Letting Go

1 Samuel 2:1-10 (NRSV)

Hannah's song

Hannah prayed and said,
"My heart exults in the Lord;
my strength is exalted in my God.
My mouth derides my enemies,
because I rejoice in my victory.

"There is no Holy One like the Lord,
no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
Talk no more so very proudly,
let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.
The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble gird on strength.
Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.
The barren has borne seven,
but she who has many children is forlorn.
The Lord kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low, he also exalts.
He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
and on them he has set the world.

"He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness;
for not by might does one prevail.
The Lord! His adversaries shall be shattered;
the Most High will thunder in heaven.

The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
he will give strength to his king,
and exalt the power of his anointed." 

The Magnificat of Mary from Luke may be more well known, but it has as its sister song this by Hannah, the mother of Samuel who has been blessed by God, like Mary, with the promise of an unexpected pregnancy.  Hannah has been the barren beloved wife of Elkanah, suffering because of her barrenness.

For Hannah, her pregnancy came after prayer and supplication and promise - the promise to give her son to God as a priest.  For years, especially after I'd had a child, I couldn't imagine pleading with God for a child just to turn that child over to God.

But that's what we do anyway, really, isn't it?  Eventually I realized that as much as I hold fast and love and want to protect my child fiercely, she really belongs to God, not to me.

There's much about stewardship here in Hannah's song.  And it's hard to read perhaps in a culture that is so centered on individualization, the self, and power.  Letting go is something we have to learn, not something that like Hannah, we intrinsically know and feel.  We live in a world where the bows of the mighty seem to prevail; where the rich and powerful sit in the places of honor and where possessions are held tightly, and where the needy move from ash heap to ash heap rather than seeming to be lifted up.

It takes reminding daily that everything is ours - our children included - only through our roles as stewards of God.  It's an uncomfortable reminder.  It's one that Hannah was called to sing praise about as she let go of the son she had yearned for.  God shared with her a bounty beyond her imagining and all she could do was sing praise for that and let go of that bounty so he could in turn serve God.

Generous God:  All we have is yours.  Help us not to "hold tightly and let go lightly" but instead to let go and share with confidence in the knowledge of your promise that you provide us what we need.  Let us also see our children not as extensions of our selves, but instead as your beloved sons and daughters whose care you have entrusted to us, preparing us every step of the way as we set them on their path. Amen