(Please read the Scripture passage before reading the homily.)
Hannah was one of two wives of her husband. She had no children and her rival teased and bullied her about her barrenness. She cried out to the Lord and Lord blessed her with the child Samuel. After she had weaned Samuel, she brought him to the temple of the Lord and presented him to the priest Eli. She had consecrated the gift God had given her back to God. She later had five more children.
Her story forms a backdrop for the story of the conception of Jesus. In both stories, each mother sings a similar canticle about how God undoes the strong and uplifts the weak.
Both sons have similar destinies. Samuel will be a prophet and bring his people in the age of the kings of Israel. He will anoint two kings, Saul and David. Jesus will bring his people from the captivity of sin into the freedom of recognizing themselves as veritable children of God.
The story is appropriate as we approach the feast of Christmas and celebrate the birth of Jesus. It is said of Samuel that he never let a word of God fall to the ground from neglect, carelessness or disrespect for God’s word. It is said of Jesus that he is the Word of God. It is said of both that each spoke and did the word of God.
What shall be said of us, relative to word of God? How well do we respect the word of God, or even our own words? What value does truth have for us? How ell do we show respect for self, others, and God by what we speak and hear? By birth, each of us is dedicated to God: we are not our own.