1 Samuel 2:1-8

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.

Long before Mary praised God for looking with favor on the lowliness of servants, and for lifting up the lowly, Hannah - another mother of strange circumstance - exalted God similarly.

Hannah was the mother of the prophet Samuel, and unlike Mary - a teen who had no expectations of being a mother - Hannah had been hoping and praying for motherhood for years.

One woman young and unmarried. Another older and barren despite being married.

Both, however, finding the surprise pregnancy something worth the wait.

And something that spoke to God's topsy turvy work in the world.

No one expects the single teen to have a child.

Or the barren woman who has been married for years.

Just as we don't expect the powerless or weak to gird on strength.

Or the powerful to fall and fail.

Like Mary, Hannah reminds us to expect the unexpected where God is concerned.

And to sing praises for that.

To be hopeful that our expectations are not always the same as God's.

That God's way will exceed everything we can hope for.

Lord, we wait for you to come in ways that will always surprised us and exceed every expectation we can have. Thank you! Amen