HANNAH AND MARY
TEXT: 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26; Luke 2:41-52

Two women, both alike in probably age and status. Hannah, mother of Samuel, and Mary, mother of Jesus. You've heard the two passages. Notice any similarities? Women of that time married young. Most likely Mary was only about fourteen years old. They both had sons. They both were told about those sons beforehand. And both sons were heavily involved in the work of God's kingdom. Both "grew in stature, and in favor with God and men."

They also have their differences. Hannah waited years for a son and thought it would never happen. Mary never had the chance to think it would never happen....it happened before she was married. Both of their husbands aren't quite sure they understand what's happening with their wives, but their reactions are a little different. Hannah's husband Elkanah thought he was enough; why did she need a son? Mary's husband Joseph thought he obviously wasn't enough if she was pregnant; he was going to separate from her entirely.

But the biggest difference of all is what makes it hard to figure out who had the better -- or worse -- deal. Hannah prayed for years for a son. She was deeply in love with her husband -- who, by the way, already had children through another wife -- and wanted to give him the gift of a son. She wanted him so much that she promised to give him away. She only got to see that son once a year. Mary was practically handed a son out of the clear blue sky. She might've been an utter tomboy, and marriage and children and gushy stuff like that were the last things on her mind. But she raised him, got to be with him, and watched him grow. But she may have known that he wasn't going to live as long as a normal boy would. Jesus knew from the beginning that he was special; we can only figure that Mary knew it, too. So Hannah hardly got to see her son, but knew that he was in a good environment, was serving the Lord, and was safe. Mary got to watch her son grow up, knew he was in as good of an environment as she could provide, was serving the Lord, and was safe....for the time being. Did she know how much time she had with him?

If you had to pick, who would you choose to be? My guess would be Hannah. Wouldn't you rather know your child was safe, even if you couldn't be with him? Anyone know someone given up for adoption who can relate to that? No one's saying you love your son any less. No one's saying you're being selfish, or taking the easy way out. You're actually doing something that might be harder than actually raising him......NOT raising him. You know he's alive, that he's out there doing something, and you can't do anything about it. But you know he's safe. He's happy, he's learning, he's being cared for. He might not understand now, but he will. And you see him every year. You put every little bit of love and caring you can muster into making that little coat for him every year. You pray over every stitch, sewing in your tears. You get reports of how he's doing, how faithful he is, how obedient. You hear that he's growing into a strong and handsome young man, that he's very smart, and that he's recognized from north to south as a prophet of God. Talk about pride. Your son is speaking God's words. And one day, the best news of all, your son will crown the first king of Israel. No ballots to count and recount, he just picks. One-time shot. With God's help of course, which makes it that much better. God's going to be speaking to your son as he hand-picks the first ever king of Israel.

I'm sure Hannah wasn't without her heartaches, however. She yearned every year for the chance to go see her son when they went to the Temple to worship. Her son, even though he wasn't with her, was her life, and the short time that she got to see him was the highlight of her year. I'm not sure, though, that the scene would have played out exactly as she imagined the whole year before. I'd be willing to bet that Hannah's mind was full of running and hugging and tears and kisses and all kinds of mommy things to do. But all Samuel knows of his mother is what he might vaguely remember from the first few years of his life. Would he be that excited to see her? Not that he'd dread it, but his time is filled with lessons and priests and the people that he'd see every day. Would he have a connection that deep with his mother, who thought about him what seemed like every second of the day? I think the priest Eli understood. He was there when she was crying out to God for a son, when Eli thought she was drunk. He saw the dejection in her eyes that she couldn't produce a son for her husband. And he heard her promise that she'd give him back to the Lord if He'd let her have him for just a little while. So Eli's blessing every year was a plea on Hannah's behalf to give her more children to replace the one she so faithfully gave up.

So who wants to be Mary? Say Jesus goes out to play one day. He's about 6 years old. He's just finished his chores, and Mary says he can go off with his friends. She can't help smiling. She can't ask for a better son. He never disobeys. He's polite, he's caring. He was probably the original Boy Scout. He learns so fast, and is brilliantly going to take over Joseph's business someday. He already gets praised for his potential. Mary is admired by all the other mothers for having such a wonderful son. She beams with pride just looking at him. She's sure that she's positively going to explode someday with the joy in her heart. Mary stands in the door of their house, drying her hands on a cloth after washing some dishes. Jesus takes off down the street. He doesn't see the small rock in the road, trips, and goes skidding across the hard clay ground. Mary jumps and starts after him, but suddenly stops. It's as if she can't see. Have you ever stood up too fast and things go black? Only instead of black, with the sound of Jesus hitting the ground, she hears a hammer. A hammer hitting a nail. A look of excruciating pain on Jesus' grown face clouds her mind, and she can't move. Although, when she again begins to see the houses around her, the trees, the street, and hears the children yelling and the noises of the nearby marketplace, she finds she HAS moved. She's on the ground. She's crouching in the doorway, a look of terror plastered on her face, and tears streaming down her cheeks. And Jesus is kneeling in front of her. He's looking up into her face, as a little six year old would. Funny, though, he's almost smiling. Mary's fright fades to absolute peace, but is mixed with sheer confusion. And in his little six-year-old way, he tries again to help her understand. "Not yet, Mommy," he says. "I have way too much to do before then." He's only six, Mary thinks, but he's so much smarter than me.

These moments for Mary don't happen all the time, but they come all too often. Six years later, she and Joseph will find him in the Temple teaching things to the priests, the ones who are supposed to know it all. She momentarily forgets again that he's more special than even she thinks. He has to remind his parents that this is what he's on this earth to do. In a way, he's only on loan to them, but this is what he's really here for. And Mary remembers again. She may not have hit the ground this time, but she remembers. And verse 51 even gives us a glimpse that she remembers by saying "his mother treasured all these things in her heart."

No one has to tell you that things in life don't happen like you think they will, or how you think they should. You may be like Hannah, and wait what seems like years, or what may actually BE years, for an answer to your prayer. Or you may be like Mary, and have your purpose handed to you before you even ask for it. But even though they were in vastly different ways, both women received their assignment. Hannah was to give birth to the boy who would crown the king from whom would come Mary's son. Is it even worth it to argue over which had the worst, or maybe the best job? Both women had their times of frustration, of complete anger, and probably feeling like someone messed up. Someone got their wires crossed, and somehow this is not the life that was intended for them. But in the midst of their difficulties, they were part of the greatest scheme in history. Left to their own devices, things would have turned out quite differently. But left to God, these two women, so unsure of why their lives were the way they were, helped bring about a part of God's plan that no one else could have helped with. It had to be them, for better or worse.

And it has to be you, whatever your mission. Whether you know it up front, or whether it's explained later. Hannah begged for her assignment for years, and finally said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." She ended up saying, "My heart rejoices in the Lord." Mary's task was handed to her and she said, "I am your servant; may it be to me as you have said." She ended up singing, "My soul glorifies the Lord." If you offer yourself as a servant, what might God give you to do?

Amen.

(c) 2000, Carrie Johnson