I Samuel 1:4-20

Introduction

            Though choosing to not have children is becoming more popular these days, there are plenty of people who can relate to the anguish Hannah experienced at not being able to have children.  For those who want children and can’t seem to conceive, the yearning can turn into an obsession.  After a few children, however, the perspective may change.  I came across the following bit of humor.

First baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
Second baby: You spend a bit of every day watching to be sure your older child isn’t squeezing, poking or hitting the baby.
Third baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.

Hannah

            One of my favorite Old Testament stories is the narrative about Hannah and Samuel.  Hannah was a woman caught in a very unhappy situation.  In a time when men could marry as many wives as they wanted and could afford to support, Hannah was one of Elkanah’s two wives.  The other wife’s name was Peninnah.  We might imagine that Hannah was his first wife.  We learn that Elkanah loves her deeply.  But Hannah is unable to bear children.  And, we know that in this instance Hannah is the half or the couple who is infertile.  We can imagine that Elkanah wanted children, because having progeny was very important in those days.  Children were vital because of the laws of inheritance and because older people needed to have children on whom they could depend in the older years.

            In ancient Israel, women proved their worth by producing offspring.  Peninnah was fertile and bore children.  Despite the fact that she succeeded in fulfilling her primary role as a woman, she realized that Elkanah loved Hannah more.  Each of us yearns for affirmation, acceptance and love, and Peninnah yearned for that special place in Elkanah’s heart.  She was jealous of Hannah.  The rage bubbled to the surface, and she released the rage by tormenting Hannah.

            The relentless teasing by Peninnah caused Hannah great shame and distress.  She also longed for the fulfillment of purpose that would come through giving birth to a child.  She felt like a failure, because she was not able to accomplish the single-most important function of a woman in her culture.  The derisive comments of Peninnah were like salt poured on the wound.

            Hannah despaired.  She couldn’t eat. The story of Hannah may describe the first documented case of anorexia nervosa and its associated infertility. In an article in the January, 1998 issue of Fertility and Sterility, Isaac Schiff, M.D., chief of the Vincent Memorial Obstetrics and Gynecology Service at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), recounted the story of Hannah and noted how the writer mentioned several times that Hannah was so unhappy at her inability to conceive she did not eat.  However, after praying at the Temple of Shiloh and receiving reassurance from the high priest, Hannah regained her spirits and resumed eating. Within a few months, Hannah conceived the son she had prayed for.
            Schiff explains that his rabbi had asked him to give a talk on the story, “When I read the account carefully and noticed how many times the writer noted that Hannah did not eat, it suddenly occurred to me that she probably had anorexia,” he says.[1]
            On their yearly pilgrimage to the holy site at Shiloh, Hannah poured out her heart to God.  She was praying in the temple, and when the priest, Eli, saw her muttering, he jumped to the conclusion that she is drunk.  Here was the opportunity for Hannah not only to pray to God for help, but to tell another person about her profound grief and despair over not being able to have a child.  Eli heard of her plight.  She dedicated the child she bore to the Lord.  He was to be raised in the temple to be a man of God.

            After Hannah opened her heart and soul through prayer and through sharing her heartache with the priest, she felt her burden lessen.  She felt better than she had in years.  Before leaving Shiloh, she and her husband shared a meal.  Hannah ate.  Returning to their home, Hannah became pregnant.  She followed through with her commitment to God, bringing Samuel once he was weaned to be raised by Eli. 

            As a mother, I can ‘t imagine giving over a child to be raised by someone else.  We can imagine the small, vulnerable boy clinging to his mother.  Perhaps Eli tried to lure the child from his mother.  He might have said, “Come see the pigeons, goats, and sheep in pens out back.”  And we can hear Hannah with tears in her eyes telling her child to be brave.  Now maybe if Samuel had been a teenager…. Samuel might have been chomping at the bit to get away from his parents, though the temple would probably not have been his first choice of colleges. Instead, we have this poignant image of Hannah handing over her precious long-awaited young child to God.  Hannah’s experience reminds of the narrative at the core of our Christian belief.  “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son….” 

Women Today

            Today a woman’s worth is not based on whether or not she has children, at least not in our culture.  Sadly, there are cultures where women still are measured by their ability to reproduce.  In the Nepalese village, the pressures forcing women into motherhood are clear and tangible. In Nepal, only a sick or crippled woman fails to marry, and if the female population exceeds the male, men will marry twice. A barren woman is a potential witch and punished with low status and harsh treatment.[2]  It is becoming more and more commonplace in our country for women to remain child-free, but it hasn’t been that way long. When Katherine Hepburn chose not to have children in the 1940s, she claimed, “I was ambitious and knew I would not have children. I wanted total freedom.” [3]  

God Listens

            What can we learn from Hannah?  First, we learn that we may share the deep yearnings of our hearts with God.  God wants to hear our earnest prayers.  Occasionally I talk with someone who doesn’t want to trouble God with his or her problems.  But God loves us and desires relationship with us. God will respond to our pleading.  The response may not be what we imagine or desire.  I’m certain Hannah would have preferred to raise her child to adulthood.  Yet, she realized her profound desire for a child, and she was willing to sacrifice for the sake of God’s purposes.  She submitted herself to the will of God, and the child she gave to God became a great prophet.

            In the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance was among the very first groups on the ground responding to the crisis.  Through our One Great Hour of Sharing contributions, PDA continues to help clean and rebuild houses of those afflicted by the storm.  A year after the storm, a group of volunteer Presbyterians showed up at the Gulf Coast home of an elderly couple.  They began to clean the muck from the floors and scrub the mold from the walls.  When they arrived, the old man asked, “Why are you here?”  The team leader explained the work of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.  After working hard for several hours, the old man asked again, “Why are you here?”  Once more the team leader explained that they were volunteers with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.  The man replied, “But, why are you here at our house?” 

            The PDA volunteer looked at his assignment sheet and told the man the address the team had been given.  “But that’s not our address,” said the old man.  The team leader realized they’d gone to the wrong address.  Then with tears in his eyes, the old man said, “My wife and I were at the end of the rope.  We knew we just couldn’t go on.  Everything we had was destroyed in the storm.  We had decided that tomorrow we would commit suicide.”[4]  There was no doubt in the minds of the PDA team, that despite the fact that the address on the paper was for a home across town, they had come to the right address.  In this true story, we see how God often works in surprising ways to bring us what we need.  Just as God assisted Hannah in her despair, God still meets us in our despair.

Persistence Pays Off

            The second learning from the story of Hannah is that persistence pays off.  Hannah prayed for many years before she experienced her prayers being answered.  While waiting for fulfillment, God was working within her to nurture maturity of faith, a sacrificial faith that enabled her willingness to give back to God.  Hannah’s faith grew through the years of disappointment, the taunts of the Peninnah.  Hannah turned to God, and over time developed a trust in God’s care for her. She trusted God to care for her beloved child.

A Grateful Heart

            Finally, Hannah teaches us about the proper response to God’s grace.  Chapter two of 1 Samuel begins with Hannah’s song of praise to God.  “My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in my God.  Hannah thanks God for fulfilling the deepest longing of her heart.  Hannah responds with gratitude, illustrated in her sacrificial gift to God.  Hannah gives to God what is most precious to her.  In so doing, she shares with her people, indeed, with the whole world, the gift God gave to her.  Hannah and Samuel participate in God’s plan of salvation.  Samuel grows up to be a great leader of Israel. 

Conclusion

            Gratitude is the proper response to God’s blessings in our lives.  As we celebrate Thanksgiving, let us be willing to share the deep desires of our hearts with God.  May we be persistent is asking God for what we need, trusting that God will provide for all our needs. Keep faith, hold onto hope, trust in God and keep praying.  Most of all, as we reflect on all we have received, may we come to God with grateful hearts.  Amen.