WEEK ONE

LONGING & WAITING
Nov 30 – Dec 6

Day 1—Sunday, November 30

Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. She, greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. She made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.”
Now it came about, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli was watching her mouth. As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. Then Eli said to her, “How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.” But Hannah replied, “No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the Lord. Do not consider your maidservant as a worthless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation.” Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him.”
I Samuel 1: 9-17

PLEADING AND WAITING
This year's Advent series begins with a week focused on waiting and longing, two key characteristics of the reflective period prior to Christmas. The Old Testament story of Hannah strikes close to home as we contemplate what it means to wait. Hannah is desperate. She has begged and pleaded with the Lord to open her womb and give her a much longed for son, to no avail. This urgent prayer is continually on her lips and in her heart; she can think of nothing else.

Being barren in biblical times was the ultimate curse. Her husband's other wife, Peninnah, scoffs and bullies Hannah to her breaking point. The woman in George Tooker's painting seems to reflect the desperation that Hannah silently endured. While the male figure appears to be sleeping peacefully, the agitated female with dark eyes looks out at the viewer, reflecting a spirit of dire turmoil. At the annual pilgrimage to the temple, the prophet Eli accuses Hannah of being drunk. Caught in an intensely emotive conversation with God, her behavior appears erratic. "In deep anguish with bitter tears" she begs God to grant her petition. Hannah is oblivious to how others perceive her; all she knows is that, whatever amount of pleading it takes, she won't stop asking.

Finally the impossible happens. God answers Hannah’s prayers. She conceives, Samuel is born and then given to the Lord for service in the temple.

Miraculous births of special boys populate scripture. After the bungled mess stemming from Sarah's infertility, the aged patriarch's wife responds with laughter when she is told she will bare a son. When the angel Gabriel announces to old Zechariah that his wife Elizabeth will give birth to the Forerunner, the high priest is so dumbfounded with disbelief that Gabriel strikes him mute and Zechariah doesn't speak again until John the Baptist is birthed and named. After years and years of unanswered prayers these responses seem predictably human.

On the other hand, once Hannah is with child, she realizes how supernatural her pregnancy is. When Mary is told that she will give birth to the Son of God, she too responses appropriately, understanding what those around her can't possibly grasp. Both Hannah and Mary come to know that endured trials are a byproduct of God's special favor and unconditional love.

Some of us have begged and pleaded with the Lord from the depths of our spirits for years without receiving what we long for. Often life does not seem to make much sense. Like Sarah and Zachariah we stop believing God cares about the matters that consume us. Our drunken groanings and travail appear to be in vain. Selah's poignant song "Draw Me Lord" offers hope to the disconsolate. It is an intense, heartfelt cry to be close to God, to be at the very center of His heart and will. It is only when we lay aside all of our earthly cares and find our way into the presence of Christ that our focus moves from brokenness and poverty to His all consuming understanding of who we really are and what we most need.

Dear Lord,
Draw me from this world of endless cares to Your Mercy Seat.
Take the dysfunctional mess of my life and transform it as only You can do.
I bring my wounded heart and all of the turbulent anguish of my spirit to You!
May I never stop believing that “earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.”
Help me to know in the depths of my being that in this earthly life we can only understand and realize in part. 
Help me to run to You because You alone understand who I am and what I truly need.
You are the Joy of the desolate, the Hope of the penitent, the Comforter of all those who mourn. 
Bring me to the place where I can rest and be at peace in You and with Your servant Mary say, "My soul magnifies the Lord" no matter what!
Amen

Barry Krammes, Center for Christianity, Culture & the Arts