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. – 1 Samuel 2:5

“The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn.” We’ve all heard the well-known saying, “Be careful what you wish for.” God knows what we need, want and long for. When we don’t get what we dearly need or want we must be assured as to the reasons why. When we receive more than what we ever desired or needed, we must accept it and know that it is a gift from God.
It is very important to learn to accept what we are given, whether we want it or not. Some are given so much and some so little. God wants us to make the best of our situations. Another good old saying, “it is what you make of it,” is so appropriate when receiving and reacting to life’s circumstances.

By accepting all that God has given to us, or not given to us, we are responding wisely and exalting God as we are taught.

Our Father in Heaven, we know that you know our every want and need. We thank you for all the blessings you have bestowed upon us. Let us remember from where all things come and live according to your will, even when it is not our will. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
-Sister Katharine, OSB

The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength. – 1 Samuel 2:4

Many of us have heard the expression “gird up your loins” relating to some esoteric Old Testament passage, usually something from the chapters of Job where the Lord is taking Job to task for questioning why every bad thing befell him. It seems to be the Biblical version of the command to “man up”, so much so that the “Art of Manliness” website features an illustrated guide on how to gird up one’s loins, which is a tutorial on how to turn the tunic worn in Biblical times into a pair of shorts that makes battling one’s enemies easier. This is accomplished by gathering the fabric, pulling it through the legs, dividing it in half, and then tying it around one’s waist. (For the pictures of this, go here.)

The word “gird” actually means to “encircle with a belt or band” or “to secure on the body with a belt or band”. Buildings have “girders” made of steel that support key parts of them, and young men would be “girded” with belts of knighthood in medieval times. “Girding” provides extra support.

In today’s passage, Hannah sings of “the bows of the mighty [being] broken” and “the feeble gird[ing] on strength”. Her world was one where Israel was under constant attack from enemies, and archers’ bows would be a familiar item as would a sash or belt that girded a sword to a warrior. The idea of strength encircling me in my weak moments is incredibly comforting because it is a reminder that I do not have to depend on my own strength to push through difficult things—I have Someone who wraps me in their strength! The bows of the Enemy are no match for the strength that surrounds me. How amazing and magnificent is our God!

Thank you, Lord, for surrounding me in my weakest moments and fighting with me when I cannot fight. Amen.
-Jen McCabe

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. – 1 Samuel 2:3

Words have tremendous power, for good or ill…to hurt or heal. Whether hurtful or healing, however, I’m constantly humbled by the inadequacy of language to speak the ineffable truth of God’s knowledge. I suppose that’s why that even with all the greats of English literature to inspire me, I find myself turning instead to a Persian poet from the 13th century, Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, when I ponder the bittersweet failure of language in our effort to apprehend God’s presence. As Rumi put it:

Both mourn, the angels, the prophets, and this sadness I feel has taken from me the taste of language, so that I cannot say the flavor of my being apart. Speak with the language of love. This is how it always is when I finish a poem. A great silence overcomes me, and I wonder why I ever thought to use language.

Lord, please keep us mindful of what our words say about us. Are we being prideful or arrogant? Are we recognizing the power our words may have over others? Let our language be infused with your grace and communicate your love.
-Michael Boss

“There is no Holy One like the Lord, no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” – 1 Samuel 2:2

As Hannah praises the Lord, she characterizes God as a Rock. This simile of God as Rock is used frequently in the Psalms and often seems to have the meaning of refuge and/or salvation. When, like Hannah, you are in the desert, any rock is going to provide a little shade and a place to hide from your enemies. How much more of a refuge is God, the holy one!

I grew up in the rolling hills of northeastern Oklahoma and always loved our summer trips to Colorado where my father was born. Halfway across Kansas, we could begin to see the Rocky Mountains, and their grandeur and majesty spoke to me of God’s presence and power. Now I am blessed to live in this beautiful Skagit Valley where mountains remind me daily that God is my rock.

Beginning in 7th grade I attended a Methodist church where I sang in the choir, participated in MYF, and went to Sunday night services where we sang praise songs from a book called “Upper Room Hymns.” One of my favorites was “Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me”, and as I recalled that period of my life, I began to wonder how many songs I know that characterize God/Jesus as a Rock. It turns out there are a lot! Here are a few of my favorites:  “I Will Call Upon the Lord”; “On Christ, the Solid Rock I Stand”; “Rock of My Salvation”; “Oh, Lord, My Rock and My Redeemer”; and from Flor y Canto,  and “El Señor es mi Fuerza”.

Dearest Lord, our Rock and Salvation, as we await again the celebration of the coming of your Son, help us to magnify your name through our praise and our actions. Lead us to glorify your name and share your blessings with those in need. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
-Cathey Frederick

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.” – 1 Samuel 2:1

Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord…” Hannah longed for but was unable to bear a child for her husband Elkanah. Finally, she gave birth to a baby boy and named him Samuel. She was so happy that she had what she had wanted and asked for in prayer for so long that she gave this baby boy, her beloved son, to God.

I think of how long I have wanted and yearned for something. If this thing were given to me, would I give it completely to God? I firmly believe that anything and everything that we want and is given to us should be handed over to God completely, with no attachments or conditions. Everything we own; our education, profession, talents, gifts, even our children should be happily handed over.

In this world of self-assertiveness, high efficiency, complete productivity, lofty goals, and self-made success, do we ever think of giving it all to God? Instead of thinking about how hard we worked to get what we want, we should bow down and give complete and sincere thanks to God for allowing us to have it all and for giving it all to us in the first place.

Father in Heaven, thank you for all you have allowed and given to me in this life here on earth. Let me remember from where it all came and love and treat everything I have accordingly. Amen.
-Sister Katharine, OSB

In December 1997, my church choir director Margaret Kvamme handed us a thick piece of music with the word “Magnificat” written on the front and “Charles Pachelbel” (the son of Johann Pachelbel of Canon in D fame) as the composer. Being a new Christian, it was the first time I had really encountered the text on its own and singing that setting made me want to explore it more. I had another opportunity to engage with it the next year during my first quarter at UC Santa Cruz when I did the Porpora setting of the text with the Women’s Chorale. Margaret, who also directed the Women’s Chorale, made sure that we understood the words of what we were singing, and the text impacted me more through singing that setting.

A few years later, I encountered the Prayer of Hannah in my Old Testament I class in seminary, and I could see the parallels between it and the Magnificat. Nothing in the Bible stands on its own, and I believe Mary would have been familiar with Hannah’s prayer because she would have been raised to know the story of Samuel and how he was the last judge of Israel. It enhanced my appreciation of the Magnificat to know that there was a connection between the two texts.

When I started thinking about putting together an Advent devotional book for this year, the word Magnificat popped into my head almost immediately. It is the third person singular for “to magnify” in Latin, and my mind went back to this text that I had encountered for the first time 22 years earlier. It is one of the readings for Advent in Year C of the lectionary, and it foretells the changing of the corrupt power structures that were oppressing the poor. As history repeats itself in patterns, paraphrasing Mark Twain’s words, it is applicable even in our world today where the rich are in power and are legislating things that are detrimental to the poorest in our society.
In addition to these reflections on the Prayer of Hannah, the Magnificat, and the events surrounding it, I have assembled two YouTube playlists for those who find music to be the way they encounter God. One is comprised of various settings of the Magnificat, and the other is comprised of Advent hymns and songs.

Blessings to you in this season of preparation for the coming of Christ!
-Jen McCabe