Proper 28 / Pentecost 26 / Ordinary Time 33
Preaching
Hear My Voice
Preaching The Lectionary Psalms for Cycles A, B, C
Hannah's song is probably best-known and most frequently associated in the liturgy as an accompanying reading for the celebration of the angelic visitation to Mary (Luke 1:39-57). When the text is used in this manner, Hannah serves as a type of Mary, with her song echoing themes and expressions to be found in Mary's song.
In doing this, however, the meaning and beauty of Hannah's song becomes obscured, even subordinated to Mary's song. This is not to say that Mary and Hannah serve equal functions in the history of faith. Obviously the birth of Jesus is far more critical to the life of the church than the birth of Samuel. However, it is still a mistake to simply collapse Hannah's song into the Magnificat. Doing this neglects an important yet subtle message found in Hannah's song: A message that can only be heard if she sings her own song.
There are several significant differences between Hannah and Mary. Mary is a young, vibrant woman. Her whole life is before her. She is marriageable, and filled with the possibility of bringing life into the world.
Hannah is none of these things. Hannah is barren. In the ancient world, barrenness was a legitimate cause for divorce. Of course, Hannah's husband did not exercise this prerogative, but in fact pledges his love to her in spite of her barrenness. Unfortunately, this was not enough. To be without children, no matter how much her husband loved her, placed Hannah in a psychological and even theological quandary. Hannah knew that in the pecking order of wives and women, her barrenness rendered her second-rate. And in the prevailing theology of her day, she could only conclude that the source of her condition was God.
When filtered through the lens of Hannah's suffering and exclusion, her song sounds quite different from Mary's. When Hannah sings that God has remembered the weak and lowly, the message has a poignant, personal application. Mary may have been poor and had some sense of what life is like among marginal people. But prior to her pregnancy, she was not a marginal person as a woman. Hannah was not poor, yet was oppressed by a social and theological system that regarded her barrenness as a curse.
In other words, when God granted Hannah's prayer and allowed her to bring a tiny life into this world, she experienced the gift of that son out of the depths of her own despair. The birth of Samuel was not just an answered prayer; it was also a validation of Hannah's very existence.
Her song functions, therefore, as a poetic celebration of God's ability to bring life out of death. It is a reminder of God's persistent desire to lift the fallen and the lowly. It is also a powerful example of God granting voice to one who had no voice. In other words, the song of Hannah celebrates just the sort of thing God finally does with the cross. Not that Mary's song fails to do this, for certainly it does. But when Hannah sings of God bringing life out of death, we know she has someone in particular in mind.
-- J. E.
In doing this, however, the meaning and beauty of Hannah's song becomes obscured, even subordinated to Mary's song. This is not to say that Mary and Hannah serve equal functions in the history of faith. Obviously the birth of Jesus is far more critical to the life of the church than the birth of Samuel. However, it is still a mistake to simply collapse Hannah's song into the Magnificat. Doing this neglects an important yet subtle message found in Hannah's song: A message that can only be heard if she sings her own song.
There are several significant differences between Hannah and Mary. Mary is a young, vibrant woman. Her whole life is before her. She is marriageable, and filled with the possibility of bringing life into the world.
Hannah is none of these things. Hannah is barren. In the ancient world, barrenness was a legitimate cause for divorce. Of course, Hannah's husband did not exercise this prerogative, but in fact pledges his love to her in spite of her barrenness. Unfortunately, this was not enough. To be without children, no matter how much her husband loved her, placed Hannah in a psychological and even theological quandary. Hannah knew that in the pecking order of wives and women, her barrenness rendered her second-rate. And in the prevailing theology of her day, she could only conclude that the source of her condition was God.
When filtered through the lens of Hannah's suffering and exclusion, her song sounds quite different from Mary's. When Hannah sings that God has remembered the weak and lowly, the message has a poignant, personal application. Mary may have been poor and had some sense of what life is like among marginal people. But prior to her pregnancy, she was not a marginal person as a woman. Hannah was not poor, yet was oppressed by a social and theological system that regarded her barrenness as a curse.
In other words, when God granted Hannah's prayer and allowed her to bring a tiny life into this world, she experienced the gift of that son out of the depths of her own despair. The birth of Samuel was not just an answered prayer; it was also a validation of Hannah's very existence.
Her song functions, therefore, as a poetic celebration of God's ability to bring life out of death. It is a reminder of God's persistent desire to lift the fallen and the lowly. It is also a powerful example of God granting voice to one who had no voice. In other words, the song of Hannah celebrates just the sort of thing God finally does with the cross. Not that Mary's song fails to do this, for certainly it does. But when Hannah sings of God bringing life out of death, we know she has someone in particular in mind.
-- J. E.
