Scripture Text (NRSV)
2:1 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.
2:2 "There is no Holy One like the LORD, no one besides you; there is
no Rock like our God.
2:3 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.
2:4 The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on
strength.
2:5 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.
2:6 The LORD kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and
raises up.
2:7 The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low, he also exalts.
2:8 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.
2:9 "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.
2:10 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."
Comments:
Looking to do a Thanksgiving series beginning 11/9 running through
Thanksgiving - using Hannah as the first text - next week the woman
and coin - and ending on Thanksgiving Sunday. Anybody have anything
good on Hannah and the thanksgiving she offers. Desperate in Georgia
Hannah's song is one of the most powerful texts in the Hebrew
Scriptures, IMHO. Here we have the reversal of the world's order in
God's kingdom, prophesied long before Mary sang her song or Mary's Son
began his work, telling us that the last would be first and the first,
last.... Maybe we shy away from it because most of us using an online
lectionary website are pretty onbviously among those who God will
bring low... Heather in Sharon
Working with a sermon on servant leadership with Hannah as the
paradigm of what servant leadership looks like- leadership that is
faithful to core values, faithful to commitments that count,
courgaeous, opotimist in the face of great adversity, hopeful in the
face of seeming defeat, and visionary in the sense that she looks
beyond herself to a promise that will be fufilled in part in the life
of Samuel but will live on through the years to be found again in Mary
and her son. Isn't she a better example of servant leadership in the
sense in which Jesus will talk about and live out leadership. Are not
the Beatitudes an example of his standards for servant leadership? I
know all this seems a little off the wall but wasn't that what Hannah
points to and Mary points to and Jesus brings to full expression?
Pastor John from Ga.
Heather in Sharon:
I imagine that many are concentrating on the birth story, rather than
the song, although I agree on its importance. The song helps me put
the birth story in perspective, lifting it out of the particulars of a
woman going crazy to have a baby, even one she won't get to raise. It
says instead that God uses all sorts of things to transform the world,
even (especially) women considered BARREN (what a word). It's
basically the prelude to resurrection--dead womb gives life, weeping
turns to joy, poor and empty are filled.
You're right, though, we do soft-pedal the bringing low of all the
people who are rich and full and have internet access. I just try to
make sure that my people hear that word, that they hear that they
wherever they are on the ladder, they'd darn well identify themselves
with the ones who are going to be lifted up.
Anyway, I'm glad to have this text to complement the birth narrative.
Laura in TX
"...darn well BETTER," I should have said. Got to get the grammar
right.
Laura
The Song of Hannah is central to the whole of the two volumes of
Samuel. In it is both the beginning of Samuel, the birth of the
prophet Samuel: "I rejoice in my victory." And the lifting up of King
David: "he will give strength to his king, and exalt the power of his
anointed.".
In it is the laying low of those in power religiously at the time, Eli
and his family, and the lifting up this "barren" woman's child. It is
about reversal. It is about hope. It is about thanksgiving. It is
about liberation.
I'll be using this passage along with the gospel of Mark on Sunday. As
I use Hannah's song I will be working to connect it to the rest of the
story.
I'm wondering if the Heather who's commenting this time around is the
same Heather who wrote three years ago about false labor pains which
were still fresh in her memory having just had a baby 6 months before.
Mark in WI
I too will be using this one with the gospel lesson. The verse that
jumps out at me is "talk no more proudly, let not arrogance come from
your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge..."(v.3), and later in
v.9 "For not by might does one prevail". I'm thinking of how we tend
to go for power and pride in the United States, over knowledge, (as is
evident in Iraq these days). What is it about us as individuals and as
a people, that belittles knowledge (and God's view of things, rather
than our own)?
We do need to be reversed, mixed up, put in our place, but who wants
it?
DGinNYC
Mark in WI,
I had forgotten, but yes, that was me! Heather in Sharon
