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November 15, 2009
The Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 28, Year B
1 Samuel 1:4-20 or Daniel 12:1-3
1 Samuel 2:1-10 or Psalm 16
Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25
Mark 13:1-8
Click here for sermons from previous
weeks
The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY (Retired)
Our first reading today tells us of the great grief of Hannah, a much-loved
wife, who was unable to have children. It was thought to be a disgrace for a
woman to be unable to give her husband children, and she would be laughed at and
made fun of by other married women. Her husband, Elkaneh, had another wife, and
that wife had several children. Poor Hannah had to listen to very nasty comments
from the other wife, and because she was childless, she ranked lower socially
than the woman with children, even though her husband loved her more. He loved
her so much, in fact, that he gave her just as much food and just as many
presents as he gave his other wife, the mother of his children.
And so Hannah did what you and I know is the only sensible thing to do. She took
her troubles to the Lord, and asked for help to conceive a child. Hannah knew
well the lesson that the Apostle Paul later labored so hard to teach the early
Christians: we are given gifts from God to use for God's work, not for our own
benefit or glory. And so, she promised that if she were allowed to have a child,
she would dedicate that child to God's work, and raise the child to know that
his life belonged to God.
It's interesting to notice that the old priest in the temple, who overheard
Hannah praying, thought that she must be drunk, because her prayer was so
emotional. That's exactly what happened centuries later to the disciples of
Jesus, when the Holy Spirit came to them on Pentecost...everyone thought they
were drunk, because they were so filled with the spirit and love of God.
Time passed, and Hannah did indeed receive the gift of a son from God. After the
baby was weaned, she brought him to the temple and left him with the priest, to
be trained for the Lord's service. The baby grew up to become the great prophet
Samuel, who was one of God's tools in establishing the nation of Israel, and
whom God used to select the kings who led the nation in the years of its
greatest glory.
We use today, instead of a psalm, Hannah's song of thanksgiving for the child
Samuel. If you read it carefully, you will notice that it is very similar to the
song that Mary, the mother of Jesus, sang when she found that she would be the
mother of God's Son. And, of course, we all know that Jesus kept teaching his
followers to be constant in prayer, to keep praying for the blessings they
needed....just as Hannah had done.
The Gospel reading is often called "a little apocalypse" because it is one of
the readings in which Jesus tried to prepare his followers for what would happen
after he had left them and returned to heaven. In ancient countries, both in
Europe and Asia, government and religion were intertwined. The religion of the
king became the religion of all the people of that country. Therefore, temples
and government buildings were often the same buildings, and the leaders of the
religion held high places of honor in the government, and advised the king. The
idea of separation of church and state, such as we have in America, would seem
preposterous to the people of Jesus' time. It was simply not possible to
understand. And so, when Jesus and his disciples left the Temple one day, and a
disciple commented on the beauty of the Temple, they were terribly shocked when
Jesus told them that the Temple would soon be completely destroyed. You would
feel much the same way, if you were told that both your religion and your
national government would be destroyed at the same time...you would be living in
chaos, with no law at all, like life in a jungle. This, you see, was what in
effect Jesus was telling the disciples. Think about it...if suddenly all law and
all government and all religion were to vanish, how would you survive? What
things would you be afraid of? How would you take care of yourself, your family,
and others?
As a matter of fact, in the year 70, the Roman army did destroy the Temple
complex, including not only the Temple itself but all the government buildings
in Jerusalem, and ordered the Jewish people to leave Jerusalem. Some of the
people who had heard Jesus speak of the coming destruction of the Temple
remembered, much later, what he had said.
But, of course, most people didn't really believe that Jesus' prophecy would
come true. Most of them simply thought that he was blaspheming against the
Temple, God's house in Jerusalem. At Jesus' trial, this was a key thing that was
brought against him, and it was one of the factors in his condemnation to death:
He said that he would destroy the Temple, and in three days rebuild it again!
There is much for us to think about in these two stories. First, in the story of
Hannah's prayer for a son, we are reminded that we must keep praying, even if
the situation seems hopeless. God always answers prayer, but not always with a
"yes." And his time is not the same as our time. We may need to pray for years
and years until God feels the time is ripe for our prayer to be answered.
We also need to remember that we are given gifts from God not for our own use
but for the good and the glory of God's church, and for the good of others. To
pray, for example, for artistic or musical talent so that we can be rich and
famous, is really a form of blasphemy. If we pray for such a talent, we need to
also be praying to be shown how to use that talent for God, and for the growth
and glory of his kingdom. Monks and nuns are constantly reminded that the best
use of a gift of God is to use it for God's own work. All of us need to remember
that.
And then, the Gospel...the gift of law and public order is really a great gift.
It is the gift that makes it possible for us to live in peace with one another,
and to have tranquil, orderly and pleasant lives...instead of living by the law
of the jungle, always in danger, always at risk. We do need to respect our
government as well as our faith, and we need to thank God for the gift of law
and justice, which he gave us in his Commandments. What's more, we need to do
our part in the running of our country, state and city, whether this means just
paying taxes and obeying the law, or perhaps putting on the uniform of our
country, or running for public office, or teaching others what our country
stands for and how to participate in that country through voting and learning to
be law-abiding citizens.
Most of all, I think, we need to think long and hard about the structures of our
government and our culture. We need to work for and help build up structures
that will protect our country and our civil life together, and help them work
for everyone's good...not just our own. That means learning as much as we can
about how our government works, and doing our best to find out what needs to be
changed or rethought to make it fair and just for everyone, not just for the
wealthy and important people.
Today's two stories from long ago certainly give us a lot of homework to do,
don't they?
Amen.
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