Bible
Study: 1 Samuel 1, 24 to 28. And Luke 1, 46 to 56.
Giving
thanks is not just an act, it is an attitude; it demands humility on our part
to acknowledge what we are and have are gifts not rights. Today we encounter
two women who are models of gratitude; women who acknowledged their nothingness
and the fact that God specially favoured them.
In joy,
Hannah and Mary composed songs of thanksgiving as they praised God for his
blessings in their lives. These songs happen to be present in our liturgy
today; that of Hannah in the responsorial psalm and Mary in our Gospel passage.
When we
look at these songs, we cannot put see their theology of how God works; a
theology Paul summarizes in 1 Corinthians 1, 27: “God chose what is foolish in
the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the
strong.”
According
to Hannah: “The bows of the mighty are broken, while the tottering gird on
strength. The well-fed hire themselves out for bread, while the hungry batten
on spoil. The barren wife bears seven sons, while the mother of many
languishes.” While for Mary: “He has cast down the mighty from their thrones
and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the
rich he has sent away empty.”
God is not
pleased with the Proud. God does not recognize those who believe that they are
self-made; those who live as if God is not necessary; those who never go down
on their knees to pray; those who consider going to church as a waste of time;
those who depend on themselves or on other people rather than God.
And one
quality of really proud people is that they consider Thanksgiving as a waste of
time or money. They pray often, but never remember to return thanks, they even
make promises but never remember to fulfil them, they make pledges but never
come back to redeem them.
Hannah
prayed fervently for a child, she fasted and kept many vigils, she desperately
needed a child to take away her shame and reproach, she prayed so hard one day
that at a point, Eli mistook her for one who was high on alcohol. When she told
him her problem, Eli assured her that God would answer her prayer. In today’s
first reading, we read about how Hannah brought the boy Samuel back to Eli
saying: “As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your
presence, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed; and the Lord has
granted me my petition which I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the
Lord.”
What a
lesson for us! How often do we remember to keep our promises after God has
answered our prayers? Many of us pray like Hannah but do not remember to give
thanks like Hannah and Mary who in their humility composed songs of thanksgiving.
Let us not
end this year with complaining, rather let us humble ourselves, stoop down low,
remember how we used to be nothing, how things were far worse than this moment
so that we can really give thanks. For instance, whenever I am feeling
ungrateful, I try to take my mind back to the days I used to run around with
only pant riding a car tyre with a stick then I say to myself, who would have ever
thought I would be here today? Like Mary who described herself as a lowly
handmaid, we must always see ourselves as nothing so that we can appreciate
God.
Let us
Pray: Lord Jesus, thank you. May my soul continue to sing your praises. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith.
It is well with you. God bless you.
Fr. Abu.
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