Voices we hear 111906
Margaret Scott
I Samuel 1 and Mark 13:1-8
Story from a long time ago about real people:
Ever felt somebody else was a favorite (Peninah}
Ever teased anybody about being different
Ever felt very very sad (Hannah)
Ever not understood what was going on (Elkanah)
Also a story about prayer
We can talk to God about anything – unfair, sad, confused, upset
John last week with sermon titles
Name all the voices- with each “O Lord, hear my prayer”
Peninah: does all the right things but unloved so acts out her jealousy in bitchy ways –
voice of hurting heart
O Lord, hear my prayer
Hannah: loved but infertile, so no meaning to her life
Voice of unfulfilled life
O Lord, hear my prayer
Elkanah: doesn’t understand – out of his depth
Voice of the head up against something he just
doesn’t understand
O Lord, hear my prayer
Eli: judgmental, made assumptions without checking them out
Voice of the privileged
O Lord, hear my prayer”
Yet Eli and Hannah were not content with “it is what it is”
The status quo wasn’t satisfactory for them. As long as there’s a question, there’s a place to ask it.
Hannah took her voice her cry for help to God
O Lord, hear my prayer
And Eli knew enough to question his own assumptions; he was open
voice of the pilgrim – seeking, questioning,
O Lord, hear my prayer
And in the gospel reading we also hear voices:
Disciples: voice of the dominant culture – hope lies in the institution, church or nation – look at how great we are
Jesus: voice of warning—those things you depend on historically aren’t dependable.
O Lord, hear my prayer
Hannah and Jesus were both on to deep spiritual, indeed, life truths:
Hannah—trusting God - knowing one’s voice is heard leads to a blessing of peace
Jesus—trusting God - staying centered in spite of life’s chaos
O Lord, hear my prayer
There is no life situation we can’t take to God; if we practice taking it to God we may be less likely to take it out on others
As individuals, and as a congregation.
Today we face the challenges and opportunities of a new week.
As Christ’s people we face a new Christian year beginning in Advent, a mere two weeks away.
As a congregation we face the challenges of a new financial year beginning in January,
Can we, like Hannah, wrap the cries of our heart in prayer?
Can we, like Eli, dare to be open to what God might be saying through someone else we’ve stereotyped?
Can we, like Jesus, rely on staying centered in God instead of our culture?
O Lord, hear our prayer