Pentecost 24 - Year B

My heart exults in the Lord: my strength is exalted in my God.

So begins ‘Hannah's Song', her response to her journey of prayer and faith in God, that brought to her a long-awaited child, her son Samuel. Hannah is one of those remarkable women of faith who meet God fully in God's own promise. Samuel was given at an early age to the temple of the Lord, to minister with Eli the priest. And Samuel became one of the great leaders of the holy people of Israel in the transitional time that led to their first King. It was Samuel who anointed Saul, when still a child, to be that ruler. And God then sent Samuel to the house of Jesse, for the anointing of David, also as a child, destined to be the great king of Israel.

But at this time of the year, as we prepare to conclude the church year, it is Hannah and her song that is our focus. Within her story are the key elements of a righteous relationship with God and, indeed, the essence of our own preparation in our approach to the incarnation of God - Jesus Christ, Christmas, God among us, mystery and journey, and a knowing of the world quite radically and remarkably different from anything we could expect or imagine.

We are soon to enter the season of Advent, the preparation time for that great sensational happening (not wanting to call it an event). On the eve of Advent, we hear the remarkable song of a woman of faith that connects us, hundreds of years later, into another remarkable song of faith, the Magnificat, the Song of Mary. Within the heart of these two women, and their words of faith, come to us a pattern of approach and prayer that brings true integrity and a love-response before their God, before our God.

I therefore propose a pattern of reflection response and prayer within this homily, in the three movements of spirit of Hannah's song. Our response will be to sing "O Lord hear my prayer" (TiS 741) after each reflection and prayer.

We are firstly struck in Hannah's story with the consequences of her barrenness. For herself, it is the soulful despair of being without child, of the deep longing for womb and breast to be fulfilled. For Hannah in the culture of her day, there is the consequential despair of being a childless woman in a society that relates God blessings to your fertility and your whole identity in being mother, not only wife. She is treated with derision by her husband's other wife; it is a constant berating that would have stripped Hannah's self-worth and added to her sadness. Her identity was: I am a barren woman.

For all of us, feelings of barrenness can be part of our life for long stretches, just like Hannah. A sense of no purpose, of no goals, of not feeling part of a fulfilling life journey, of things going wrong and bad contrary to our expectations.... of feeling a failure, of others letting you know that you are.... life contains emptiness, the barrenness of unfulfilled dreams and hopes.

To rise from that, we need to name the barren times and places of our lives before our God. Like Hannah, our naming can lead to the prayer of anguish that is the next part of her journey, her song. Let us pray:

Our strength is in you God: help us to name and feel that strength through the barren places and times of life. We thus pray for:
Those locked in lifeless lives, of poverty and the cycle of poverty;
Those trapped in mental anguish, of demons or hopeless outlook;
Those unable to move from boring jobs, frustrating routine, abusive relationships, of hopeless life.
Help them, and myself, to name the realities of life so that your enlivening Spirit can move us on in faith.
O Lord hear my prayer, O Lord hear our prayer:
O Lord hear my prayer, O Lord hear my prayer:
when I call answer me.
O Lord hear my prayer, O Lord hear my prayer.
Come and listen to me.

Come and listen to me cried Hannah. She named her anguish; she poured out her soul to God. She stripped herself bare before Him, and spoke and prayed in urgent, heart-felt prayers.

When have you poured out your soul in sacred conversation to God? I can think of myself beside hospital beds, one of which was our son's after an accident. I can think of times when I had absolutely no idea what to do next in a relationship, and let God in on my despair. There are other times, as I watch people I love suffer deeply and I feel so helpless, and angry with God, that all I can do is to call out...... help me here O God; why is this happening, what do I do? Help me O God.

And, like Hannah, that is all that can be done. Prayer and supplication, calling on God's mercy and understanding, on God's grace and blessing. And, like Hannah, something is let go, something within comes to rest, and peace is found. Not solutions, or answers... but the realisation that she, we, have given it all to God because there is nothing else we can do. And thus, in continuing faith, we have to leave it with God. Let us pray:

Our strength and hope is in you God: help us to name and feel that strength and hope through the anguishing times of life. We thus pray for:
Those wounded and traumatised by war;
those made outcast by their country, by their family, by their friends;
those abused when there should be trust;
this planet as it cries in pain from its human mistreatment;
those grieving as loved ones leave this life in the mystery of death.
Help them, and myself, to bring the anguishes of life to the foot of Christ's cross so that His life-giving Spirit can bring strength and hope to life.

O Lord hear my prayer, O Lord hear our prayer:
O Lord hear my prayer, O Lord hear my prayer:
when I call answer me.
O Lord hear my prayer, O Lord hear my prayer.
Come and listen to me.

Hannah's sadness turns to praise; her praise becomes her song. Significantly, her praise and trust in God never wavered through the whole cycle of her barren anguish to her fulfilled joy. So, we could say, she was lucky, her prayer was answered. Look at her song; look at her prayer approach. She never stopped praising God; and after her anguished prayer she was at peace, knowing she had been listened to, accepting God's will in her response. That takes enormous trust. I am sure Mary, the mother of Christ, would have known Hannah's Song - it surely must have inspired her to accept the Word of God in her conception with such utter trust.

How do you express complete trust in the unfolding of God's purpose in your life? How do you express genuine praise of God?

The Gospel situation today reminds us vividly of the unrest and anxiety in our lives. Jesus is upfront about false truths in our lives; about the temporary nature of what we build around us - including our conception of the church itself. He is at his most confronting here, stripping away the pretences of a world that is not built on genuine trust. We are not even to trust ourselves, he says - we can only rely on the Holy Spirit to be with us in our time of need. Indeed, it is to be our total way of life - if you trust me, you are with God, he says. And the Holy Spirit will ensure that is a living, forward being, relationship. From the integrity of that relationship with our Trinitarian God comes our spontaneous and heartfelt praise of God who cares and loves us so much in this way.

We thus join with Hannah and Mary and all the faithful people of every time and place, singing the eternal song of praise. Let us pray:

Our strength and hope is in you God, who loves us so dearly. Help us to name and feel that love in our own lives, and bring it to the lives of others.

We give you thanks and praise for this world of wonder and delight; help us to care for your creation.
We give you thanks and praise for the joy and companionship of people who love us; help us to care and support the unloved and the marginalised.
We give you thanks and praise for your Holy Church throughout the world; empower and strengthen Christian leaders and the whole Body of Christ.
We give you thanks and praise for hearts of compassion and care; we uphold to you for your love and care those who are suffering in body, mind or spirit....
We give you thanks and praise for Christ's gift of eternal life; in that reality we pray for the repose of the souls of Frank Hoult, Val Melrose, Marie Russo and Elsie Veitch.

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest!

O Lord hear my prayer, O Lord hear our prayer:
O Lord hear my prayer, O Lord hear my prayer:
when I call answer me.
O Lord hear my prayer, O Lord hear my prayer.
Come and listen to me.