Hannah’s Prayer

2Hannah 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.
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.
⁴ The bows of the mighty are broken,    but the feeble gird on strength.
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.
⁶ The Lord kills and brings to life;    he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
⁷ The Lord makes poor and makes rich;    he brings low, he also exalts.
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 honour.^*
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.
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.’

he lifts the poor from the ash-heap (Haiti)

In form and content this poem is a royal psalm, that is, a song thanking God for a king’s victory in battle. The editor of the book of Samuel has transferred it to the lips of Hannah, the mother of Samuel, which demonstrates that the editor considered her role to be as important in the story of Israel as that of any king. She, a woman thought to be barren and therefore cursed, becomes fruitful not only for herself but for all Israel, as her son will become a great prophet and leader. Those who seem to “win” in the worldly struggle for power and reputation are often cast down in their arrogance while those who seem to be losers but trust in God, are raised up. People who seem to be a dead end become a new beginning for Israel. Small wonder then, that Luke modelled his “magnificat,” his song of Mary mother of Jesus, (Luke 2) on this song, as he celebrated the new beginning for all people in Jesus.

I was listening to a radio report this morning to news of the UK Goverment initiative to teach parenting skills as a matter of importance. If this were a recognition that parenting is an all importnat task that should receive adequate financial  support from the state, I would have welcomed it. But no, it’s more a sort of social engineering. In the course of the news item I heard a rich think-tank woman casually describe single mothers as incapable of bringing up their own children. The song of Hannah suggests, on the contrary,  that God’s fruitfulness may be found amongst those whom society considers as dead-end. “He raises up the poor from the dust, he lifts the needy from the ash heap.”

Matthew 7:22-27

²²On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?”²³Then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.”<!– 24 –>

Hearers and Doers

24 ‘Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.²⁵The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.²⁶And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.²⁷The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!’

built on sand?

Those who love Jesus love his wisdom and commandments. Doing religious things like preaching and prophesying and healing in his name are spurious if the commandments are not kept. I, preacher and blogger, want to protest my love for Jesus and for his commandments, but I sometimes wonder if Jesus would describe me  a do-er and not just a hearer. At best I can say, “I’ve tried to be faithful.” Jesus parable about the difference between mere hearers of his word and those who obey it, is set out by Matthew in the form of a contrast between houses founded on rock or sand. My architect friend tells me there’s no real problem building on sand as long as there is a proper foundation. That’s the way Luke tells Jesus’ parable, ( luke 6:47-9) emphasising the need for foundations. Maybe that was Jesus’ original point: you can build even on sand if you have a firm foundation. Even those whose situation in life looks shaky can stand the test if they do what Jesus commands.