Let us worship!

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage.

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.

I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

9Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.

Psalm 16: 5-9

A prayer to center you

In joy, O God, we know you rejoice with us.

In sorrow, we know you weep beside us.

We trust that you make all things new, even when we see no path forward.

Help us to lean into the Holy Spirit that makes space for that newness around us.

Help us to live into Your work that is swirling all around us and help us to embrace the open future you have waiting for us.

In this time of quiet, whisper your words to us and move us into the unknown!

Amen

Holy Scripture

First Samuel Chapter 1

Verses 9 through 20

9 Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house. 10 In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. 11 And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

12 As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”

15 “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”

17 Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”

18 She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

19 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. 20 So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”

Reflection:

Hannah lived in a time where her very value relied on the bearing a son. In fact, the whole of her future rest on her ability to care a child. Without a son, she would have no place once her husband died. There would be no one to care for her, no place for her to live, no money left to her. She would have no future if she did not give birth to a child. A woman’s role in society at the time was family.

Hannah is looking at a bleak future when she finds herself in the temple, praying from the depths of her heart. Other women who had been in her same situations had turned to their own devises. Sarah, the wife of Abraham, had her husband use Hagar to give her husband a son.

Rachel, after watching Leah give Jacob son after son, took things into her own control, using her maid Bilhah to give Jacob two sons, Dan and Naphtal, before she actual gave birth to her own son. Sarah and Rachel found complications when they took control into their own hands.

Hannah, on the other hand, refuses to give up on the power of God, even in the face of despair. Hannah turns to God in all her grief and sorrow, in all her worry and concern, and places her trust in God to provide for her. She prayers so deeply and so passionately that the onlooking priest, Eli, believes her to be drunk. Hannah lays out her trouble, anguish, and grief before God. She pours out her soul in honesty and in hope. When all seems lost, when the future appears bleak, Hannah comes to God and asks, through prayer, for all that she needs.

And God provides.

Hannah’s prayers are answered. She is given a son, Samuel, who God uses to lead God’s people. Hannah keeps her promise and continues to be faithful by turning Samuel back over to God. But Samuel is no the only child that Hannah has. She ends up having 3 more sons and 2 daughters. Hannah is blessed indeed.

While that act of prayer continues to be a mystery. While not all prayers are answered the way that we desire. While the answering of prayer is not reflective of one’s devotion or faithfulness. Hannah’s trust in God to make all things new through the Holy Spirit is an example for us. When things are bleak, when we are facing despair, grief and sorrow, when worry and concern are overwhelming, we can turn to God. When we shift our focus from placing our trust in ourselves to our trust in an active and moving God we open ourselves to the possibilities only God can imagine. When we turn to God through earnest prayer, we open ourselves to the possibilities of the Holy Spirit. We make room for the work of God through the movement in the Holy Spirit. When we shift our desire for control of our future to the act of prayer and faith in the Spirit to move, we open ourselves to the new.

Let us open ourselves to the movement of the Spirit through prayer and hope.

Thinking it through…

What concern or worry do you need to turn over to God?

What new opportunities could be open to you if you let go of the worry and concern?

Where might the Holy Spirit be leading you?

Word in action

Write a prayer pouring out your soul to God.

Write out your worry and grief, your trouble and anguish.

Ask that God make room for hope and opportunity.

Say this prayer daily this week and see where God leads you.

Prayer of sending

God of movement and of hope,

May your spirit swirl us into the new that you have prepared for us.

Stir us into the movement of your will.

Use us to strengthen your kingdom

And fill us with your hope, peace, and joy.

Amen

Going out.

Go out into the world, renewed and revived by the word of God.

and in all that you do, may the love of Christ Jesus uphold you,

the peace of God sustain you and may the Holy Spirit guide you each step of the way

Let all God’s people say: AMEN

Worship, November 13, 2021