To Be or Not To Be?

Delivered May 13, 2007
by Pastor Marilyn Henderson

Text: 1 Samuel 1: 9 - 18

To be.
   Or not ...

Once there was a young man
    who had been raised in the Mennonite church.
He grew up hearing the stories of the early Anabaptists -
    of their loyal and undying trust in God,
       of their practices of
          viewing worship as 24/7
          simple living
          the community of believers
          following Christ to the cross.
The young man learned to pray and sing and work and play
    with the name of Jesus on his lips.

Hannah grew up in the tribe of Levi - the tribe of priests.
   Her's was a godly home - it's hard to imagine any other
      that would have produced such a woman.
   Worship of Adonai was an integral part of family life.
   She was raised to trust God and God's ways implicitly.
Hannah learned to pray and sing and work and play
   with the name of Adonai on her lips.

The young Mennonite carefully saved his hard-earned money
   so that he could go to a Mennonite college.
He thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of college life -
   singing in the choir,
       playing softball,
          living in the dorm with other young Christian men,
             dating Christian girls
   and especially learning all he could.
Toward the end of his first year,
   his advisor - a business teacher - suggested
      that this young man had the gift of making money,
      that this would be a great gift to the church.
   Was this a word from God?
   Was this who he was to be?

Hannah began to walk hearing the stories of the Great Deliverance from Egypt.
   She dreamt of the great leader Moses
      and all the wonders he performed before Pharoah.
Hannah and her friends danced as they imagined Miriam
   and the women of Israel praising God after the Red Sea.
   They were Joshua and the Israelites finally crossing the flooded Jordan
      into the Promised Land
         or marching around Jericho and blowing horns
            as the walls began to crumble.
Sometimes Hannah was Deborah leading the Israelites against Sisera
   or Gideon leading his men with silly and impossible weapons
      of trumpets and pitchers.
Hannah was an Israelite,
   the history of her people was her story,
      their God was her God.
She played the story at home
   and in worship practiced, sang and prayed the story.
Hannah knew who she was.
   Hannah was a follower of Adonai.

Each of us may identify - somewhat, at least -
   with either the young man's struggle
      or the young girl's certainty.

After a life-time of financial, personal and spiritual struggle,
   the man - no longer as young or as confident -
      found himself working on a road crew
         during the hot wind-blasted Kansas summer.

Gone were dreams of financial success -
   What had gone so terribly wrong?
      Hadn't he heard God?
         Didn't God hear him?

Hannah's dreams of being the mother of Elkanah's sons had been shattered.
   How had she failed?
      Why was God displeased with her?
Hannah loved and worshipped God with all her heart.
   She loved her husband.
      Why was she denied this desire of her heart?
         Didn't God hear her?

Often, in spite of doing everything as we have been taught,
   life doesn't turn out the way we have imagined it will.
      Where do we turn?

In his brokenness, the man turned to God as he never had before.
   He now prayed before each decision
      rather than trusting in his own abilities.
   He sought the counsel of other Christians.

He paid attention to his life and
   he paid attention to God's presence in it.
The man was ready to hear God.
   The man had become a true follower of God.

Hannah turned to God and sought comfort in the ways she had been taught.
   She persevered in her faith.
       She continued to practice her trust.
Hannah continued to believe that God had not deserted her -
   even though it certainly seemed so,
      even though Eli, God's priest, thought she was an alcoholic.
Hannah was ready to hear God.
   Hannah was a true follower of God.

Have you ever been at such a place of brokenness -
   and openness - in your life?

   Are you ready to hear God?

Is Petitcodiac Mennonite Church at such a place of brokenness -
   and openness?

God is calling us to persevere in the faithful practices of the Kingdom of God
    - in worship
   - in community
   - in outreach
   in the same way God called the Mennonite man
   in the same way God called Hannah

Instead of being a wealthy and generous Mennonite businessman,
   the Mennonite man became God's administrator of a homeless shelter,
    - extending God's invitation of an everlasting home
      to men without hope of any kind.
   The Mennonite man was God's man no matter where God led him.

Instead of being a "normal" Israelite woman
   surrounded the rest of her days with many offspring,
Hannah accepted God's plan for her of
   birthing a son destined to leave her prematurely
   Hannah gave him up so that
   God could bless both the Israelite nation
      and the Kingdom of God through Samuel's ministry.
   Hannah was God's woman no matter where God led her.

I don't know exactly to what God is calling PMC.
   Not knowing what's ahead for this congregation
      is part of our brokenness right now.
   It's uncomfortable
   It's itchy
   It's difficult
   and we aren't necessarily having a great time
   all the time.

But when we choose to stick together -
   - to remember our brokenness
    - to choose openness to
      new ways of speaking
         and thinking
            and doing
we choose to be a part of God's Kingdom.

I believe we are being more of what God is calling us to be -
   a truer, more "God-trusting" group
   of followers of Jesus Christ.

SOURCES CONSULTED

Coogan, Michael D. The New Oxford Annotated Bible

Gaebelein, ed. The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Vol. 3: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel. 1992.

Glazer, Miriyam. Dancing on the Edge of the World. Lowell House, 2000.

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