. That’s how the temple must seem to them, permanent; a beautiful structure erected to the glory of God and meant to stand for eternity. But Jesus quickly disabuses them of this foolish idea.

Then Jesus asked, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."

Jesus speaks of the destruction of worldly things, including the temple. Though it isn’t part of our first reading today, Samuel will also play a part in the overthrow of a temple - the Temple at Shiloh – that temple that preceded the one at Jerusalem and that is administered by Eli and his disobedient, sinful sons. It is Samuel who must tell Eli that God is no longer with Eli and his sons – and what follows is the burning and destruction of the temple at Shiloh and the subsequent loss of the Ark of the Covenant.

Today’s lessons are like a prequel to the season that is soon to arrive. In two Sundays the Church year begins anew with the first Sunday of Advent, and clearly these lessons are meant to direct our minds toward that upcoming season. But what do we learn from them this day?

Hannah is a woman whose heart, despite all the socioeconomic reasons for desiring a male child, aches for a son to hold in her arms, for a child to love. Along with this burning desire she has a deep and unwavering faith in God. The reading is not meant to tell those struggling to conceive that if they only have faith all will go as they hope. What Hannah shows us is how strong both love and faith can be.

And there is something else about Hannah. Her home life is not ideal, for though she is deeply loved by her husband, her sister wife torments her. She is constantly in emotional pain. So we see that deep emotional pain can be borne with patience and with faith, that despite suffering, faith need not waiver.

Hannah is a woman who knows suffering and sacrifice. When her longed for son is weaned, she does what seems to us almost unthinkable. She gives his care over to Eli, gives her son to the service of God. And then she sings.

Hannah is a woman filled patience and filled with love, love for her child and love for God. And that’s what really matters. God sees only our love.

In our Gospel today, Jesus and His friends walk into a big city. We are Jesus friends and followers today, and like His disciples we can be easily impressed by worldly things. Like them when we visit new cities we marvel at the architecture. On a smaller scale we are impressed by so much of this world – a new car, a big screen TV, new technology, new fashions. The younger we are spiritually, the more impressed by the world we tend to be.

But then, as we grow spiritually, as God moves into our lives, as Jesus fills our hearts, we come to understand His words to His disciples that day in Jerusalem. "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down." Or as Shakespeare so poetically stated it centuries later, “The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, the solemn temples, the great globe itself—Yea, all which it inherit—shall dissolve, and like this insubstantial pageant faded, leave not a rack behind.”

Wordily things do not last. As God moves in – the world in our hearts must be overthrown. We hold on tightly to the world, to what we know, what makes us feel secure, only because we are frightened. And Jesus tells us, When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birthpangs.

In two weeks we will begin to prepare for the Holy Birth of our Lord. The world has made much of this celebration. We will see decorations, hear music, and be bombarded by endless advertising for sales of goods “for the holidays”. But the holidays, a word derived from “holy days”, are meant to be a time for clearing our hearts of the world, giving up our fear, giving up those things to which we cling, so that the Love of God can move in – can be born in our hearts.

Then we can sing with Hannah - My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in my God.”

Let us pray: (a prayer by St. Thomas Aquinas)

Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give us an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord our God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.